Renault is preparing to add a strong-hybrid option to the Renault Duster Hybrid in India on October 17, giving the midsize SUV a third powertrain alongside its existing 1.0-litre and 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engines. The new version will use Renault’s E-Tech hybrid system, a setup the company says draws on its Formula 1 experience.
The arrival of the hybrid will also put the Duster into a relatively small group of midsize SUVs in India offering strong-hybrid technology. Its direct competition will include the strong-hybrid versions of the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Maruti Suzuki Victoris and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder.
Renault Duster hybrid gets 1.8-litre petrol engine, two electric motors
At the centre of the new Duster is a naturally aspirated 1,789cc four-cylinder petrol engine working with two electric motors.
One of those is a 20hp motor that operates as a generator, while a separate 49hp motor drives the wheels. Renault’s hybrid system produces a combined 160hp and 172Nm and is paired with a 1.4kWh battery pack.
That battery capacity is one of the more interesting details of the package. The Duster’s 1.4kWh unit is larger than the 0.60kWh battery cited for Toyota’s full-hybrid system used in models such as the Hyryder, Grand Vitara and Victoris.
The difference is not limited to battery size.
Duster E-Tech transmission takes a different route from Toyota hybrids
Renault’s E-Tech system combines the petrol engine, electric drive and battery with a multi-mode automatic transmission.
Unlike Toyota’s full-hybrid arrangement, which uses an e-CVT with a power-split device, Renault’s transmission operates with fixed gear ratios and can shift between them. In practice, this should give the Duster a more conventional sense of engine revs rising and falling through the transmission rather than the largely step-free behaviour associated with an e-CVT.
The system can move between electric propulsion, engine power and a combination of the two depending on driving conditions.
That mechanical distinction could become one of the defining characteristics of the Duster hybrid, particularly as buyers begin comparing it with the established Toyota-Maruti strong-hybrid offerings.
Renault claims up to 80 percent of city driving can happen in EV mode
Like other full hybrids, the Duster is designed to make greater use of electric propulsion at lower speeds, recover energy through regenerative braking and shut down the petrol engine when it is not required.
Renault claims the system can allow as much as 80 percent of city driving to take place in EV mode. The figure is a manufacturer claim, and actual fuel consumption will vary with factors including traffic, vehicle speed, ambient temperature and driving style.
The hybrid therefore adds a substantially different proposition to the Duster range rather than simply another variation of its existing turbo-petrol formula.
Strong hybrid expands the Duster range in the absence of a diesel
The new powertrain will become the third engine option available with the Duster in India.
The existing range includes 1.0-litre and 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engines, while the strong hybrid introduces an electrified alternative at a time when the new Duster does not offer a diesel engine. The hybrid is expected to help address that gap for buyers looking for greater fuel efficiency.
Once launched, the Duster will become the fourth model in its midsize SUV segment to offer a strong-hybrid powertrain, according to the information available ahead of its October 17 introduction.
For Renault, the addition is significant because it gives the Duster three distinctly different petrol-based powertrain choices. For buyers, the more important question will be how the E-Tech system’s larger battery, fixed-ratio transmission and electric-first city operation translate into everyday driving.
Those answers should become clearer when the Renault Duster hybrid officially arrives in India on October 17.
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