Dacia Duster

Renault unveiled today the official images of the new concept Duster Detour. The new concept of the Romanian SUV will be launched at the Auto Show in Johannesburg and marks the debut of the Duster on the South African market.

Duster, the SUV launched under the Dacia brand and developed by the Renault-Nissan corporation, received a concept developed on the facelift version launched this autumn. Basically, the Renault officials will mark the debut on the South African market with Duster Detour concept. The Renault Duster Detour is based on the Duster facelift and shows how a factory tuning can look for the best selling Dacia model. It all starts with a two-tone paint, a set of 18 inch alloy wheels and an aggressive aesthetic package.

The front grille presents a chromed version of the Renault logo and shapes the personality of the model, along with the headlamps that have orange accents. The front bumper presents a set of fog lights, like the ceiling, and the taillights were inspired by those used on the Duster facelift, although the Detour use LED technology. The official description says that the Duster Detour was inspired by a mix between Terminator and Mad Max plus a number of influences from the Dakar style.

The 18-inch wheels give a more aggressive design to the Duster Detour and are fitted with off-road tires, a sign that the Renault engineers did not want to lose the off-road skills with this in-house tuning. The Renault officials didn’t gave any information about a potential serial version of the concept, although all the design elements seem to be almost ready for mass production.

Dacia is preparing for the launch of the new Duster facelift. The Romanian SUV gets its first official advertisement, designed to highlight the different personalities of the model.

The most important premiere at the Dacia stand in the Frankfurt Motor Show was undoubtedly the new Duster facelift. After three years of success in global markets, Duster receives some aesthetic changes on the outside, but completely changes the interior, where there has been a revolution to the generation that you can see on the streets today.

Although the exterior of the new Duster facelift may seem unchanged, there are some design changes: the taillights are easily changed, the Duster name appears on roof bars, the 4WD sticker is restyled and change its position while the new 16” aluminum wheels "dark metal" looking an the “Mud and Snow” tires give a more powerful look to the the Pitesti SUV. The biggest change on the outside are the front lights, which are more elaborate and come with daytime running lights incorporated. A big plus is the new green shade that looks good on the Romanian SUV which will probably be preferred by customers who do not want the classic brown that Duster launched initially.

The interior of the Duster facelift is the part that presents the most novelties, although the quality of the materials has not changed, but the appearance of elements such as Media Nav represented by tactile display in the center console, and a completely changed dashboard design will definitely bring me more customers in the Dacia dealerships. Especially when it seems that Dacia has listened to their customers and finally put the power window controls on the doors.

Another big plus is the new TCe engine, a 1.2 liter unit with 125 HP, proudly displayed at the Dacia stand. It is the most powerful version of the new 1.2-liter turbocharged used so far by Renault and that announces a consumption of 6.0 liters.

"We capitalized all those elements that have seduced from the beginning our customers, while maintaining the original proportions of the car. The identity elements of the model, like the front grille have been upgraded. We reaffirmed the genuine 4×4 details of the vehicle without renouncing the popular elements.
The new Duster reaffirms its strong character but retains the original genes, "said David Durand, the director of design in the Dacia range.

The facelift for the Dacia Duster will bring in addition to significant changes to the exterior and the interior, a new TCe engine with 125 HP. The new engine that will be presented tomorrow in Frankfurt will have a a six-speed manual transmission.

Dacia has published complete information about the new Duster facelift: the Duster range will receive a new engine, taken from the Renault corporation. It is the 1.2 TCE engine and 125 HP offered only in the company of a six-speed manual transmission. The engine also has a turbocharged direct injection system, chain distribution and an average consumption of 6 liters per 100 kilometers.

The diesel engines of the Romanian SUV remains unchanged and consists of two versions of the 1.5 dCi engine, 90 and 110 HP. The new Duster will have the Eco Mode function, introduced in the Dacia range with the Lodgy model and a gearchanging indicator. Together, the two new elements will help the driver to achieve a lower fuel consumption and improve the efficiency of the driving style.

