Dacia Duster

Manufacturer	Dacia
Also called	Renault Duster
Production	2010–present
Assembly	Mioveni, Romania São José dos Pinhais, Brazil Envigado, Colombia Moscow, Russia
Class	Compact crossover
Body style	5-door SUV
Layout	Front-engine, front-wheel drive / four-wheel drive
Platform	Dacia B0 platform
Engine	1.6 L I4 (gas/Hi-Flex) 2.0 L I4 (gas/Hi-Flex) 1.5 L I4 dCi
Transmission	5-speed manual 6-speed manual 4-speed automatic
Wheelbase	2,673 mm (105.2 in)
Length	4,315 mm (169.9 in)
Width	1,822 mm (71.7 in)
Height	1,630–1,690 mm (64.2–66.5 in)
Curb weight	1,160–1,294 kg (2,557–2,853 lb)
Related	Dacia Logan Dacia Sandero Nissan Juke
Designer	Renault Design Central Europe

The Dacia Duster is the first crossover SUV developed by the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia. Officially revealed on 8 December 2009, it became available in Europe from 18 March 2010.^[1]

Design[link]

Based on the Nissan B0 platform, the Duster measures 4.31 metres (169.7 in) in length, 1.82 metres (71.7 in) in width and has 210 mm (8.3 in) of ground clearance. Its luggage space has a volume of up to 475 litres (16.8 cu ft), while with the rear benchseat folded and tipped forward, its carrying ability can exceed 1,600 litres (57 cu ft).

The Duster is offered with two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The 4x4 variants make use of Nissan's all-wheel drive system^[2] which allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Auto, in which the rear-wheel drive is engaged automatically in case the front wheels loose grip, Lock, whereby 50 per cent of torque is consistently fed through the rear axle, and 2WD where the transmission is locked into front-wheel drive for maximum fuel efficiency.

Safety[link]

Dacia Duster features Bosch 8.1 ABS, as well as EBD electronic brakeforce distribution and EBA emergency brake assist. It also features ESC electronic stability control as an option on certain versions, as well as CSV understeer control and ASR traction control. This option also allows torque to be transferred away from a spinning wheel in 4x4 mode to improve traction when diagonal wheel spin occurs.^[3]

On the passive safety front, Dacia Duster comes as standard with two front airbags (depending on market) and three-point seat belts with load limiters for the front seats. Depending on version, two lateral head/thorax airbags are fitted in addition to the driver and passenger front airbags to provide additional protection in the case of side impact. Pyrotechnic pretensioners for the front seats (depending on version) complete Dacia Duster's retention system.^[4]

Engines[link]

Marketing and production[link]

The rear of Duster

Dacia Duster is offered in Europe, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco from March 2010, with prices starting from €11,900 (or €10,500 in Romanian domestic market) for the two-wheel drive version, and from €13,900 (or €11,500 in Romanian domestic market) for the 4x4 version.^[3][5] From June 2010, the Duster is also available in Ukraine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon and in some African countries badged as a Renault, while in 2011, it will be sold in the Persian Gulf States.^[6]

In June 2011, Renault revealed the Duster in South America at the Buenos Aires Motor Show.^[7] It will be produced at its Curitiba plant in Brazil for distribution in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, and at the Sofasa plant in Colombia, to be sold in Mexico and Ecuador with marketing planned to start in the last quarter of 2011.^[8] At a later date, the Duster will go on to be manufactured at the Avtoframos plant in Moscow, Russia with about 80,000 annual quantities, being available since March 1, 2012 with prices starting from about $14,400.^[9]

It has also been confirmed that the Duster will be released in the UK in 2012, relaunching the Dacia brand there.^[10] There is talk about the Duster being launched in other emerging markets, like India, where it will be produced at the Chennai plant and will roll out in the second half of 2012 under the Renault brand.^[11]

Racing[link]

The Duster racecar at Grandvalira racetrack

A competition version of the Duster fitted with a 350 hp (261 kW) V6 engine and driven by Alain Prost^[12] took part in the 2009/2010 French ice racing championship Trophée Andros, finishing in second place.^[13]

In 2010, the Duster participated in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles, being first in the crossover class. The two Dacia teams successfully finished the Rallye on board the Duster: Dounia and Isabelle (Team 315 - Dacia) were first in the general ranking, while Nathalie and Dorothée (Team 316 - Dacia) finished in 5th place (out of 8 teams competing in the class).^[14]

In 2011, Dacia announced that they would be racing the Duster in the "Unlimited Class" of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The Dacia Duster 'No Limit' will be powered by an 850 bhp version of the VR38DETT engine used in the Nissan GT-R mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. The car is tuned by Tork Engineering, Sodemo and Renaultsport and will be driven by three-time Trophee Andros winner Jean-Phillipe Dayraut.^[15]

Concept car[link]

The Duster concept at Geneva Motor Show

Renault Design Central Europe presented, at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, a concept car named Dacia Duster^[16]

This concept vehicle (a SUV/sports coupe crossover ) addressed the needs of families, with a roomy cabin in a compact package and a large 470 L (124 US gal; 103 imp gal) trunk.^[17] The car had a very efficient motor capable of emitting 139 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer and a fuel consumption of 5.3L/100km (44.38MPG US, 53.3MPG Imperial).^[17] The Dacia Duster was the first concept car entirely made by Dacia.^[18] The Duster normally has four seats but can be converted into a two seat car, the passenger seat slides under the driver's seat and the right back seat slides under the left back seat freeing an extra room of 2,000 L (71 cu ft) ideal for a bicycle.^[19]

The Duster concept car had a Dacia Logan 1.5 litre inline-4 engine equipped with Bosch Mono-Jetronic fuel injection producing 106 PS (78 kW; 105 hp) at 5400 rpm and 240 newton metres (180 ft·lbf) at 2000 rpm of torque.^[16] It was a front engined, two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive vehicle based on the Nissan B platform.^[16] It accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.6 seconds.^[17] If the model had been produced, its initial price would have been around 15,000 euro (US$ 18,750).^[20]

Former use of the name[link]

Dacia Duster was also the name used to sell the ARO 10 on some markets, such as the United Kingdom, during the 1980s and early 1990s.^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dacia Duster

• Official Dacia website
• Forum Duster Romania

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