Both
cars use hard grades of plastic on their facias and
there are some quality issues in terms of rough edges and ill-fitting panels.
The Ford's polyurethane steering wheel doesn't feel great in your palms,
either.
There
are myriad buttons on the Eco Sport's facia,
borrowing as it does elements from the Fiesta's busy cabin. Renault,
conversely, has avoided an excessive button count by adopting a touchscreen
interface from the Clio. Incidentally the system also includes, as standard,
sat-nav. The one point of criticism of this system is that it is mounted too
low on the facia.
Both
cars feature air-conditioning and electric windows on the front doors. The
Duster ups the Eco Sport in a few areas; it has a height- adjustable driver's
seat (a feature of the slightly more expensive Eco Sport Titanium) and electric
operation of the rear windows. Apart from those and the aforementioned satnav,
there isn't much to choose between them in the specification stakes.
Other manufacturers have certainly
been at the forefront of small engine development, but none has been so elegantly packaged as the award-winning Eco Boost engine
in Ford’s latest range, which now includes the Eco Sport
The
airbag count is an even six for each car, but it is only the Duster that offers
an electronic safety net should matters get away from
the driver.
Space
Aplenty
Both
cars will suit a young family thanks to space aplenty for occupants and
luggage. Owing to the height-adjustable driver's seat, the Renault can be
tailored, for the driver anyway, to feel as though there is lots of headroom. Passengers front and rear have enough shoulder- and legroom
in the Duster.
The
Ford's passenger compartment does not feel as wide as the Renault's, but it
does have more knee room (which admittedly comes at the expense of luggage
room).
Speaking
of which, the 280 dm3 of the Eco Sport - which is markedly larger than that of a Golf- is beaten by the 296 dm3 of the Duster, an advantage
which the French car maintains when it comes to utility space (1 128versus 928
dm3).
There is little engine noise on the
Duster 1.5 DCI Dynamique, and you only realize that
it is a diesel when it is idling
Ford
has chosen to utilize a side-opening rear door rather than a traditional
top-hinged hatch. This means that you have to be mindful when parking. Reverse
too close to a wall and you may not be able to swing the door open far enough
to access the boot due to the rear-slung spare.
Under
The Bonnet
With
an eco- slant in mind, we opted to test two diesel derivatives in the
respective ranges. Both are small-capacity, four-cylinder, turbocharged units.
The comparatively more refined motor in the Ford produces 66 kWand 205 Nm. The Renault's slightly more vocal engine
develops 80 kW and 240 Nm of maximum torque.
Despite
the Duster's six-speed transmission versus the five ratios of the Eco Sport, it
is the Ford that feels sprightlier. You do need to
use all six ratios to keep the Renault on the boil.
You would be forgiven for thinking
that the Eco Sport 1.5 TDCI was bound to be lazy
However,
when facing up against our VBOX timing equipment, there was very little to
separate the two. The Duster's extra power and torque were offset by a mass
penalty of 132 kg.
Even
under braking, the results were near identical. Both cars stopped in a fraction
over three seconds. During the arduous 10-stop routine, performances were
consistent, with little sign of fade.
