Renault Duster Continues To Impress Us; This Time With A 5-Star Bharat NCAP Score!

Renault’s new Duster has been received in the Indian market with much fanfare, and after a blockbuster launch price of Rs 10.49 lakh (ex-showroom), the SUV has once again gone to impress its fans in the country with a full 5-star rating from Bharat NCAP! Here are all the details:

 

 

 

 

 

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2026 Renault Duster BNCAP: Adult Occupant Protection (AOP)

Score: 30.49 out of 32

In the Frontal Offset Deformable Barrier Test, the Duster showed ‘adequate’ protection for the Driver’s chest, knees and feet with a ‘good’ rating for the head, neck and tibia. Consequently, the passenger dummy showed ‘good’ protection in all areas, earning it 14.49 points out of 16 in this test. 

The SUV also showed ‘good’ protection in the Side Deformable Barrier Test with a full 16 out of 16 score in this category, and also passed easily in the Side Pole Impact Test with ‘good’ protection for the dummy. 

2026 Renault Duster BNCAP: Child Occupant Protection (COP)

Score: 45 out of 49 points

Coming to Child Occupant Protection (COP), the Duster’s streak continued with a full 24 out of 24 points in the Dynamic Score category and 12 out of 12 points in the CRS Installation tests. In the Vehicle Assessment category as well, it scored a high 9 points out of 13. 

All these together brought out the total COP score to be rated at 45 out of 49, which is identical to the new Kia Seltos and marginally better than the Tata Sierra, both of which are arch rivals of the Duster.

2026 Renault Duster: Safety Features

Renault has equipped the Duster with a slew of safety features such as 6 airbags, a Level 2 ADAS suite, electronic stability control, 360-degree camera, hill hold assist, electronic parking brake with auto-hold, front and rear parking sensors and all-wheel disc brakes.

2026 Renault Duster: Price And Rivals

Renault retails the Duster in the range of Rs 10.49 lakh to Rs 18.49 lakh (ex-showroom). It rivals cars like the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara and Victoris, Tata Sierra, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Honda Elevate, MG Astor, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, Citroen Aircross and the upcoming Nissan Tekton.

ZigSays…

The new Duster is truly back, and it has become stronger and safer with its evolution. These safety results are certainly a step in the right direction by Renault, and due credit is to be given to the new R-GMP platform that has been heavily localised for India! Now that the Duster joins the bandwagon of other rivals like the Seltos, Sierra, Kushaq, Taigun and even the Victoris, all of which have impressive safety scores, it remains to be seen which compact SUV will ultimately take away the crown!

What do you think of the Duster's BNCAP scores? Let us know in the comments below!