The updated SUV lands in an already overpopulated segment and would have to go big on performance and light on the wallet to attract customers. Here is the on-paper performance and price comparison of Renault’s Duster in turbo avatar against the rivals:
Performance:
Renault Duster: The 2020 Duster with the 1.3L Turbo Petrol engine delivers 156PS at 5500 rpm and 254 Nm at 1600 rpm. It is matched with a 6-speed manual option or X-Tronic CVT.
Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos
The Hyundai Creta shares its BS6 engines with the Kia Seltos — a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol that produces 115PS and 144Nm, a 1.5-litre diesel that produces 115PS and 250Nm, and a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol producing 140PS and 242Nm.
For Hyundai, a 7-speed DCT does the transmission duties while Kia Seltos gets a 6-speed manual along with DCT.
Nissan Kicks:
Nissan Kicks and Renault Duster share the same 1.3-litre engine, power rated at 155PS and 254Nm. The Kicks is available in both manual and CVT options.
Price:
Renault Duster:
The all-new Duster turbo petrol starts at Rs 10.49 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes up to Rs 13.59 lakh (ex-showroom). The Renault Duster turbo petrol variant will be available in three manual trims- RXE, RXS and RXZ and two CVT trims – RXS and RXZ.
Renault also offers the option of the existing 1.5L Petrol engine, which starts at Rs 8.59 lakh (ex-showroom).
Hyundai Creta:
The Creta is sold in five variants: E, EX, S, SX, and SX(O). It is priced between Rs 9.99 lakh and Rs 17.2 lakh (ex-showroom). The turbo Creta is priced at Rs 16.16 lakh (ex-showroom).
Kia Seltos:
Kia Motors offers the Seltos in two variants – Tech Line and GT Line. The Tech Line is available in five trims – HTE, HTK, HTK+, HTX, and HTX+ are priced between Rs 9.89 lakh and Rs 17.34 lakh (ex-showroom).The 1.4-litre GTX trims are priced between Rs 15.54 lakh – 17.29 lakh (ex-showroom).
Nissan Kicks:
The Kicks is available in four variants: XL, XV, XV Premium, and XV Premium(O). It is priced between Rs 9.49 lakh and Rs 14.15 lakh (ex-showroom). The turbo trim starts at Rs 11.85 lakh (ex-showroom).
Renault Duster and Nissan Kicks sit on top in terms of power and are friendlier to pocket. However, as a whole, Hyundai and Kia provide better-packaged SUVs with greater sales and service network.
