Renault Duster returns to a much tougher mid-size SUV battlefield

Comeback SUV faces entrenched leaders, new technology and rising expectations

- AKBAR MERCHANT

THE DUSTER WILL be back on March 17 when Renault relaunches the model that once helped define India's mid-size SUV market - a segment that today is larger, richer and far more crowded than when the original arrived more than a decade ago. If the earlier Duster built the road, the new one must now navigate traffic.

Much has changed since the first-generation model became a runaway success.

The mid-size SUV category remains one of the most important segments in India's passenger vehicle market, even after the explosion of smaller SUVs. According to data from JATO Dynamics, mid-size SUVs accounted for 42.7% of the SUV market in 2020 before slipping to 37.8% in 2021 as compact SUVS surged in popularity.

The segment has since regained ground and by the end of 2025 accounted for roughly 42.4% of the SUV market. Rising incomes, higher aspirations and the growing preference for larger vehicles have pushed the segment back into the spotlight, turning it into one of the fiercest battlegrounds for carmakers. For Renault, that means the Duster is returning to a market that has grown but one where customer expectations have grown even faster.