The Dacia and Renault engineers presented the first Romanian 6×6 called Dustruck. The new model will be powered by a V8 engine and has been developed at the Titu Technical Center in Mioveni.
Here are the first photos of the new Dacia project called Dustruck:
The Duster model is produced in five factories under the Renault and Dacia brands and is being sold in over 100 countries.
“ The Duster is a success story. Under the Renault brand, the Duster answers perfectly to customer requirements and has contributed to expansion on international and emerging markets. Meanwhile, the Dacia version of Duster, marketed in Europe and the Mediterranean markets has successfully attracted new customers through practical and real qualities of a SUV at an affordable price, "said Arnaud Deboeuf, the director of Renault Entry Program.
According to Renault officials, the fact that they have been sold 1 million Duster units in just four years Duster highlights the success of the Romanian model.
Under the Renault logo are sold the Duster models adapted to the cold climate in Russia, a version that works with many types of fuels in Brazil, and a a right hand drive version for Indian market. The Dacia versions are as popular due to the spacious interior and the SUV qualities, according to the Renault press release.
The most important markets for Duster, are in order, Russia where there were sold from launch, under the Renault logo, 151 633 units, France with 145 612 units sold under the Dacia brand, and Brazil with 117,303 units under the Renault brand. The forth market is India with 85 974 Duster units sold under the Renault logo, and the fifth market is Germany with 70 159 units under the Dacia brand.
Currently, Renault produces the Duster in Pitesti (Romania), Curitiba (Brazil), Envigado (Colombia), Moscow (Russia) and Chennai (India).
In 2013, sales rose to over 376,000 Duster units.
The Dacia Duster Pickup is not a series model produced at the Dacia factory in Pitesti, but a model that is based on the Romanian SUV modified by Romturingia, a Romanian company specialized in modifying commercial vehicles.
According to Dacia officials, the Romturingia company worked in collaboration with Renault Technologie Roumanie technology center for designing the Duster pickup. The Dacia Duster pickup model was designed specifically to transport large weights over rough terrain.
The first Dacia Duster Pickup models are leased by OMV Petrom, an oil company, the biggest corporation in Romania, who also has other 4×4 pickup models in its fleet like Nissan Navara, but twice as expensive compared to a Duster.
The first Duster Pick-up will probably be available for order by a regular client in four years.
Source: Autoindustry
The Dacia Duster, the SUV manufactured in Pitesti, has produced the 500,000 unit. The anniversary unit left the Pitesti factory on December 3, 2013, has a olive gray color and is powered by a 1.5 dCi engine with 110 HP, all-wheel drive and Laureate trim level. Like the majority of the Dacia models produced the last years, the anniversary unit will be exported to France, the largest export market for the Duster and one of the most important markets for the Romanian car manufacturer.
The Duster represents approximately 40% of total daily production of the Dacia vehicles factory and 95% of this production was exported. The year 2013 brought a long awaited facelift for the Duster: the introduction of more standard equipment, a longer list of options and a number of aesthetic changes. In addition, the Duster is offered in the company of a 1.2 turbo petrol engine, the most powerful engine ever offered on a Dacia series model.
Duster is one of the most popular Dacia models, although it is the top of the range, and its price is somewhat higher than the Logan and Sandero models. Even so, the Duster is the cheapest SUV on the market. Its base price is 10,900 euros with taxes included, which means that the Dacia Duster facelift is cheaper with 350 euros than the previous model.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
