Renault Duster test drive since 2012 SUV

Great Wall Hover H5 VS Renault Duster. Time is money…

When the potential buyer Renault Duster finds out that he will have to wait for almost two years, he involuntarily wonders: what else can be purchased for similar money with a much less waiting period, or even on the day of circulation?
In our opinion, the Great Wall Hover H5 can become such an alternative.
Renault Duster 2.0 MT. Price: 681 000 p. On sale: since 2012
Great Wall Hover N5 2.4 MT. Price: 748 000 p. On sale: since 2011
Oleg Kalaushin, a journalist, 42 years old, driving 23 years, travels to Renault Logan.
Indeed, if you consider Duster in the maximum configuration and with all kinds of dealerships, its price is practically equal to the amount that needs to be laid out for Hover H5 with similar options. Plus, you will become the owner of this SUV, not a crossover. However, is everything so simple? We’ll figure it out at the same time, the more so that we have such an opportunity.
Here they are, handsome. One so desired for many and, alas, inaccessible in the near future due to obvious errors in marketing policy. The second is much more real, but with the brand Made in China. And let this SUV now release this SUV, all one inscription this inscription will be associated with us for a long time as a stigma, and not a quality mark. However, in fairness I would like to remember that fifteen years ago, our consumer had exactly the same attitude to Korean cars ... But we were distracted.
 
So, Duster. You can’t say anything, a good devil. Okay is hidden, sewn tightly. Moreover, no matter what side, the car looks very proportional. A sort of serpent. With such as they say, it’s not scary and the wall to go to the wall. Hover is less impudent. Giving this SUV a more urban look, the designers provided him with a bear’s service. The front rounded part dissonates with a rectangular profile and chopped traits of the Zake. In this regard, the holistic image does not develop. However, this opinion is more subjective. So, it's time to move on to objective factors that may indicate either for or against this car in the light of consideration as a financial and temporal alternative to Duster.

The trunk is quite spacious
To begin with, Hover is much larger than the Frenchman in length. And if in the passenger part of the salon this is not particularly noticeable, then, having thrown back the fifth door, you understand that the trunk is much larger here. The numbers are also talking about this. Therefore, if you first need to be taken, and not go, then Hover definitely wins here. In addition, with the backs of the rear seats folded, the floor here is more even due to the fact that the seats are also leaning back. Duster can only drop the backs. By the way, due to the fact that the Hover body rests on the frame, and the rear overhang is quite large, the spare wheel hangs from below, and the long-wheel drive Duster lies in the trunk and its volume is quite seriously eating. (In modifications with the front -wheel drive, the reserve hangs from below, due to which the trunk becomes much more spacious.)

The modern crossover can no longer do without such an attribute
Since it came to the design of the body, it is worth noting another parameter, which may be in one way or another affect the choice of a car. The fact is that with a frame design, the floor level in cars is much higher than their brothers with a supporting body. In this regard, it will have to get used to landing in Hover. The seats regarding the floor level are quite low, and the process of landing in the car causes some inconvenience. There are no such problems with Duster: what is called, standing in, standing. Unless when planting, you have to put the leg much further than usual, so as not to stain the calves on the threshold.

Contrary to fears, the windows control unit does not at all interfere with the driver's leg
Considering Hover as an alternative to Duster, any involuntarily will ask the question of the ergonomics of these cars. Let's just say that neither one nor the other has obvious miscalculations. In any case, when transplanting from one car to another (and during the test it was more than a dozen times) there were no problems with the settings of the car for itself, and everything was just the first time, so that in this regard the car was very similar. Even the light control of both on the steering wheel. It is similar in cars and smell: it smells the same skin, and, by the way, there is no notorious Chinese fragrance in the Hover salon.
Being quite close in price, close cars and power are close. So, Duster with its two liters has 135 liters. p., Hover, but it can boast of 136, though its engine volume is 2.4 liters, which is very well affected by the torque: it is higher for the Chinese and is available in a widest range of crankshaft revolutions. Hover, due to the presence of a frame and large dimensions, much harder than Duster, but this does not prevent him from possessing almost similar dynamic characteristics. Tell me, can you determine the difference of 0.6 seconds by eye? So we did not really feel. Although it should be noted that Hover acceleration is more strained. Apparently, insufficient sound insulation affects.
Duster is undoubtedly better on the road. An independent suspension, a rather adequate steering wheel amplifier all this allows you to control the car on the highway without much difficulty. Hover is less adapted to dynamic driving. The steering wheel is practically devoid of feedback, the torsion front and spring rear with an unreasonable bridge of the suspension of speed on speed, especially in corners, are also not added. But if you do not demand from the car more than what it can, and keep in the mind the design features that cannot but affect the behavior of Hover, you can move quite comfortably on it.
 
Aiming at all -wheel drive, the future owner of the car somehow plans to operate it outside of public roads. So, we simply could not check these machines in such conditions. As expected, Duster felt well on the countryside. Short front and rear overhang allowed him briskly rush along the wavy path. The energy -intensive suspension easily coped with serious irregularities, shock absorbers quickly extinguished resonant fluctuations in the body, and the steering allowed even under such conditions to clearly register the intended trajectory. Hover is more inert in this regard. A rather heavy body, dancing in a wave, now and then had to be caught by brakes, so as not to fit a belly on the next tubercle. But there was a significant plus. A longer -flow suspension made it possible to rely on the surface with all four wheels, while Duster in this position already hung in the air in two wheels. Hover felt more confident in the slope. The presence of a lowering row in the transmission made it possible to climb without problems where Duster could only fly from acceleration, and even then not the first time. And although the latter’s cut first gear is designed to play the role of a lowering, all one with a full handful box with a decreasing nearby cannot be compared.

Rear view camera pleasant addition to the audio system
So what is the end? And in the end, the following. At an equal price, these cars have no equal opportunities at all, which means, choosing a car for yourself, you need to clearly understand what you want from it. Only after that you can make a decision in favor of money or time.

The reduction row in the transmission is a very useful thing on off -road

The trunk is much larger than Duster
 
renault Duster 681 000 p.
Driving
An independent suspension and a painful motor allow you to quite cheerfully ride both around the city and on a country highway. Outside of the road, of course, there is not enough lowering.
Salon
Not great, but not small, and the trunk is quite sufficient.
Comfort
Good soundproofing, and the suspension is very good.
Safety
Four airbags and ABS.
Price
At this price, it is difficult to find a real competitor.

Great Wall Hover N5 748 000 p.
Driving
A certain inertia is felt on the highway, and it is quite very good in the bends quite strongly in turns.
Salon
It is quite spacious and quite modern. The large amount of trunk is also pleasing.
Comfort
Noise insulation could be more serious.
Safety
Two airbags and ABS.
Price
Pretty attractive.
Verdict
Renault Duster is undoubtedly good, especially if you turn to the price of the car. However, no less interesting and quite attractive in price is Great Wall Hover N5. When making a choice in favor of one or another car, you need to clearly understand that the first is initially oriented towards the city, and the second on the suburbs. And here it is already worth considering where most of the time you are going to operate, on the highway or far from it.
 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [July 2012]