[flickr size=”center” float=”medium”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/motorbeam/24116588028/[/flickr]

The front profile is dominated by the thick chrome grille and the dual-tone bumper

But looks is just one part of it, there is so much more to a car. Let’s start with the AMT gearbox first. Renault needed to launch an autobox with the Duster after seeing that the Hyundai Creta AT was doing exceptionally well. In fact, Hyundai was selling more automatics than they had anticipated. While Renault has a DCT (globally available) at their disposal, they decided to go with the AMT for costs’ sake. The AMT transmission by nature has considerable lag and that is why enthusiasts don’t prefer these. However, the Duster was much better than we thought. The high torque of 248 Nm and 110 PS of power from the diesel motor makes it much more drivable even though there is a fair bit of lag. This car is better than any of the other AMTs out there but you have to plan your overtakes as you don’t want the gearbox to shift into the deadzone in the middle of an overtake. One does get used to this after a while and it’s quite effortless thereon.