Renault’s new 2024 Dacia Duster SUV revealed

Pictures and full details of the third-generation 2024 Dacia Duster have been released in Europe, revealing that the Renault-owned Romanian brand’s small SUV will transition to an all-new platform and gain sophisticated tech in a bid to win more fans worldwide.

A strong chance to be sold in Australia from 2025, badged as a Renault, the new Duster moves from the ancient B0+ platform to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance CMF-B architecture that underpins the latest Nissan JUKE and Renault Captur.

The platform will help improve not only the SUV’s refinement and handling but also bring significant gains in practicality and technology, allowing Dacia to introduce both hybrid and mild-hybrid powertrains as well as some of the Renault Group’s latest driver assist tech.

Measuring in at 4340mm long, 1910mm wide and standing 1660mm tall, the new Duster is 1mm shorter, 106mm wider and 22mm lower than before but gets a more generous 472-litre boot (+27L).

Despite sharing a similar-sized footprint to the old car, there’s more shoulder-room up front and up to 30mm more legroom in the second row.

Taking design cues from the bigger new Dacia Bigster, which is also on the cards for launch Down Under, the new Duster has a more rugged look, as seen with the prominent plastic wheel-arches, side sills and lower half of the front and rear bumpers.

Slim new LED headlights flank a narrow upright grille that features the brand’s American-looking logo, while at the rear-end there’s fresh Y-shaped tail-lights. The Y shape is also found on the alloy wheel and in the cabin.

On the latter, Dacia’s utilitarian design aesthetic carries over to the all-new cabin.

There’s large DUSTER lettering ahead of the driver and fresh Y-shaped air vents and a Y around the door card’s arm rest. The new steering wheel, meanwhile, now sports the brand’s new logo.

Fresh tech includes a 10.1-inch central infotainment system that is angled 10-degrees towards the driver. On automatic versions, a short and stubby toggle replaces a traditional gear lever.

Choose the new all-wheel drive version and Dacia says the Duster 4x4 is more capable than ever, thanks to its class-leading 217mm ground clearance and new 4x4 Terrain Control transmission that features five driving modes.

In Auto, the Duster automatically distributes torque between the front and rear axle to maximise traction. In Snow, the new system pre-arms both the ABS and stability control for the slippery conditions. Mud and Snow mode, meanwhile, adjusts the AWD system’s sensitivity to the conditions.

An Off-Road setting is said to mimic the previous car’s 4x4 lock that splits torque front to rear evenly, according to the grip available and the speed the Duster is travelling.

Finally, an Eco mode cuts fuel use by adjusting the climate control and vehicle performance while optimising torque front and rear to boost efficiency.

As well as offering respectable approach and departure angles – 31 degrees at the front and 36 degrees at the rear – the Duster gets hill descent control that works from 0-30km/h in a forward or reverse direction.

The new 10.1-inch display can also show tilt angles, up and downhill pitch and torque distribution on cars with all-wheel drive.

Helping protect the Duster off-road are large bash plates, while the black plastic ‘shield’ around the car that includes the wheel-arches and bumpers is designed to withstand light bumps and scratches.

Cabin materials used are said to be heavy-duty, especially in the Extreme trim that comes with washable fabric and thick rubber mats in the front and rear.

New accessories include a removeable 3-in-1 box that converts the Duster’s cabin into a double bed in just two minutes. There’s also a new roof rack that can carry up to 80kg.

Under the bonnet, the Duster is being launched with a 96kW 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with 48V mild-hybrid tech. It comes with either 2WD or 4WD and is paired with a six-speed manual gearbox.

A more advanced 103kW hybrid is also available that combines a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with an electric motor/starter-generator and a 1.2kWh battery.

The system is said to allow the Dacia Hybrid to travel in all-electric mode for up to 80 per cent of the time in urban conditions, with fuel consumption reduced by around 20 per cent.

In some markets there’s also the option of an LPG-powered version.

In total, Dacia claims the latest Duster uses 20 per cent recycled materials – an improvement of around eight per cent on the car it replaces.

In Europe, the Duster will be available in four model grades – Essential, Expression, Extreme and Journey.

The cheapest models get a 3.5-inch digital display in the instrument panel, a four-speaker sound system, Bluetooth connection, single USB connection and an integrated smartphone holder. There’s also fixed roof bars, six airbags and rear parking sensors.

The Expression gets 17-inch alloy wheels, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.1-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a reversing camera.

The Extreme comes with climate control and copper-colour trim highlights and the more rugged upholstery and rubber mats.

The range-topping Duster Journey, meanwhile, gets 18-inch alloy wheels, keyless go, a wireless smartphone charger, sat-nav and a premium six-speaker sound system.

Dacia has yet to announce full pricing ahead of European deliveries kicking off in 2024, but the Duster is tipped to be priced below €20,000 (A$33,000) for the cheapest Dacia Duster Essential.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au