Renault Duster Long Term Report: September 2017

Mile Muncher

Living with the Duster this month has largely been quite unremarkable, save for one small change. After a while of piloting other cars on long road trips, I finally got the opportunity to take the Duster on a short trip towards the mountains. This was a much-needed break from the humidity of Delhi and as always, the Duster was up to the task. 

An early morning start once again revealed that despite being a basic set of halogen headlamps without projector or xenon lamps, the Duster’s headlights still remain very useful and illuminate the road pretty well. Of course, the air conditioning works quite well too, and I’m yet to find a car in this price range which has the ride quality and handling comparable to the Duster. No matter the road conditions, the Duster’s high-profile tyres and suspension simply smother them into oblivion.

 
Of course, there could definitely be improvements to the seats of the Duster – they certainly could do with better lumbar support. And, yes, while on the twisty roads of the mountains, the steering kickback is something that still annoys me. But, other than that, it’s hard to fault the Duster for the package that it offers. 

But, with the launch of the Kaptur (still wondering the exact pronunciation of its name though) Renault has the opportunity to remedy the issues that the Duster faced. So, I think it would be fair to say that I’m quite looking forward to see how the new car drives. Till then, the current Duster will do just fine.