Two of the most popular SUVs plying on Indian roads presently are the massively successful Renault Duster and the home-grown Mahindra XUV500. These two vehicles have been trying to eat into each others’ market shares ever since their launch.
The Renault Duster offers its buyers the option of selecting from 3 different engines – a 1.6 litre, 4 cylinder petrol engine that produces a maximum power output of 102.5 bhp; a 1.5 litre, 4 cylinder diesel engine that puts out 84 bhp of power and a 1.5 litre, 4 cylinder diesel engine that develops a peak power figure of 108.5 bhp. Transmission for the petrol and the 84 bhp diesel variants are done by a 5 speed manual gearbox and for the 108.5 bhp diesel, shifting is taken care of by a 6 speed manual gearbox.
The interiors of the Duster generally feel quite solid. The quality of some plastics are not that great but overall, the fit and finish inside this car is good. The Duster gets features like a satellite navigation system, an audio system with touchscreen controls, rear air conditioning vents and a 475 litre boot that can be enlarged to 1064 litres by folding down the rear seats. Some ergonomics of this car are not very well thought out like the air conditioning vents that are a bit out of reach and audio controls on the steering wheel that are pretty much hidden.
The Mahindra XUV500 does not have choices in the engine department. No matter which variant you buy, you will get Mahindra’s mHawk 2.2 litre, 4 cylinder diesel engine. This is a pretty good engine and it has a maximum power output of 140 bhp. The power is harnessed by a 6 speed manual transmission. The XUV500 finishes the 0-100 kph sprint in 12.34 seconds, not bad at all for a car of this size. Despite this level of performance, this SUV has the highest fuel economy figure in its segment.
The party piece of the XUV500 is its feature list. For a car of its segment and price, it is absolutely packed to hilt with all sorts of gadgetry. The car comes equipped with steering mounted controls, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, a touchscreen that displays navigation and also works as a DVD player, aux-in and USB connectivity, parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring and cruise control. Seating is also extremely comfortable in all rows. However, you get luggage space only if you fold down some seats and that’s tricky if there are a lot of people travelling on a long journey.
The Renault Duster price in Mumbai ranges from INR 8.2 lakhs for the base petrol variant to INR 12.5 lakhs for the top end diesel version. The Mahindra XUV500 price in Mumbai starts at just under INR 11.5 lakhs for the front wheel drive W4 version and goes up to INR 15.5 lakhs for the top end, all wheel drive W8 variant. All prices mentioned here are ex-showroom, Mumbai.
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