Renault launches new Duster with BS6-compliant petrol engine at ₹8.49 lakh

Renault has launched a BS6 compliant petrol version of the Duster and has given up the 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine. The new Duster comes with a new 4-cylinder in-line 1.5-litre petrol engine that puts out 106PS of power at 5600 RPM and 142Nm of torque.

The new petrol engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. So far, the company hasn’t unveiled any automatic transmission for the sub-compact SUV. It also misses out on an all-wheel drive transmission. The new Duster is front-wheel drive.

The new Duster is currently available in three variants. The base variant starts at ₹8.49 lakh(ex-showroom Delhi). When compared to the outgoing BS4 model, the base variant of the new Duster is ₹50,000 dearer. The second variant, RXS is priced at ₹9.29 lakh (ex-showroom) and costs ₹10,000 more than the its BS4 counterpart. The range-topping variant, RXZ is priced at ₹9.99 lakh.

In terms of safety, the car gets Anti-Lock Breaking System (ABS), Electronic Break Distribution (EBD) with break assist (BA). The car also gets a rapid deceleration warning, driver and passenger airbags, engine immobiliser, driver & passenger seatbelt reminder and reverse parking sensors.

At the Auto Expo 2020, Renault India had revealed a Duster running on a 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The company has not yet revealed the price details of the turbo-charged variant.

The car will be competing against the likes of the new Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Brezza and Tata Nexon. Maruti Suzuki also debuted a new BS6 compliant 1.5-litre petrol engine last month. The car manufacturer stopped the production of diesel engines in view of the stringent BS6 emission norms. Hyundai India, however, is aiming at launching new cars with BS6-compliant diesel engines to fill the void in the diesel market.