Renault Duster Hybrid vs Rivals – G Vitara, Hyryder, Victoris

Renault India has just launched their biggest bet in the Indian market, which is the Duster Hybrid. It is their most ambitious project and was long awaited too. Prices start from Rs 16.99 lakh (Ex-sh) and it takes on other Hybrid rivals in the segment like Hyryder from Toyota along with Victoris and Grand Vitara from Maruti Suzuki.

Renault Duster Hybrid vs Rivals

We have to start with pricing because that is the headline figure as range topping Duster Hybrid starts from Rs 16.99 lakh and Emotion trim tops out at Rs 19.49 lakh (Ex-sh). Only Victoris is more affordable than Duster Hybrid in the lower trims, while Duster Hybrid undercuts all three of its Japanese rivals in higher trims, at least with introductory prices.

Size-wise, Duster Hybrid is second to only Victoris in length, but is significantly wider and taller than rivals, while offering longer wheelbase and a larger boot. It rides on 18-inch wheels, which is an inch larger than rivals and is wrapped with 225-section tyres, which is one size wider than rivals. Ground clearance is higher with Duster too and it is the only one that has SUV proportions for that big daddy appeal.

Hybrid Powertrain

Duster Hybrid’s pricing is sort of bonkers considering it offers a much larger HV battery at 1.4 kWh, which is close to double or more than double than the Japs. Even the engine is larger at 1.8L and it is a proper 4-cylinder engine, unlike the vibe-y 3-cylinder engine rivals offer. The gearbox is more sophisticated with Duster Hybrid as there are two ratios for the motor and 4 ratios for the engine, for a total of 8 combinations.

Claimed performance is striking with Duster Hybrid too as the company claims 0-100 km/h sprint in under 10 seconds. Peak total system power is 158 bhp, which is significantly higher than rivals and the electric motor’s 208 Nm torque is higher by a long shot too. Renault is claiming higher mileage output at 29 km/l, which is higher than rivals, despite the higher performance.

Features & Equipment

To not cross the psychological redline of Rs 20 lakh (Ex-sh), carmakers tend to cut down on features and attributes from Hybrid variants, when compared to their Petrol counterparts. Duster Hybrid is no different. Renault has skimped on auto-dimming IRVM, Level-2 ADAS and 360-degree cameras, for some reason. Grand Vitara and Hyryder Hybrids never came with ADAS, but Victoris Hybrid cuts down on ADAS too.

In terms of infotainment experience, Duster Hybrid is couple of notches above the rivals with its Built-In Google infotainment system, Qi2 standard for wireless charging with magnetic ring and then there is a 10.25-inch TFT cluster which supports full-screen Maps as well. Only Victoris gets TFT cluster among rivals, but it does not support full-screen Maps, which is just a waste of screen real estate.

Duster Hybrid has electric power adjustable seat for both driver and co-driver, but in the Japanese rivals, it is just for driver. Auto climate control is dual zone in Duster Hybrid and it is also the only one to offer automatic rain-sensing wipers, blind spot alerts and exclusive to Hybrid variants, frequency dependent dampers. Only Duster and Victoris offer powered tailgate, while Grand Vitara and Hyryder do not.