In terms of equipment and facilities, the new Duster comes, depending on the equipment version, with speed regulator and speed limiter, rear parking sensors, central locking of the doors on start, outside temperature indicator, the MediaNav system and the much awaited electric window commands moved on the front doors. The active safety equipment includes ASR-ESP systems, in addition to the emergency brake assist system and the ABS. In addition, the Duster has four standard airbags (front and side head-thorax for both driver and front-seat passenger), elements that could get the new Duster  four-star in the EuroNCAP tests. Dacia offers also many accessories for the its SUV, such as anti-theft, snow chains, child seat and others.

With the restyling, the new Duster can be configured with two special packages – Adventure and Off Road. The first offers side and wheel housings protections, while the second incorporates a set of side sills and a bull bar. The restyling is complemented by a new range of carpets, a separator for the luggage and seat covers. Optionally, the customers can order a set of roof bars that can support a weight up to 100 kilograms. The comfort level of the Romanian SUV has increased according to the Dacia officials by a better interior soundproofing, the noise generated by the engine and the driving being drastically reduced.

Dacia has decided to freshen up the Duster, that will receive some subtle styling changes designed to keep the Romanian SUV in the public attention until the launch of the new generation.

If one year ago, Dacia launched the new generation of Logan and Sandero at the Paris Motor Show, now it is time for the Duster to receive a long awaited facelift. Thus, the best selling model from the Dacia range will receive a number of aesthetic  changes as we can see in the first two pictures published by the Dacia official site.

The most important changes are the emergence of a completely new grille and the headlamps where the new permanent daytime running lights stand out. The aesthetic changes are completed by the new 16-inch wheels which Dacia says they look "Dark Metal" and the roof bars with "Duster" logo. The model seen in the presentation pictures has a dark gray color, which  in combination with the dark rims will probably attract more young customers. The back of the new Duster is virtually unchanged, the only differences being found in the molding forms of the stops and the chrome look of the exhaust pipe  probably available as an option.

Dacia has not provided any details about the interior of the new Duster, which will be officially unveiled on September 10, with its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show. However, we expect the Duster to have at least the novelties found on the new generation of Logan like the multimedia touchscreen system. In addition, all the new Duster facelift will come with parking sensors (visible in photo), an option that wasn’t available until now in the Dacia range.

At the Frankfurt debut we will learn the details about the engines that will power the new Duster, one of the novelties might be the new turbocharged of 1.2-liter TCe petrol already present in the Renault range, on the Captur crossover. The French press announces as a surprise the 1.2 TCe engine with 125 HP, which would be the most powerful engine in the history of Dacia.

Nissan will launch tomorrow the new Terrano model that is based on the Romanian SUV, the Duster. The Japanese car manufacturer sold the Terrano SUV, who was assembled in Spain, between 1993 and 2006 when it was replaced by the Qashqai and X-Trail models.

After Logan, who is sold under three brands (Dacia, Renault and Nissan), the Duster follows the same path and will be sold in India under the Nissan logo, using the Terrano name.

According to indianautosblog.com, the new Terrano will take most of its design from Duster, except for the front grille and tailgate that have been restyled to retrieve the Nissan specific design elements. Also, from the first picture we can see that the wheels are all taken from Nissan Qashqai model.

The Duster, whether it is the Dacia or Renault model, uses technical elements from Nissan: the all-wheel drive system has components taken from the Murano model, Nissan’s most expensive SUV.

The new Nissan Terrano engine range is identical to that of the Duster: the 1.5-liter dCi diesel engine and the 1.6-liter petrol engine. The new Nissan Terrano will be sold in India from October this year in the Nissan dealerships and will be about 600 euros more expensive than the Renault Duster model, because will be promoted as a premium SUV.

Renault will promote the Duster in Argentina through a special edition dedicated to the Argentinean national rugby team. The special edition will be named Duster Los Pumas and will be sold in the next period only on the Argentinean market.

For the sport fans who love SUV’s, the concern Renault-Nissan launched a new special edition dedicated to the Argentinean national rugby team, whose components are called "pumas" by the sports commentators and the fans. The Special Edition of the Romanian SUV comes with a number of aesthetic changes such as a set of fog lights mounted on the front bumper, a set of new side skirts and a set of ornaments for doors.

