Why I decided to retain my Duster AWD amidst new competitive alternates

Is there another car from the same segment that will provide so many things in the same package?

BHPian Samba recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My Duster turns 5 with 69,300 km on the Odo.

This year was the time to make some critical decisions as to whether to retain the Duster or to sell it off. The best time for selling it would have been in February, just after returning from the Winter Spiti trip. But the way the Duster performed during the trip, it was very difficult to let the car go!

This August, the 5-year road tax, insurance, and the 70,000 km service – were due, plus the car would go out of warranty.

So I was in two minds, whether to spend this amount on the Duster or to go for a new car after all.

We decided to retain the Duster and ended up spending around Rs 97,000 on all these.

5 years road tax – Rs 71,000
Insurance – Rs 15,500 (B2B, thanks to Bhpian Sayata)
70,000 km service – Rs 10,500
My reason for retaining the Duster is a story to tell.
The hunt for a new car began in Oct 2022.

Cars considered

Toyota Hyryder AWD

Checked the Hyryder AWD. But I couldn’t justify paying Rs 20L for a car which will have better features than the Duster but will be a downgrade in terms of engine specs and capability. I am not even bothered about some of the features.

ScorpioN 4×4

Then we checked out the ScorpioN 4X4, and I was impressed with the car. But thinking about the future of diesels, and the DPF issues related to all the BS6 diesel cars, I let it go.

Mahindra Thar Petrol

After the ScorpioN, I checked out the petrol Thar. I absolutely loved this car. Diesel was not a consideration since I wanted to stay away from a BS6 diesel. Nevertheless, after some quick math, I let it go too.

For a 5,000 km road trip to the hills, considering the mileage to be 8-9km/L, the fuel cost was adding up to roughly Rs 65,000. For the same distance, my Duster will require fuel worth Rs 32,000 considering a mileage of 15-16 km/L. For every 5,000 km, I have to roughly pay Rs 30,000 more for my fuel bills!

On top of this, the rear seat of the Thar is uncomfortable for long drives. Plus, the boot space is too little to carry luggage for a 15-day road trip.

Maruti Jimny

There was nothing to dislike in the Jimny. Reliable, old-school Maruti, globally recognised, returns a decent mileage too. Everything was in its favour. A couple of things which I didn’t like about the Jimny – firstly, was its rear seat. It won’t be a comfortable place for my parents to travel 500 km+ in a day, & this car will lack the punch that the Duster provides on the highway. Though I prefer cruising between 90-110km/hr, still the short high-speed sprints will be missed!

But this car will always be in my consideration.

Heart says Thar, mind says Jimny!

There is news that Renault may relaunch the Duster again with the 1.3L turbo and AWD. If Renault really launches this, and prices it correctly, will definitely consider this in the future.

As of now, my Duster has been running without any trouble for the past few years. After the initial niggles got ironed out, it is slowly proving to be reliable.

No car currently will give me this combo- Economical diesel, decently powerful, fun to drive on the highways, can off-road pretty well, damn comfortable with a decent amount of space. Plus there are no issues with spare parts availability. The only flip side is, that the maintenance cost of this car is on the higher side when compared to the other cars from the same segment. But again is there another car from the same segment that will provide so many things in the same package?

Plus, whenever I thought of selling the Duster, Sukanya aka Bhpian DogNDamsel12 was hell-bent on retaining this car. She went to the extent, that she will buy this car from me, but I can’t sell it to anyone else.

So after spending a few months looking for a new car, I ended up retaining my 5-year-old car! So the Duster stays…!