Five feisty Dacia models we’d love to see here

Australia’s new Renault importer has confirmed it will sell Dacia cars here as soon as 2022, as we reported exclusively earlier today, paving the way for several exciting new models never previously available Down Under.

Unlike Volkswagen Group Australia, whose upcoming Cupra brand will introduce a range of premium sports models here from mid-2022, Ateco Group will position a range of new models from the Romanian budget brand below their equivalents from Renault.

That won’t mean they’re just cheap and cheerful, however, since the Dacia-Lada business unit has access to all of the advanced auto technologies as part of the huge Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance.

In the 16 years since it was launched in 2005, Dacia has sold seven million vehicles in 44 countries and, in more recent years, its Sandero and Duster models have become the top-selling car and SUV respectively among private customers in Europe.

While the jury is still out on which Dacia models will become available in Australia – and whether they will actually wear the Dacia badge – here’s our pick of the five we’d love to see here.

The Dacia Duster (sold as the Renault Duster in some markets) has been a smash hit in Europe since 2010. The second generation launched in 2017 brought more modern styling to the same utilitarian compact SUV concept.

Built in Brazil and Russia, the 4320mm-long Dacia Duster is based on the same Renault B0+ platform as the Renault Captur/Arkana and Nissan Kicks, and is powered by a range of petrol and diesel engines.

Currently the Duster comes with a lowly three-star Euro NCAP safety rating from 2017, but an upgraded version of the right-hand drive model sold in the UK could be positioned here under the cheapest Renault SUV, the Captur (from $28,190).

This funky compact car-based dual-cab ute has been produced by Renault for South American markets since 2015 and was previously the subject of a failed right-hand drive business case by Renault Australia, which had hoped to land the Oroch here in 2019.

Powered by 1.6- and 2.0-litre petrol engines matched to manual and automatic transmissions, the four-door/five-seat Duster Oroch measures just 4.7 metres long and has a 680kg payload and a tray measuring 1350mm long and 1175mm wide.

Once again, questions remain about pricing and safety, but Renault Australia had previously hoped to land an appropriately specified Oroch here priced from under $25K less than two years ago.

The third-generation Dacia Sandero hatch and its crossover cousin, the Sandero Stepway, were revealed in Europe last September.

Roughly the same size as the Mazda2, the Sandero is based on Renault’s latest CMF platform, powered by a range of three-cylinder petrol engines and fitted with a host of advanced safety and convenience features.

When it was revealed in October 2020, the Dacia Spring was billed as Europe’s cheapest all-electric city car, with a starting price under $30,000 in Germany.

The Chinese-built small SUV does offer only a 300-litre boot, a single 32kW/125Nm motor and 225km of range. But it comes with plenty of multimedia connectivity and a full-size spare wheel.

The Dacia Bigster concept was revealed in January, previewing a “future figurehead of the Dacia range” and a larger (C-segment) SUV than the Duster.

Measuring 4.6 metres long, the Bigster mid-size SUV is Dacia’s biggest model yet and just one of three all-new models promised by Dacia before 2025.

Related: Dacia locked in for Australia