Dacia Niagara ute firms for Oz

Renault is gearing up to flesh out its Australian line-up with a trio of value-focussed Dacia models – and it’s an all-new ute that’s on top of the wish list.

While none of the three Dacia models – including the new Duster small SUV and Bigster mid-size SUV – are yet confirmed for Australia, a new compact dual-cab 4x4 ute previewed as the Dacia Niagara concept last October is high on the hit list for Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey.

“We’d be very interested in the Niagara concept,” said Sealey when asked about progress on Dacia models for Australia, where they would be badged as Renaults, as they are in other right-hand drive markets like India and South Africa.

Sealey has been working on bringing the trio of next-generation Dacia models to Australia since 2021, when he said the third-generation Duster could arrive as soon as 2024, followed by the all-new Bigster in 2025 and the next Duster Oroch ute (which now appears likely to be called the Niagara) in 2026.

“We see good opportunity for some of the Dacia product in Australia, particularly the Duster, and we’ve been working with Renault on that for some time – we hope to have that vehicle in market when it’s available.”

He likens the Niagara as a spiritual successor to the legendary Subaru Brumby that has never truly been replicated but still has an army of fans due to its nuggety nature and uncanny bush capability.

“The concept would work very well in Australia,” said Sealey of a production version of the Niagara, highlighting the Brumby as proof that a smaller ute can work in a land where big utes are big business.

“There is a business case that was trodden well before us in the Brumby, where you have a smaller, very practical and reliable vehicle,” he added.

Sealey said that while details were yet to be revealed, he expected the Niagara to offer all-wheel drive variants, giving it a huge edge over the Proton Jumbuck that tried to emulate the Brumby’s success with only two-wheel drive hardware.

Sealey said he hopes the Niagara will make it to production, when it’s expected to replace the Dacia Oroch available in some markets.

But he stressed that Renault Australia “still needs to overcome the business case for the Australian market”.

Sealey is also talking sharp pricing for what would effectively be a lifestyle ute rather than the workhorses that command the majority of sales in Australia.

He said the Niagara would need to slot in well below the price of entry for popular dual-cab 4x4 alternatives, suggesting something below $40,000 is the target.

But it may not be a smooth path for the Niagara.

Sealey says it’s “fundamentally a South American ute” and, like the Oroch it’s expected to replace, will likely be built in Brazil, where safety standards are less stringent.

“It becomes a little bit problematic… and we’ve got challenges around shipping and currency [exchange rates].”

The Niagara could also benefit from the work being done on the new Duster, a compact SUV that has something of a cult following, in part because of attention from former Top Gear presenters including James May.

The new-generation Duster was revealed late in 2023 and has been requested by Renault Australia for local release, but that has not yet been confirmed.

Sealey says the distinctive small SUV will be built in right-hand drive and is now hopeful it will land in Australia as early as 2025.

“It makes it much easier once you’ve got a platform secured,” he said of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance’s CMF-B architecture that underpins the Duster and is also expected to form the basis of the Niagara.

“Once homologated it makes it much easier to get other vehicles off that platform.”

The other new model on the Renault Australia wish list is the Dacia Bigster, a larger mid-size SUV providing more interior space but adhering to the Romanian brand’s value proposition, potentially making it a cut-price Toyota RAV4 rival.

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