Renault to discontinue Duster in Indian market

There has been a separate fan following behind the Renault Duster because of its rugged nature and ride quality. The manufacturer is now planning to discontinue the current Duster. Renault has already informed their component suppliers that they will be stopping the production of the Duster in October 2021. The Duster is currently manufactured at the Renault-Nissan Alliance plant located in Oragadam. Renault says that they are removing the SUV from their portfolio to increase profit and reduce the costs.

However, don’t you worry if you are also a follower of the Duster. Renault will be bringing back the Duster later in the future. They will be bringing the new generation of the Duster which has been long due for the Indian market. The last update to the Duster was when the BS6 emission norms kicked in. Renault had discontinued the beloved diesel engine and replacing it was a new turbocharged petrol engine with a capacity of 1.3-litres. The engine produces 156 PS of max power and 254 Nm of peak torque.

The second generation of the Duster is already on sale in Europe. The Duster was the first SUV that really pushed the sales of compact SUVs in India. However, now the sales of Duster are not good because it is one of the oldest in the segment. The manufacturer has tried to update some bits but it was not enough because the overall design still does not look modern. Another thing that killed the sales was that Renault discontinued the all-wheel-drive variant of the Duster. It was the only SUV in the segment that was offered with an all-wheel-drive powertrain. Now, with the AWD variant gone, people just could not justify buying the current Duster.

Also read: Dacia Bigster revealed: Is this the next-gen Renault Duster for India

New-Gen Duster coming to India

The timeline of the new generation of Duster is not yet revealed by Renault but we expect it to be sometime next year. The new Duster is much more modern and smart looking. Renault did try to update the exterior of the current Duster by giving it LED Daytime Running Lamps, revised bumpers and new paint schemes but it was the interior that has started to show its age.

The second-gen Duster looks more butch and SUV looks due to its styling. It has Y-shaped elements throughout it. The front headlamps and the rear tail lamps have Y-shaped LED Daytime Running Lamps. There are new more aggressive bumpers with huge faux skid plates. There is some chunky plastic cladding that gives an off-road look. However, the overall profile of the SUV still remains the same as the current Duster.

Then we come to the interior. Unfortunately, the interior looks very similar to the current one. So, there are circular AC vents and a dual-tone up-right dashboard. Having said that, Renault is using new materials for the interior which might make the interior feels like an up-market place than the current Duster.

There is a new four-spoke steering wheel with multifunction buttons and cruise control. There is also a new instrument cluster that looks more modern than the current one and also features a 3.5-inch multi-information display.

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