Renault India finally give the Duster something it was craving as much as we were: four-wheel drive. How much of a difference does it make really?
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Rommel Albuquerque
‘Bad news!’ I said to a friend of mine. Poor old chap had just taken delivery of a front-driven crossover a few days ago, having waited for eight long months no less. ‘I told you it was coming,’ – I was actually making him feel worse – ‘The new Duster 4×4 is finally here…’ I didn’t want to make him feel so bad, so I said to him, ‘It’s okay, it’s almost the same car, just a different badge and a dead rear axle. It’s not like you’re going to hit a trail or go kicking up mud for fun. You’re going to be in the city, maybe drive down the highway and tackle the occasional ghat section. It’s perfect for that.’ That seemed to cheer him up somewhat.
So, the new Duster 4×4, then. Yes, it’s something we’ve been waiting for for a long time. I’ve always been a bit of a fan, and have been following the Dacia Duster’s rise since 2010, from Romania, across Europe and the UK, and now in the subcontinent. It’s been put through a lot! Tests of every imaginable kind in some of the most challenging terrain have not been able to hold it back. It was the company’s claim to fame and still is doing strong numbers in markets where it is present. And why not? Built on a car platform and literally offering almost the best of both worlds, it pretty much defined the compact crossover segment, the most bustling one today the world over.
We’ve had the Duster in India for over two years now, and Renault were apparently pondering over getting the all-wheel-drive model here. So, after all this while, here it is. And it’s got some stickers and a shiny new badge too. Okay, there’s more to it than just that. On the outside, there are rather striking ‘AWD’ graphics, which, for a layman, could mean anything from ‘All Wheel Drive’ to ‘Association for Women’s Dodgeball’. That apart, the 4×4 gets masked headlamps and is slightly higher off the ground too. The Duster 4×4 is available in two trims: RxL and RxZ. The RxL gets 16” steel wheels, while the RxZ gets a nice set of alloys; both of which are wrapped in 215/65 R16 rubber. The roof-rails add to the butch appearance and can be put to practical use for those who want to add a roof-rack for things like bicycles, a surf board, or even skis. Yeah.
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