Used Car Buyers Guide: Renault Duster

The Renault Duster was launched in India back 2012. It was an instant hit and garnered lakhs of customers by the end of its production run in India. It was a barebones vehicle in all honesty, but the Duster always did the basics right. 

The demise of the Duster was really sad but the vehicle did not receive any updates over the years and India had to do with the same old 1st generation of the vehicle while the rest of the world got updated models with better features and newer designs. The demise of the Duster was no one’s fault but Renault’s own. The used market is a magical place, though, and there are a lot of Dusters on sale. Here is a buying guide for the Renault Duster.

The Renault Duster was a very popular model in India once but it was discontinued eventually due to poor sales but there are plenty of them for sale in India. Here is a buying guide for the Renault Duster. 

The Renault Duster only ever got one generation in the Indian market so there is not much confusion. Early models were available with three engine options. There was the 1.5L K9K diesel engine in two states of tune, an 85 bhp version and a 110 bhp version. The other engine option was a 1.6L NA petrol engine, which had 102 bhp. 

The diesels are way easier to find, and the choice of the bunch even in the lower state of tune. The petrol was a thirsty engine, and this was from the time when diesels were still very popular. The petrol was later replaced by a 1.5L NA petrol motor, which also got a CVT transmission. The diesels were offered with an AMT. In 2014, Renault also introduced an AWD variant, which is highly sought after. 

There were a few updates to the looks of the Duster with new headlights and feature additions, but the Duster remained the same mechanically with no new generation in sight. This slowly caused a decline in sales as the Indian customer had become much more educated about the international automotive industry as well and everyone eventually knew that we were not going to get the new generation of the Duster. Growing competition from the likes of the Creta meant that the Duster was slowly losing ground. 

The final nail in the coffin came in 2020 when the Duster lost its diesel engines and was offered with a sole 1.3L turbo petrol engine, which was neither frugal nor could be called fun to drive. The Duster saw very few sales with this new engine and it was eventually discontinued in 2022.

The Renault Duster AWD in our opinion, is the one to go for. It came with the more powerful diesel engine, had a different suspension setup and was highly capable even with just the all-wheel-drive. People who have gotten the Duster AWD abide by it and there are only a few examples which come on sale and that too very rarely. The AWD system could be operated by using a knob in the centre console and was only available with the top-of-the-line variant. 

The Renault Duster was a fairly reliable machine if kept well. There were a few issues with these vehicles which you should be wary of. Look for rust in the underbody, higher mileage cars might also have a shot suspension, there were injector issues in the diesels, and the clutch might get hard on higher mileage cars, so look for a car which has had its clutch replaced. 

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Prices hover around Rs 5 lakhs for a good low low-mileage duster. The AWD is a little more expensive but in our opinion the one to get. The other petrol engines are not recommended as they have nothing to offer as such and there are much better petrol cars for the same price that you can buy in the used market. 

Renault might come with a totally new generation of the Duster in the Indian market soon, but that is going to be petrol only and might also have a hybrid powertrain. We still have to see if Renault keeps their words or if they will keep on giving India the step-motherly treatment.