Renault Duster Los Pumas will be offered only in three colors: white, gray and black. Regardless of the color chosen, on the body we will find the logo of the Argentinian Rugby Union. The Duster Los Pumas will be powered by a aspirated petrol engine of 2.0-liter that delivers 138 HP. The resources are managed by a manual transmission with six reports that can deliver power to the front wheels or all wheels, depending on the version chosen. The Duster Los Pumas special edition will be offered in both front-wheel drive  and all wheel drive versions.

In terms of standard equipment, the Renault Duster Los Pumas has four airbags, ABS, ESP, a multimedia system with seven-inch touch screen navigation, alloy wheels with 16 inch diameter and rear parking sensors. The special edition of Duster Los Pumas may be presented in the Dacia stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Until now, the Romanian car manufacturer stand in Frankfurt has as main attraction the Duster facelift model whose debut has been officially confirmed at the prestigious German car event.

The UK marketing department of Dacia, launched a special edition of the Duster SUV that will be sold only in the UK, and that celebrates the Festival of Speed ​​at Goodwood.

According to the official press release, for this special model Dacia used a Duster Ambiance dCi model with 110 HP and 4×2 wheel drive. The upgrades of the Duster UK Black Edition are only at the aesthetic level, and the engine is standard.

The Dacia Duster Black Edition is covered in a matte black foil, has 18 inches dark alloy wheels, two ceiling-mounted projectors and leather upholstery. Dacia UK has also installed a Kenwood multimedia system with a six-inch display, Bluetooth, DAB radio, Garmin navigation system, USB and IPOS connectivity and a DVD player.

The Dacia Duster Black Edition for the UK will have a price of 17.575 pounds and will be available from September.

The first spy photos of the new Duster facelift were published on the internet. Because we are talking about a facelift, there will be no major upgrades for the Romanian SUV that will be launched in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Carscoops.com published a set of spy photos with Dacia Duster. As we can see, although the SUV is hidden, the changes will be minor. The headlights and the front grille will line up to the new front design line of the brand, already implemented on all six models of the Romanian car manufacturer, al upgraded since 2012. Basically, with the facelift of the Duster, Dacia has a completely new range, being the youngest in the entire automotive industry.

The Duster facelift will have new taillights and a new dashboard that will include the new MEDIA NAV system, which is already a big hit among customers who have bought the latest models of Logan, Sandero and Lodgy. The navigation system features a 7 inch touch screen with a simple and intuitive use. The MEDIA NAV includes an integrated navigation system, radio with Bluetooth connectivity and audio streaming, USB and jack sockets, ensuring the connection of external devices. Because it has a low price of 300 euros, the MEDIA NAV will be a big plus for the new Dacia Duster.

Dacia and Renault sold 188,000 Duster units in the first six months of 2013. The starting price of the Duster model in Europe is 11,250 euros (all taxes included) and the most expensive Duster model has a price of 17,000 euros (all taxes included).

Dacia Duster won the first place in the “Best budget 4×4” category in the Tow Car Awards that analyzes the most suitable car for towing a caravan.

Dacia Duster received another award in the UK, a very important marketplace for the Romanian car manufacturer. The performance was attributed to a diesel 1.5 dCi and 110 HP version, all-wheel drive and Ambiance equipment level.The jury cataloged the Duster as "perfect for towing with a very low price. The label is not an error. For how much you pay on a Kia Rio three-door, Dacia offers a 4×4 five-seater. Duster is undoubtedly a bargain ", argued the jury.

The jury has reviewed the submitted models and had noted several features. The tests included the acceleration of 50 to 95 km/h, the braking from 50 to 0 km/h, starting on a slope, the change to the emergency lane. There were noted the towing capabilities, how easy is attached the trailer and the special mirrors, the spare wheel usefulness and qualities of the car (luggage capacity, passenger space, comfort, efficiency).

Duster competed in the category of vehicles with a weight up to 1424 kg, with other well-known models. Also in this category, the Kia Cee’d Sportswagon won the award for the Best Ultra-light tow car.