French car maker Renault's sister company Dacia has officially unveiled the new generation Duster at an event held in Portugal today (November 29). The new Duster will now come with a hybrid engine option.
The new generation Duster will be available for sale in the European market in early 2024. After this, Renault will launch it in the Indian market under its own brand in the second half of 2025.
Renault only launched the first generation Duster in India in 2012 and it was discontinued in early 2022. This was the company's first model in the compact SUV segment in India.
The new generation Duster is based on the CMF-B platform. This platform has been jointly developed by Dacia, Renault and Nissan. The new Renault Duster continues with its butch looks which gives it a strong off-roader appeal. Looks like Dacia's Bigster concept model.
The car is more aggressive than before. The vehicle has Y-shaped LED headlights, a newly designed front bumper with vertical air inlets and skids plates. Apart from this, the vehicle has a new designed bonnet, square wheel arches and V shaped taillights.
However, the Renault-branded Duster SUV will have some design differences when it debuts next year. The car will come with 5 and 7 seat options. Its length has been increased from the current model to 4340mm, while the wheelbase has been reduced to 2,657mm.
The new Duster has a double-layer dashboard, which has light and dark gray shades. The center console is slightly tilted towards the driver. Two digital screens will be available in the higher variant. This includes a 7-inch screen for the driver and a 10.1-inch touchscreen for infotainment. A horizontal panel below the center AC vent houses several buttons that control the infotainment and HVC system.
A 12V power socket and USB outlet are placed at the bottom. The gear lever of the manual gearbox equipped Duster seems to be borrowed from the current Renault model and looks similar to the Kiger and Triber in India. Higher variants also get an automatic gearbox option and an electronic parking brake. The three-spoke steering wheel looks heavy and has buttons for infotainment, telephony and cruise control.
Features on the top-spec Duster will include wireless charging and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, automatic climate control and an ArcGIS 3D sound system with 6 speakers. The new Duster will also get safety features like ADAS including automatic emergency braking.
The upcoming SUV will have 3 engine options. The car will come with off-roading capability. A 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine can be found in the car, which generates power of 154bhp. Secondly, it can get 1.0-litre turbo petrol.
Apart from this, it will also have the option of 1.2-litre hybrid petrol engine, which will generate power of 170bhp and peak torque of 200Nm. For transmission, these engines will be tuned with a 5-speed gearbox.
If media reports are to be believed, the new Duster can be launched around Rs 20 lakh. In the Indian market, it will compete with Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser Highrider.
