The Renault Duster has scored a 5-star safety rating in the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP) crash tests. The French brand’s midsize SUV scored 30.49 out of 32 points for adult occupant protection (AOP) and 45 out of 49 points for child occupant protection (COP). Furthermore, these ratings apply to all variants of the Duster.
- Tests used the Evolution, Techno and Iconic 1.3T variants
- ‘Good’ AOP for the driver’s head, neck, pelvis and thighs
- ‘Good’ overall AOP for the co-driver
- Side pole impact test rated ‘OK’
Renault Duster BNCAP adult occupant protection results (30.49/32.00)
Frontal offset deformable barrier test: 14.49/16 points; Side movable deformable barrier test: 16/16 points
Apart from scoring 14.49 out of a maximum of 16.00 points in BNCAP’s frontal offset deformable barrier test, the new-gen Renault Duster achieved a ‘good’ rating for protection offered to the driver’s head, neck, pelvis and thighs. The protection level dropped to ‘adequate’ for the driver’s chest and tibia, which is the region between the knee and the ankle.
The Duster achieved a ‘good’ overall rating for the protection offered to the front passenger (or co-driver), including for the chest and lower-leg regions. In the side movable deformable barrier test, the Renault Duster achieved top ratings by scoring the maximum of 16.00 points. Furthermore, the side pole impact test saw the Duster achieving an ‘OK’ rating.
Renault Duster BNCAP child occupant protection results (45.00/49.00)
Dynamic score: 24/24 points; CRS Installation score: 12/12 points; Vehicle assessment score: 9/13 points
The Renault Duster’s crash-test ratings for child occupant protection involved rearward-facing dummies that mimicked 18-month-old and 3-year-old children. For both age groups, the Duster scored the maximum 24 points, including the frontal and side protection dynamic scores. Note that only the outboard seats of the second row are equipped with ISOFIX anchors.
Similarly, the child restraint system (or CRS) of the Duster received 12 points – the highest score possible. However, with a vehicle assessment score of 9 out of 13 points, the Renault Duster’s overall child occupant protection rating dropped to 45.00 points out of 49.00.
Renault Duster safety features
All six variants of the new-gen Renault Duster (including the Iconic Launch Edition) are offered with several basic safety features. These include 6 airbags, electronic stability program, hill-hold control, hill-descent control, a tyre-pressure monitoring system, three-pointed seatbelts for all occupants and ISOFIX anchorages. Meanwhile, the top-spec Iconic variant of the Duster also gets Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) like adaptive cruise control, collision detection with auto-emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot detection, etc.
The Renault Duster is priced from Rs 10.49 lakh to Rs 18.49 lakh (ex-showroom), with dual-tone options costing Rs 20,000 more. It competes with other midsize SUVs such as the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Honda Elevate, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Tata Sierra and Volkswagen Taigun.
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
Dhruv Dhaka
