Renault Duster BS6 launched at Rs. 8.49 lakh

Renault launches the updated BS6 Duster with very attractive prices. The emissions upgrade has forced Renault to severely trim the variant line-up of the Duster and it is only on offer now in petrol-manual guise.

Renault India has silently updated its website with details of the BS6 version of the Duster. Renault India’s original bestseller continues to be powered by its 1.5-litre H4K four cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol engine. In BS6 specification the engine is good for 105bhp at 5,600rpm and 142Nm of peak torque. The engine is offered with a five-speed manual gearbox as standard. With the BS6 update, there is no longer a petrol automatic model on offer as was the case with the BS4 model that had a CVT automatic on offer. The updated Duster, as expected, also misses out on a diesel model as the long-serving K9K unit finally bites the dust in India.

As is evident, the upgrade to BS6 emissions norms for the Duster has caused it to severely trim its variant list. There are now only three variants of the Duster on offer, namely, the RxE, RxS and RxZ. Prices for the new Renault Duster RxE start at Rs. 8.49 lakh while the mid-spec Duster RxS is priced at Rs. 9.29 lakh, while the top-of-the-line RxZ variant retails at Rs. 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

It must be said that these prices are rather attractive and allows Renault to place the Duster in sub-four meter, compact SUV space, to compete with smaller cars such as the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV500, etc. The Duster may be an aged model but it continues to have some very strong credentials despite having a few ergonomic flaws.

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Renault Duster Long Term Report: November 2017