Renault Duster has recently won the ‘Best SUV of year 2012’ and immensely contributed to the success of raising high the image of the brand especially in India. Launched in July 2012, it is still less than a yr old but by May 2013 it already had crossed above the sales of Mahindra Scorpio and is continuing to lead the race. Let’s compare Duster and Mahindra SUV to conclude which is better. Duster, with the petrol RxE 1.6 K4M engine it gives 1598cc of displacement, the engine is 4-cylinder inline providing 104 PS@5850 rpm max power and 145 Nm @3750 rpm max torque. The dimensions of the car are 4315mm x 1822mm x 1695mm with wheelbase of 2673mm. With ground clearance of 205 mm the car is super comfortable at speed breakers! The fuel tank capacity is huge 50l and min turning radius of 5.2 m. The brakes are very powerful because of the hydraulically operated diagonal split dual circuit braking; the front brakes are ventilated disc type and rear are drum type. The steering is hydraulic powered with tilt steering option giving a smooth steering experience. And the interiors have black upholstery and with the keyless entry things have become highly technological. The car is hugely spacious and with the foldable rear seats there is bulk space for luggage. The diesel version gives mileage of 20.45 kpl. A number of accessories starting from the carpet mats, seat cover, jump seat, etc. always keep you excited about travelling in this wonderful creation! And when you get all this at Rs. 8.02 lacs it is indeed scandalously affordable!! Mahindra XUV500 comes with mHawk140, direct injection diesel engine 5th gen Variable Geometry Turbo charger (VGT) with displacement of 2179cc, greater than Duster by 581cc. It churns 140 Bhp@3750rpm and produces max torque of 330Nm@1600-2800 rpm. The size is greater than Duster in all parameters; it has dimensions 4585mm x1890mm x1785mm with wheelbase of 2700mm, thus it offers seating capacity for 7 persons, on the other side Duster being smaller is easy to manoeuvre in the city. It offers ground clearance of 200mm which is less than Duster by 5mm and fuel tank capacity of 70l that is greater by 20l than Duster. Turning radius is 5.6m and top speed of 175kmph. The main deciding factor is the mileage, the petrol version of Duster gives 10-12kpl while Mahindra XUV gives 15kpl and here’s where Mahindra defeats Renault. 50,000 XUV500s have been sold in 16 months after the launch! It has won many prestigious awards in 2011-2012 including the ‘desert storm valley’ which is the toughest rally in India. The new XUV is inspired from the wild cheetah in terms of looks and speed and price starts from Rs. 12 lacs. The car has been tested on the roughest terrain of Ladakh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and other places and people have given good response. The experts took the test drive of both the cars through crowdy roads of Mumbai and later on the Mumbai-Pune expressway and they found that XUV was a bit of overkills with showy features, but it hardly matters. Well it’s the choice between Renault’s lesser price and XUV’s better mileage. Now the ball’s in your court!
