I took a diesel Renault Duster – I share my impressions

Greetings, dear subscribers and readers of my channel. We have talked with you many times about the popularity of crossovers. This class of cars is popular not only in our country, but all over the world. In the markets of many countries, the share of crossovers already exceeds 50% of the total number of new cars sold.

In our country, Korean and French crossovers are the most popular. Koreans are represented, first of all, by such a popular model as the Hyundai Creta. In total, according to the results for 2020, about 70 thousand of these cars were sold.

The situation is more interesting for the French, we can say that they were at the origins of the mass popularization of crossovers in our country. Yes, it was Renault Duster, which appeared with us at the beginning of 2012, that revolutionized the crossover market!

Of course, someone may object: there was, they say, “Shniva” and it was she who was the first popularizer of crossovers. But it's not. Firstly, the Chevrolet Niva is not quite a crossover, and secondly, the sales of Shniva were many times less than the sales of Renault Duster. Suffice it to say that in the already crisis year of 2014, Renault Duster sold 76,138 cars. This is a better figure than Hyundai Creta has today with its 70,000 vehicles sold.

In this color and with an off-road body kit, the car looks very cool (hereinafter, the photo of the author)

No matter how good Renault Duster was, but over time its popularity began to fall. This is easy enough to explain. Firstly, competitors did their best, who were able to offer technically interesting and not very expensive models, and secondly, by the second half of the 10s, Renault Duster already looked rustic.

The second generation Renault Duster looks solid

Fans of the brand have long been waiting for the release of a new generation of Renault Duster, especially since such cars have been sold in Europe for a couple of years. At the beginning of this year, it was our turn.

The new Duster is most easily recognized by the new taillights.

A new generation of Renault Duster has been released. Various configurations of this car are offered, and most importantly, now the consumer has a huge option of motors to choose from, which are combined with various types of gearboxes. But this is a topic for a separate article, and next time we will talk about it. And now we will talk about

Diesel Renault Duster 2021

This is the car I currently have on the test. I will say right away — I liked the car. The new Renault Duster has been significantly updated. It's even more noticeable on the inside than on the outside.

There are no obvious flaws with ergonomics. Driving comfortably

The interior is now made in the “Arkanavian” spirit and has become more comfortable and functional. Perhaps we can say that the main problems with ergonomics were solved. Sitting with my height of 185 cm is quite comfortable. The steering wheel is now adjustable not only in tilt angle, but also in reach.

Inside, everything is based on Arkanov's motives, but the front passenger has a shelf

We will not discuss in detail all sorts of buttons and other gadgets, let the “top bloggers” do it, the rest can be seen in the photographs.

Those same gadgets – two USB ports for rear passengers and heated seats. In front there are generally three USB ports + there is also a 12V socket

The most important thing to know is that the current car model is not a restyling, but a completely new generation. Renault Duster is now based on the updated Global Access platform.

Trunk volume is decent, but the front-wheel drive version will have more

Other recent Renault models are based on the same platform, such as the Arkana and the new Kaptur. For the consumer, the most important thing here is that the rigidity of the body has significantly increased and the platform Arkana received 5-stars for safety, and the front suspension has been updated, as a result, handling has improved, and the steering column itself is now adjustable for reach. Get comfortable behind the wheel now it will be convenient for any driver

Turbo diesel on Renault Duster

The power of the turbodiesel unit, which is installed under the hood of my Duster, does not excite the imagination on paper. The motor develops a power of 109 hp, but produces a very good torque: 240 Nm already at 1750 rpm. But what a pleasant character Duster has with this engine! I really liked it. In fact, we have a huge moment already at the very bottom.

Hood raise gas struts

The car accelerates very briskly from a stop and quickly picks up speed, just know that you have time to change gears, you can already shift to 5th at 70 km / h, and you can already stick the sixth at 90. With active city driving, you need to shift gears often, but no problems it does not deliver, the selectivity of the box is excellent. On the track, you can roll in “semi-automatic mode” in 5th or 6th gear with almost no shifting, since the high torque and elasticity of the motor allow you to move in top gear over a wide range of speeds.

How does a diesel Duster drive?

Let me tell you – great! I was especially interested in comparing it to Arkana and Kaptur. The power of the motor is enough for driving on the highway and, especially, in the city. I will definitely post a video with test runs on my channel, so if you are interested, subscribe!

Some auto journalists wrote that the Duster rolls heavily in corners. I didn't think so. Banks are very moderate, and the behavior of the car itself is predictable. Of course, this is not a Grand Turismo, but for a crossover, handling is very decent.

Renault Duster is very comfortable on the go. First of all, this is the merit of the suspension, but the Continental Crosscontact tires also do their bit.

Still, comparing the line of Renault crossovers with each other, a journalist from one well-known automotive publication wrote that, they say, Duster is much less interesting in corners than Kaptur. I didn't think so at all. Interestingly, the journalist himself, who wrote about this, actually drove both cars? The conclusion is simple – it's better not to believe everything they write about, but to go for a test drive and see for yourself everything.

And I continue to ride the new diesel Renault Duster and will continue to share my impressions.

If you liked the article, then thumbs up and subscribe! We will continue to try to understand everything objectively

It is interesting to hear your opinion, dear subscribers and readers! What do you think of the new Renault Duster? Maybe you already had a ride on this car, or even buy it?

And in the next article, we will talk more about the driving behavior of the new Renault Duster and try to compare it with the Arkana and Kaptur models.