[Manos Vatzolas]

Hello to your great gang! My name is Manos and I live in Greece.

I used to ride a Daihatsu Terios 2 and I was quite happy with its off road capabilities, yet I did at points find that it lacks a low ratio. I now want to buy a new 4x4 but with the insane road and luxury tax in my country, I can't even go near anything bigger than 2.0L. Unfortunately all new small 4x4 offer fairly soft off road capabilities and are more in favour of on road comfort.

As I am more interested in the off road capabilities of my pittential vehicle, I need your lights as Renegade owners.

My budget can buy me from a New Duster to a Reny AWD (not the trailhawk unfortunately) and I need to understand which is more capable off road. I presume that the Reny is better on road, so it's 4x4 capabilities is what I like to compare with the Duster and not its more luxurious inside or on road ride qualities. I don't care about status tbh, so I could live with a Dacia if better off road (and also save me some cash). I see that the Duster has better in/out angles and it has a great ground distance, but how about its AWD system when compared to the Reny?

My off road needs vary from average+ difficulty dry rides to flat but very muddy rides. I am an amateur wildlife photographer, so I tend to go to wetlands and through very muddy field roads during the winter. Unfortunately I cannot afford the trailhawk, so it has to either be the Reny 1.4 petrol automatic (no 1.4 M/T available in GR) or 2.0 diesel manual VS the New Duster 1.5 petrol diesel. Unless there is anything else as capable at this budget which I doubt there is.

Can I have your lights please?

 

[Nev]

The Duster's 4WD system is basic, with no clever programs for different surfaces or conditions.

The only "feature" it has is a lower than normal 1st gear.

It is a solid, cheap car based on previous Renault Clio.

I looked at the Duster. What put me off was lack of power when driving on fast highways.


Note: Manual Renegades do not have ActiveDrive Lo or Hill Decent Control.


The Suzuki Jimny is better off road but a horrible dog on the highway. And very small.

 

[Manos Vatzolas]

The Duster's 4WD system is basic, with no clever programs for different surfaces or conditions.

The only "feature" it has is a lower than normal 1st gear.

It is a solid, cheap car based on previous Renault Clio.

I looked at the Duster. What put me off was lack of power when driving on fast highways.


Note: Manual Renegades do not have ActiveDrive Lo or Hill Decent Control.


The Suzuki Jimny is better off road but a horrible dog on the highway. And very small.

Yes the Jimny is a star out of the road but it is indeed terrible on road, so I don't think I would easily go for it.

The Duster has better approach / departure angles from the normal AWD Reny and I believe this can be counted as an important off road pro.

I wander how much more real off road capabilities the clever programs give to the Reny in reality vs the lock mode of the duster with its shorter first 2 gears. Which is actually my main question in this post.

Another issue is that we don't get the 1.4 AWD petrol manual in Greece but only on automatic. Does the automatic also convert to serial or is it just automatic? I wander how competent it is with an A/T.

The only manual Reny AWD choice in Greece is the 2.0 diesel (which is also subject to luxury tax in Greece and EU is preparing a ban in city centres for diesels if not a green tax). I also wander how much different the behaviour of the car is with the 1.4 petrol A/T vs the 2.0 diesel. I presume that the diesel is more confident and offers more torque?

 

[Nev]

Same here.

Apart from the 170BHP 1.4 petrol automatic, all other petrols are 2WD so not worth looking at. (They have less ground clearance too.)

The only capable manual AWD in Europe is the 2.0 diesel.

I have the 140BHP but the 120BHP I test drove was okay too.
They both have plenty of torque.
I find mine good on mountain roads.

 

[Nev]

Concerning the AWD programs I think they are okay and better than the AWD
systems in standard crossovers like Nissan Rogue etc.


However I just don't think they are as good as Land Rovers' Terrain Response,
which disappointed me a bit for a JEEP.

Not bad. Just missing stuff. Especially if you don't have the ActiveDriveLo.
No hill decent control on the manual? Why?!

And stupid things like switching back to auto mode when you switch off the engine.
If I switch off in Snow Mode, I want the car to restart in Snow Mode!!!!

 

[xMaTx]

Hi compatriot,

i also faced the same question with you when back in september i was searching for a 4x4 vehicle. Being a geologist i needed something that can drive safely on the highway (so no suzuki Jimny or lada Niva, they are death traps), but also cope well with most off road scenarios. The last 3 cars remaining in my list where the Renegade, the subaru xv and the dacia duster. The subaru went off early on, being offered with a 5 speed MT (in 2018 i find that unacceptable). What won me over to the renegade is the sheer torque and power of the 2.0 Multijet which come in VERY handy if you face some steep sand hills. If you want go to the extra mile, and fit the renny with A/T it will trully be unstopable. It's only drawbacks in my opinion is the lack of android auto compatibility and that clutch starts to smell fairly easily. But it never let me down, it saved my ass a few times when i drove in muddy tracks and could easily fall down a cliff and i never got anywhere stuck. The 4x4 system is fairly capable and granted that the driver is not a complete tool, it will go almost anywhere even without a crawl gear. Real life consumption for me is 6.2l/100km with summer tyres and 6.3l/100km with winter tyres with 60/40 urban/city driving. Feel free to ask any questions, i will gladly try to answer them the best i can

 

[BU1tj2]

The Duster's 4WD system is basic, with no clever programs for different surfaces or conditions.

