It was the first compact SUV that started it all and led the way for Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Creta and others in the market. Yes, we are talking about Renault Duster, and now the French automaker is all set to bring out the facelifted version of the vehicle which was due for a while now. The compact SUV from Renault had seen a lot of competition from EcoSport and Creta which did put Renault Duster on the back foot as far as sales is concerned.
However, Renault would be looking to change that with the new facelifeted version of Duster that is going to be showcased at the 2016 Indian Auto Expo while its official launch is also going to happen inside the first half of the same year. The 2016 Indian Auto Expo is scheduled for February next year which is barely three months away. As far as the updates go,Renault Duster facelift will have changes with both interior and exterior.
The exterior changes include revamped bumpers along with a new headlight and a new tail light cluster. We also see a single slat grill design that will encompass the Renault’s diamond logo that adds to the aesthetic value of the car as well. There is plenty to look forward to as far as the interiors are concerned with a new steering wheel while buyers will also get an option of MediaNav touchscreen infotainment system. To add to that, there is also the presence of Bluetooth and Navigation mode.
There would be no change in the engine line-up, Renault Duster facelift will continue to incorporate the 1.5 litre dCi diesel engine that has two state of tune with one generating 89bhp power and the other 109bhp. The latter of the two is backed by 1461cc displacement that also generates 245Nm torque at 1750rpm. City mileage in this case is 16.1kmpl whereas for highways, the same goes up to 19.64kmpl. The other diesel model delivers a torque of 200Nm at 1750rpm.
The petrol engine is backed by a displacement of 1598cc that carves away 102.53bhp at 5750rpm and twists 148Nm torque at 3750rpm. The mileage is comparatively less here as Renault Duster delivers 10.4kmpl in cities and 13.05kmpl on highways.
However, what most of us would be looking forward to is the debut of the Automated Manual Transmission system which is the biggest alteration that Renault Duster facelift will have from its predecessor. The French automaker has a different name for it though as it tags it as Easy-R AMT which means the same thing.
We have long waited for Renault Duster facelift and the upgrades come in the light of stiff competition that a lot of other automakers in the market have come across in the recent years. Mahindra XUV500 AT variant, Hyundai Creta and Maruti S Cross are some of the most recent launches with Creta doing extremely well in the market when we look through the sales perspective. How much of an impact would the facelift of Duster will make in the market, is something that only time will tell, but so far, the compact SUV looks good to win over the audience.