This is review after driving 1000 kms in my Renault Duster 110 BHP. The car (some call it an SUV, I prefer to call it a car), handles, drives and has body control similar to a D segment car with the bad roads handling ability of an SUV. It goes over most potholes and speed brakers as if they dont even exist. It is light and agile when it comes to manoeuvring with sufficient torque to take on hill roads with 5 people on board with luggage. However, its 1500 CC diesel engine feel underpowered while overtaking. The peak torque coming in at a little over 2000 RPM acts like a rev-limiter and you feel as if brakes have been applied once the torque redline is reached. You need to alter your driving style to keep it within the 1500-2000 RPM band if you want to have torque on tap. On highways, the sixth gear comes in as a surprise.
It makes the car noiseless allowing cruising at 100 KMPH at a little under 2000 RPM. An RPM of 2200 in sixth sees the car speeding at 120-130! The icing on the cake is the fuel efficiency- the multi information display was showing 17.7 KMPL on a highway run while its city display is 13.6. The real fuel efficiency must be higher as I have travelled 1000 km so far having filled 70 litres of fuel- an average FE of 14.2 KMPL. There is ample headroom, legroom and elbowroom to squeeze in 5-7 people if necessary. Quirks- the placement of rear window up/down button is a disaster. The control switch is placed way back- as a result you cannot find the switch when you need it but if your elbow rests on it, the switch gets activated when you don’t want it to.
Another quirk is that the rear number plate is struck with glue tape and not screwed in. Mine has already come off twice.