The Suzuki Jimny is better off road but a horrible dog on the highway. And very small.

I agree with you.
If he has access for the Suzuki, it is better than the non-TH Renegade.
He mentioned about lo-gear ratio, renegade does not have one.

However if he is into electronics, by all means, Renegade it is.

 

[Manos Vatzolas]

Thanks for your replies guys!

@xMa Tx nice to be-meet you! I also live in Thessaloniki. My main concern is the approach / departure angles of the Reny vs the Duster. Unfortunately I have missed two lightly used trailhawks by the time I found someone to want to by my car...

 

[xMaTx]

Thanks for your replies guys!

@xMa Tx nice to be-meet you! I also live in Thessaloniki. My main concern is the approach / departure angles of the Reny vs the Duster. Unfortunately I have missed two lightly used trailhawks by the time I found someone to want to by my car...

the dealer of eastern Thessaloniki on the way to the airport told me that you can change the front and rear bumpers of the longtitude model with the trailhawk model, so if that's your only concern then your problem is solved

 

[Manos Vatzolas]

Thanks for your replies guys!

@xMa Tx nice to be-meet you! I also live in Thessaloniki. My main concern is the approach / departure angles of the Reny vs the Duster. Unfortunately I have missed two lightly used trailhawks by the time I found someone to want to by my car...

Thanks for your replies guys!

@xMa Tx nice to be-meet you! I also live in Thessaloniki. My main concern is the approach / departure angles of the Reny vs the Duster. Unfortunately I have missed two lightly used trailhawks by the time I found someone to want to by my car...

the dealer of eastern Thessaloniki on the way to the airport told me that you can change the front and rear bumpers of the longtitude model with the trailhawk model, so if that's your only concern then your problem is solved

Any idea of the cost for this?

 

[BU1tj2]

Any idea of the cost for this?

Don't go to that route.
You already said you can not afford TH. That added cost, you might want to go straight to TH model.

 

[xMaTx]

Any idea of the cost for this?

No idea but being Greece you have the option to haggle i.e. tell him that if you buy a new renegade you expect a generous discount on the bumpers because without them you are not interested in the vehicle. My dealer was called Eleftheriou (don't recall his name) and i was very pleased with him, i got a free rear view camera installed along with discounts on rubber mats and a full size spare wheel plus repair kit.

 

[xMaTx]

Don't go to that route.
You already said you can not afford TH. That added cost, you might want to go straight to TH model.

it's not that simple in Greece. the TH model costs almost 10k more than the longtitude, while a bumper replacement won't go anywhere near that

 

[Manos Vatzolas]

Any idea of the cost for this?

Don't go to that route.
You already said you can not afford TH. That added cost, you might want to go straight to TH model.

I actually said that I can't afford it ?. It is nearly 10K extra in GR.

 

[Manos Vatzolas]

Any idea of the cost for this?

No idea but being Greece you have the option to haggle i.e. tell him that if you buy a new renegade you expect a generous discount on the bumpers because without them you are not interested in the vehicle. My dealer was called Eleftheriou (don't recall his name) and i was very pleased with him, i got a free rear view camera installed along with discounts on rubber mats and a full size spare wheel plus repair kit.

Thanks! Good to know he is flexible ?

 

[Manos Vatzolas]

@xMa Tx do you have the manual or the AT?

Any idea if the AT goes sereal as well or if is it only automatic? My A Class is AT but has a serial option if you want to play around with the gears.

 

[xMaTx]

@xMa Tx do you have the manual or the AT?

Any idea if the AT goes sereal as well or if is it only automatic? My A Class is AT but has a serial option if you want to play around with the gears.

i got the 6-speed manual, hence that i mentioned the clutch issue with the smell. I don't like/trust MT, they give me less control of my vehicle

 

[Nev]

Can you wait for the new Jimny...?

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/first-look/new-suzuki-jimny-baby-g-wagen

 

[BU1tj2]

You said you can not afford the TH Model.

Go for the Suzuki my man for you do not have to modify anything, it is ready as soon as it leaves the lot.
You will be disappointed with the Latitude, most especially if you end up with a transmission problem.
But again, if you want to take the chance, I advise to get the TH Model and put some more cash..

 

[xMaTx]

You said you can not afford the TH Model.

Go for the Suzuki my man for you do not have to modify anything, it is ready as soon as it leaves the lot.
You will be disappointed with the Latitude, most especially if you end up with a transmission problem.
But again, if you want to take the chance, I advise to get the TH Model and put some more cash..

but the suzuki is HORRENDOUS onroad... while the renegade in the latitude trim is a more expensive allrounder