Renault India has begun offering heavy discounts on the recently facelifted Duster SUV, which made its debut in July this year. The diesel Renault Duster facelift, with the more powerful 110hp engine and in the mid-spec RxS trim, can now be had for Rs 9.99 lakh – a good Rs 1.2 lakh below its sticker price of Rs 11.19 lakh. This means the Duster 110PS can now be had at the same price as the less powerful 85PS variant, according to sources.
The refreshed Duster is available with two engine options currently. However, we’ll soon have to bid goodbye to the diesel-powered version due to the upcoming BS6 norms. For those who don’t know, Renault will not upgrade its tried and tested 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine to make it BS6-compliant as the upgrade does not justify the costs involved, due to decreasing volumes of cars that are powered by this unit. This means, come April 1, 2020, the Duster will be available with a single 1.5-litre petrol engine option mated to either a 5-speed manual or a CVT gearbox.
The Duster, in its current generation, has been on sale for quite some time now, and is well-known for its diesel engine’s linear performance and frugal nature. Thanks to the very attractive discounts on offer, the capable SUV now provides even more value as it comes at a price point similar to compact SUVs like the Tata Nexon (Rs 7.59-10.39 lakh*), Mahindra XUV300 (Rs 8.69-12.14 lakh*), Ford EcoSport (Rs 8.31-11.35), Maruti Vitara Brezza (Rs 7.62-10.03 lakh) and the Hyundai Venue (Rs 7.75-10.84 lakh).
Some dealers still have stock of the pre-facelift Duster and are offering benefits up to Rs 1.25 lakh, and will allow customers to buy the mid-spec RxS AMT variant for a special price of Rs 9.99 lakh.
Additionally, with the discontinuation of the diesel engine, the Duster AWD will also face the axe as the AWD system is not available with the petrol unit. The Renault Captur is available with even bigger discounts than the Duster, with a handful of variants being offered with price cuts of around Rs 3 lakh, depending on stock.
All prices are ex-showroom, Delhi
*Prices are for diesel-manual variants only
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Saptarshi Mondal
