Renault’s claims have come true as the new Renault Duster has scored a full 5-star rating in Bharat NCAP safety test. With a 5-star rating for both adult occupants and child occupants, the Duster has become one of the safest cars in India. Here is a detailed explanation of how well the Duster performed in Bharat NCAP car crash worthiness test.
Renault Duster: Adult Occupant Protection
31.14 out of 32 in AOP
In the frontal offset deformable barrier test, the Renault Duster scored ‘good’ remarks, offering protection to the driver’s and co-driver’s head, neck, pelvis and thighs. While the co-driver’s chest and tibia were offered good protection, the protection offered to the driver’s chest and tibia was rated ‘adequate.’ The French SUV scored 14.49 out of 16 points in the frontal offset deformable barrier test. In the side movable deformable barrier test, the Renault Duster beat every other car in India by scoring 16 out of 16 points. Meanwhile, the Renault Duster was rated ‘OK’ in the side pole impact test.
Renault Duster: Child Occupant Protection
45 out of 49 in COP
In the child occupant protection (COP) test, the Renault Duster scored a total of 45 points out of 49 points, beating the Tata Sierra. In the test, dummies of an 18-month-old baby and a 3-year-old baby were installed, facing the rearward direction. With both dummies, the Renault Duster scored 24 out of 24 points, including the frontal and side protection dynamic scores. Notably, only the outboard seats of the second row are equipped with ISOFIX anchors. Moreover, the Renault Duster earned 12 out of 12 points in CRS (child restraint system), and 9 out of 13 in the vehicle assessment test.
Renault Duster: Platform, Safety Features, and Price
The 2026 India-spec Renault Duster is based on the Renault Global Modular Platform (RGMP). It is a highly flexible and localised architecture, engineered for robust safety, sustainability, and various powertrains, including a strong hybrid set-up. The RGMP is different from the European CMF-B, that bases the Global-Spec Duster, as it is built for Indian road conditions, and with a new-age electronic architecture (SWEET400), it is relatively stronger.
The Renault Duster offers multiple safety features as standard. These include 6 airbags, electronic stability program, hill-hold control, hill-descent control, a tyre-pressure monitoring system, three-point seatbelts for all occupants, and ISOFIX anchorages. All the same, the top-spec Iconic variant of the Duster also offers Level-2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) like adaptive cruise control, collision detection with auto-emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot detection, etc.
The Renault Duster is priced at Rs 10.49 – 18.49 lakh (ex-showroom), and it competes with the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara, Maruti Suzuki Victoris, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, Honda Elevate, Tata Sierra, and MG Astor.
