For quite sometime it has been revolving in the market that a new facelifted version of Dacia Duster is being planned. The new model was spotted undergoing test drives on various occasions in Europe. Now finally, Renault has officially given a word on the launch of this facelifted model. The company has confirmed that this new Duster will be unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Most likely, the product will go on sale in the early 2014.
Automobile Dacia S.A, commonly called as Dacia, is a Romanian automobile manufacturer. It was found in the year 1966 while the actual factory production started only in 1968. Dacia started working on its cars by borrowing basic designs and tooling from Renault. The first car to be produced this way was Dacia 1100. Later on various cars were produced by Dacia this way. In the year 1999, Dacia Automobile was bought by the French automobile manufacturer, Renault. Renault needed to expand itself in European market and acquiring Dacia inorder to do that was the best option. Renault acquired 99.43% share in Dacia automobiles. SupeRNova was the first car to be launched after this acquisition. Since then, Dacia is working as a subsidiary of Renault Group.
Dacia Duster, also called as Renault Duster in India, is the most popular among the Dacia models. It was launched in the year 2010 in Europe. The car is Compact CUV (Cross over utility vehicle) and stands on a B0 platform. This 5 door CUV was launched with a starting price of €11,900 for the rear wheel drive model while the all wheel drive model was offered at a price of €13,900. In the year 2011, it entered the Russian market which also houses a Duster manufacturing unit there. Dacia Duster marked the re-entry of the company in the UK market in 2012 and in the same year Duster reached India with a price tag of Rs 7.9 lacs.
2 years have passed since the launch of this CUV and therefore it is high time that Duster receives a makeover. This model of Duster will see a lot of cosmetic upgrades given to the interior as well as the exterior. The facelifted model sees redesigned head and tail lights as well as bumpers and grille. The interior will see most of the changes and it is being expected that it will share a lot in common with the Dacia Logan. A few months back, a different version of Duster was spotted test driving in Romania and its housed a new instrument cluster as well as cruise control.
The car will have the same engine specification as the present model. It will continue to be powered by a petrol engine of 1.6 liter capacity offering a maximum power output of 102 PS and a torque of 145 Nm. The diesel K9K engine of 1.5 litre capacity has two power outputs of 85 PS and 110 PS to offer. In India the Duster is a 2 wheel drive and has a 5 speed manual transmission. In the overseas market, Duster offers an all wheel drive with an option of auto transmission.
An important question here is that whether Renault will launch the facelifted model in the country or not? Right now the company is involved with the preparation for the launch of Nissan Terrano. Once this is over, the company might focus on Duster and bring the facelifted version here as well. Duster is manufactured at the Chennai plant. So the facelifted model will also be produced here locally for the India market. If that happens it is most likely that the new model will be spotted test driving around the factory if it reaches India. Renault will unveil the facelifted model at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013 which kick starts on the 10th of September.
Image Courtesy – www.autoevolution.com