The most popular Renault car, which kick-started the compact mid-size SUV space in the Indian market, has been pulled off the line. The Renault Duster has had a decade long run, but will it have a successor?
After a 10-year long production run, Renault has finally taken its most popular SUV, the Duster, off the production line. The most recent iteration of the Renault Duster was offered with a petrol 1.3-litre turbocharged motor. The engine was mated to a six-speed manual or a CVT. The engine was developed by the Renault-Nissan Daimler alliance, which is why the Kicks also gets the same drivetrain.
The Duster was last updated back in 2020 with a petrol engine and new colour choices; however, the SUV arrived at the mid-size SUV party rather late and unprepared, which means that it was overshadowed by the then-new Kia Seltos, which to an extent dominated the segment. That being said, the Duster, in fact, dominated the mid-size SUV segment a decade ago when the SUV was launched back in 2012, and it went up against the (older) Tata Safari and the Mahindra Scorpio. Renault managed to sell up to 40,000 units of the Duster in the first year of its launch.
The Duster was based on the B0 platform, which was also the base for Renault's Logan, Lodgy, and Captur. The Duster debuted with the 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine, which was offered with a monocoque chassis, resulting in a more compact and efficient setup. Later, the Duster was offered with an all-wheel-drive setup, which was the most affordable one on sale in the country, but due to low demand, the AWD Duster was discontinued.
So far, there is no official confirmation from the French carmaker on bringing a Duster's replacement. However, Dacia has the new Duster on sale overseas, which is larger and based on a new platform. The new-gen Duster could be considered for India, given the huge presence of SUVs in the Indian market.
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