Top 5 Things We Loved About The Renault Duster Hybrid

The Renault is the third brand to introduce a strong-hybrid powertrain with the Duster in the compact SUV segment. With fuel prices going up and traffic increasing, hybrid is turning out to be among the more practical powertrain options in the current Indian driving conditions. When the Duster was launched earlier this year, it impressed us with its drivability and ride and handling. However, the Duster Hybrid further improves on a few of its strengths and gets better in some of its weaknesses in the ICE version. Here is our list of the top 5 things we loved about driving the Renault Duster Hybrid:

Swift Response!

One of the strengths of hybrid powertrains is the electric motor having instant torque at its disposal. A quick tap on the throttle gives you instant progress to close gaps in the city. This is mostly the experience in the Duster hybrid since it spends most of the time in EV mode while driving around in the city. This is thanks to the 1.4 kWh battery, which is around double the capacity of what the competition offers. 

However, when you need some power, the engine kicks in to give you the rated 160 PS effortlessly. Hence, the overall drivability of the hybrid powertrain is easier thanks to the lack of initial turbo lag in the hybrid, which the ICE versions suffer from. 

Comfort Upgrade As Well

With the hybrid, the Duster gets another hardware upgrade, which is in the suspension technology. It gets something called frequency-dependent damping (FDD) that, on paper, widens the capabilities of the suspension.

The Duster Hybrid’s suspension has indeed gotten softer, soaking rough patches better; however, it still has an underlying bias towards firmness. This makes it among the best-riding compact SUVs in the class. 

Not Only Goes Quick But Also Steers Quick

One of the qualities of a fun-to-drive car is the steering response. Like in the ICE, the steering still feels quick and responsive. On a set of twisties, the Duster’s steering is predictable, and the chassis responds to the inputs well. Among the recent new cars with soft steering, this is among the few in the class to have a sporty feel, which keeps you engaged while driving.

Heading Towards Traffic? No Worries!

The Duster hybrid has a nifty E-Save feature, which helps you plan ahead for electric driving in the near future. When you’re about to head into bumper-to-bumper traffic or towards your colony late at night, you can use the E-Save feature to preserve the battery charge.

And so, the engine need not turn on to charge the battery later. This will save fuel when you’re idling in traffic or keep your car nice and quiet when you’re arriving home late at night. 

Dual-Personality For The Win

This is among the biggest strengths of a hybrid powertrain. If you’re meandering around town, not in a hurry, you can drive the Duster Hybrid in Eco mode to get the best fuel economy. 

On the other hand, if speed is the need of the hour,  you can put the pedal to the metal and get a move on with the electric and petrol motors together, shifting you to the other side of town with not much effort. 

ZigSays…

The Duster Hybrid is the fourth compact SUV in the segment to provide a hybrid powertrain option. However, it is the second type of hybrid, which is quite different from the Toyota-Suzuki drivetrain. Renault’s dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT) takes a different approach to the same solution, resulting in a more natural-feeling and responsive driving experience, also thanks to actual gear ratios that we are used to.

Meanwhile, the Duster Hybrid is priced at Rs 16.99 lakh onwards and tops out at Rs 19.99 lakh (ex-showroom), which is around 1 lakh more than the turbo-petrol DCT variants. However, the catch here is that even the top variant of the hybrid variants loses out on features like a 360-degree camera, LED front fog lamps, auto-dimming inside rear-view mirror (IRVM), and Level-2 ADAS. If these are not among the important features you prioritise, the Duster Hybrid is the driving machine in the compact SUV segment.