DACIA

New Dacia Duster 2024 sharper than ever

Highlights In 2024 Bolder design New technology, now also hybrid Cars like the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage translated the SUV concept into a relatively affordable price range a long time ago, but the Dacia Duster just made the SUV really accessible to the masses. With the first generation of the Duster that hit the market in 2010, the Romanians hit the nail on the head. In its first full year of sales, this SUV displaced the Sandero from Dacia's sales throne and in 2012 the Duster was also ahead of its cheaper relative. Some thirteen years later, the Duster's sales counter in the Netherlands is nearly 14,000 units, making it the best-selling Dacia after Sandero and Logan. Quite an achievement, especially when you consider that the other two are not only cheaper, but have also been available in the Netherlands for much longer. The Duster is also selling like crazy in other countries. For example, nearly 200,000 units rolled out of showrooms in Europe last year, good for a wonderful second to the Sandero in the European private car market. Not bad for a six-year-old model who is on her last legs. And then we haven't even mentioned the tens of thousands of copies the Duster sold as Renault records in South America every year. Dacia is very committed to maintaining the success of the Duster and so it will be a lot next year with a completely redesigned model. Now we're looking at that. Modern technology The days when Dacia cars invariably used Renault's proven but older technology are long gone. Although the Duster, like its sister models, has been available for years with Renault's modern turbo engines, the current model is still on the same B0 platform as the first Duster, which is almost twenty years old. After all, it was a technical development of it. The next Dacia Duster will be parked on a much more modern platform. Like Dacia's most recent model – the Jogger – and the Sandero, Dacia builds the new Duster on a simpler version of the CMF-B platform we know from cars like Renaults Clio and Captur. You can bet you'll notice it along the way. This technical about-face will likely bring a host of electrified powertrains to Dacia's successful first-time adventurer. Just look at the Jogger. It is technically related to the new Duster and recently also available with Renault's 140 Hyrid powertrain. It may not stay on an electrified level. It may very well be that the new Duster will soon be available with mild hybrid machines in addition to conventional turbo engines with outputs of around 110 hp. If Dacia is smart, it certainly offers the 100PS TCe Bi-Fuel engine – which runs on both petrol and LPG – in its new potential success. 

Whether the Duster will have all-wheel drive variants? That remains to be seen. Especially outside the Netherlands, the extra grip dusters are a welcome addition to the range anyway. Dacia Duster (illustration: Larson). Sharpness The new Duster is not only advancing on a technical level, but a lot will also change on a design level. You can logically still clearly recognize its predecessor in the current Duster, and certain sheet metal parts are interchangeable. But the third generation Duster is new down to the smallest nose and bezel. For the design of the new SUV, the Romanians, led by Design Director David Durand, were inspired by the 2021 Bigster Concept. With this show car, Dacia indicated that it had the ambition to create a model above the Duster. The Bigster design is not limited to this new large SUV and also brings more striking shapes to the Duster universe. This is more than an assumption. From the World Intellectual Property Organization database, AutoWeek uncovered patent drawings of what is likely the new Duster. Based on these plates, our illustrator designed Duster as we hope he will come into the world. Angular and especially elongated rear wheel arches, bold lighting and a considerable amount of plastic decoration: the new model looks much bolder than the current one. The new big brother of the Duster will arrive in 2025 and it could be a longer version of the Duster. Don't be surprised if it can accommodate up to seven occupants. So another thing to look forward to.

Reporter: Lars Krijgsman