Why pricing of the Duster is the deciding factor for Renault
Renault India bets big on the Duster for its financial and brand success. Despite having the Fluence, Koleos and Pulse, Renault did not have a segment maker or breaker till now, mainly because of the pricing of its products and the relatively unknown brand attributes. If it wants to sell or introduce more cars in India, it must deliver on value as customers are not going to pay a premium for the Renault badge.
After these three products, there comes the Duster, a car that IndianAutosBlog followed vigorously from the very moment we heard of it. Regular readers of IAB know this well - we're big fans of the Duster and the EcoSport as these are cars that will introduce India to a new segment - the compact SUV.
Our friends at BSMotoring managed to get some insights on the car's pricing from Mr. Stephen Norman, Renault's Global Vice President, Marketing & Communications. They say the Renault Duster may start from just 7.5 lakhs. This pits it against the Scorpio, but remember, we're talking about the starting price here, which is the RxE petrol.
Renault Duster - Petrol
RxE and RxL variants.
- 1.6L MPFI with 102PS @ 5,850rpm and 145Nm @ 3,750rpm
- 5-Speed stick shift
- A frugal economy figure of 13.24kmpl
The low-end RxE variant does not have any extra accessories you expect.
Renault Duster - Diesel
RxE, Rxl, RxZ variants. RxL comes with both 85PS and 110PS outputs.
- 1.5L dCi that produces 85PS @ 3,750 RPM on RxE and RxL; 110PS @ 3,900 RPM on RxL & RxZ
- 200Nm @ 1,900 RPM on RxE and RxL; 248Nm @ 2,250 RPM on RxL & RxZ
- 5-speed manual for the 85PS variants and 6-speed manual for the 110PS variants
- Whopping 20.46 kmpl for 85PS and 19.01 kmpl for 110PS (ARAI figures)
For the top-end variant RxZ, we get
- Dual front Airbags
- ABS, EBD, Brake assist for 110PS version
- Front fog lamps
- Rear Defogger
- Seat belt reminder
- Impact sensing door unlock
See the tech specs and variants of the Renault Duster for India
Now that we've got hints on the starting price of the Duster, what do you think will this result in? Will the Duster finally put an end to Scorpio's domination in the SUV market?
The launch of the Duster will begin rolling at 12:00 noon on the 4th of July. We'll get the actual prices to you first, so stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com.
[Source - BSMotoring.com]
