Renault Duster Adventure - The 110 PS RxL Variant Launched, Price & Features List Out

Renault has launched a 100 PS RxL variant of its Renault Duster in India today at a price of Rs. 12.18 Lakh. Called the Renault Duster Adventure, we got a glimpse of the car at the Delhi Auto Expo 2014. Among the host of features that the new variant brings, the prominent ones are smoked headlights and new 16-inch alloy wheels.

Then on the security front there's a lot of addition with dual front airbags, ABS, and EBD with brake assist, in addition to that a driver seat belt reminder and parking sensors. Other than these, on the interior you will find a Piano Black finish on the center console and steering wheel whereas there's Lime Green Seat Upholstery fabric and Door Trim Fabric Insert. There are four speakers and steering mounted controls coupled with MediaNav system and electrically adjustable outer mirrors.

The basic specifications on the car are the same. The 1.5-litre k9k diesel engine churns out a maximum power output of 85PS and 200Nm of peak torque. Here's a picture that Renault India shared on its official Facebook page -

There's a lot happening in the Indian SUV segment in 2014 and we will get back to you with more details on this soon. Till then let us know your thoughts, comments and opinions on the Renault Duster Adventure edition through comments.


Update: The five-seater SUV is said to have an ARAI efficiency of 19.01 kmpl and the only available color variant is Metallic Amazon Green. The car's dimensions are the same as the existing model at 4315mm x 1822mm x 1695mm along with wheelbase of 2673mm and ground clearance of 205mm and a bootspace of 475 liters. The biggest competitor for the SUV is Ford EcoSport in India.

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Renault in no hurry on small car plan

Though reports of an 800-cc small car from French carmaker Renault stable in the sub- Rs. 4,00,000 category have been steadily hitting the market, its global chief operating officer Carlos Tavares maintains that the final button has not yet been pushed.

"It is not yet an appropriate time from the project point of view," Tavares said in a recent interaction with reporters in Chennai.

He said the company was still examining the cost and revenue details. "If all functions of the company commit that they can deliver this result, then you push the button and opt for the tooling go ahead, which is a decision to make the car. It is much too soon to do that."


The media reports say that the upcoming small car, codenamed ‘A Entry’, is expected to make an appearance by June 2015. However, Tavares said that a lot of work needs to be done. "We are doing our engineering homework, make all the clinic tests… we still have huge amount of work to do before we bring the car to the market."

 
Meanwhile, Renault’s global partner Nissan will launch its low-cost brand Datsun’s cars in India next month.


Tavares said the company is taking time to enter small car as it is attempting to differentiate itself from the rest of the market. "I believe that my competitors are making tonnes of money in that market, and how to bring something that creates a sense of appeal in the eyes of Indian consumers and at the same time generates good profitability for the company, that is where the magic may be," he said.

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Indians buying SUVs at a rapid pace

The Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment in India is growing at a rapid pace, having increased in popularity within the last few years. Customer preferences in the country have clearly shifted from hatchbacks and sedans to soft roaders and SUVs. As an example, Renault’s Duster, a compact SUV, which was an unknown entity till the year 2012, has now become one of the top ten selling models for the second consecutive month. 6300 Dusters were sold in March 2013 and about 5,300 were delivered to customers in the next month of April. This is quite an achievement for a relatively new model, which is priced close to Rs. 10 lakh.

Interestingly, though the Renault Duster and Maruti Alto are at opposite ends of the top ten vehicles, the average amount of revenue generated on both sides is quite similar. While 19,847 units of the Alto hatchback were sold during April 2013, where the average price was Rs. 3.21 lakh, 5,362 units of the Duster were sold. However, since its average price is about Rs. 10.91 lakh, turnover from every vehicle was quite high. As a sum total, Rs. 637 crore were spent by Indian buyers on the Alto and Rs. 585 crore on the Duster. From these figures, it is evident that Duster sales are fast closing in as the overall market leader.


The new compact SUV segment is seeing a lot of frenetic activity these days. Ford EcoSport will be the latest vehicle to be slotted in this category, as the vehicle is expected to make its Indian debut in June 2013. With length less than 4 metres, the EcoSport will be able to avail tax benefits, allowing it to be competitively priced. It will be interesting to see the kind of competition EcoSport offers to current market segment leader Renault Duster.


Interestingly, the Mahindra Bolero, which is among the top selling SUVs month on month, sold 9,766 units in April. Other SUVs such as Mahindra Thar, Mahindra XUV500 and Toyota Fortuner are already selling well in the country. Another SUV that has been very popular among the urban and rural buyers since the last decade is the Mahindra Scorpio. During April this year, 4,700 units of the Scorpio were sold. This shows that Indians are clearly enamoured by the charm of big SUVs and soft roaders.

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Renault India sells 5924 units in December

Renault India has sold 5924 units in the month of December compared to 1401 units that it sold between June and December 2011 when it had only the Koleos SUV and Fluence sedan on sale.  The French automaker also achieved cumulative sales of 35,052 units for the year 2012.

Renault India added three more models to its portfolio in the last twelve months. The first was the Pulse hatchback that was unveiled at the New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012. This was followed by the Duster SUV in July and the mid-size sedan Scala in September. Out of the 5924 units sold in December, the Duster accounted for 4485 units, the Scala 820 units, Pulse 515 units, Fluence 68 units and the Koleos 36 units.


Commenting on the sales figures, Marc Nassif, managing director, Renault India said, “It is very satisfying for all of us at Renault to close the year with sales of over 35,000 units and delivering what we promised in the beginning of the year to our prospective customers. A full range of cars with five models, a pan India network which will be close to 100 strong soon reflecting our commitment to the Indian market and as promised we reached our target of multiplying our sales 20 times over that of last year when we launched in June, 2011.”

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Renault Duster On-The-Go with High Sales crosses 15000 mark

After the launch on 4th of July, 2012, the Renault Duster is almost flying out of the showrooms! With the advent of Duster in the Indian market, it has been solely responsible for making future look brighter for Renault India. The car maker has bagged as many as 15,000 bookings for the Duster in a matter of 2 months, the officials at the media drive of the Renault Scala stated.

The SUV is currently in the waiting period of one month. Even the company didn’t expect to receive such a huge response and so, Renault is now more dynamic at the plant producing 300 units a day. To meet the high demand and reduce the long waiting periods, the manufacturer has now decided to start three shifts per day at the production unit at Oragadam production unit. The Made-In-India Duster is also being exported to UK and the Brazilian market.

Renault Duster SUV comes with a 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine equipped with Turbochargers and 4-cylinder which has a 1461cc displacement with Max. Power at 110PS at 3900 rpm and Max. Torque at 248Nm at 2250 rpm. It is offered with 5-speed transmission.

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