New Renault Duster Easy-R AMT Road Test Review

The most prominent change in the vehicle is that now it’s being offered with a 6-speed Automated Manual transmission (AMT) (it’s called Easy-R AMT), a first for a transmission of this kind in the country. Around 32 new features have been added on, a few of them cosmetic and few critical too.

Since its launch the Renault Duster has been fighting with some of the attractive products introduced in the Indian SUV space. These include the Ford EcoSport, the Hyundai Creta, the TUV300 and the recently introduced the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Barring the Creta, all the others are sub-four metre vehicles and come in the compact SUV segment.

The 6-speed Easy-R AMT version is one of the several variants being offered by the company. The manual transmission version is available in five variants – Standard, RXE, RXL, RXS and RXZ, with both petrol and diesel powertrains. The petrol engine is a 1598cc four cylinder in-line engine producing 103bhp@5750 rpm and a torque of 148Nm@3750 rpm. There is also a 1461cc engine that is offered. While one diesel engine produces 84bhp@3750rpm and a peak torque of 200Nm@1750rpm, the other diesel engine, a turbo charged one, produces 108.5bhp@4000 rpm and a peak torque of 245Nm@1750rpm. The AMT variant comes with the turbo charged diesel engine.

So what are the changes to the Duster? There is a new dual winged front grille. There is also this new hawk eye cluster headlamps with ?re?y fog lamps. The top end variants get the exquisite looking gun metal ?nish 16 inches alloy wheels. There is also now electrically adjustable and foldable ORVM’s with turn indicators. The new Duster will also be available in a bright and sporty  colour – Cayenne Orange.

The interiors too have gone in for a change. The vehicle now comes with crimson-black interior theme with sporty double spacer fabric for the all wheel drive and a cedarwood-black Interiors theme with premium embossed fabric for other variants. There is also a dual tone soft touch dashboard.

Convenience features include new rear view camera with guidelines, new automatic air conditioning, new auto-up/down window with anti-pinch, new media nav, and new centre fascia. Driving is made a lot safer with ABS, EBD with Brake Assist, dual airbags, ESP & Hill start assist.

Apart from the visually appealing changes, what we really went out test was the new 6-speed AMT. Smartly enough the company has not mated this transmission to the 4 wheel drive variant.  It’s only the 2 wheel drive 1461 cc diesel engine that has got this luxury. We all know 4X4 buyers are assumed to be a lot more adventurous that their 2 wheel drive counterparts.

The 6 speed AMT is a bit slow on the take. Even when you gun the machine fully, the transmission takes a tad bit of time to move from the first gear. Finally when it settles down at the third gear, everything looks up and the machine starts to roll and the vehicle gathers tremendous speed.

But please remember, the Duster has been a hit among a lot of young Indian families. Safety is their prime concern and none of the customers seems to have a maniacal bent of mind. Thus by fitting the AMT to a 2 wheel drive variant has been a very sensible step by the company. For someone who loves speed, and worships it as though there is no other God, this new AMT is a big “NO”. They could rather go for the other manual transmission variants. But then if AMT is what he has decided, then he or she has the option to go into the manual model and get his machine rolling faster.

On a personal front, I liked the new AMT. It makes life a lot easier in the heavy traffic and long distance driving. With this facelift, the Renault Duster has just got a lot smarter and safer. But then it was always a good looking practical SUV. Apple to apple if it were to be compared to the Hyundai Creta (this is also not a compact SUV), both also have a six speed automatic transmission. But then the Duster has a 4X4 option! With the new AMT option, Renault has thrown in a new automatic challenge to others in this segment.