What to expect: New Renault Duster previewed before launch

With its local market launch set to take place within the coming days, Renault has remained largely coy about the specification of the all-new Duster since showing a pre-production variant at its future product launch conference at the end of last year.

South Africa’s only Dacia

Set to originate from the main Mioveni Plant in Romania, followed by a switch later on to the Chennai facility in India, the all-new third-generation Duster will remain the only Renault-badged Dacia model in South Africa after the withdrawal of the Sandero in favour of the Kiger four years ago.

This after Renault Design boss Laurens van den Acker told Britain’s Autocar in 2018 that, bar the Duster, all future Dacias will no longer be marketed as Renaults to create a clearer identity between each brand.

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“My goal is to have a unique global Renault line-up. Cars that are Renault derivatives of Dacias, I want that to stop,” van den Acker was quoted by the publication as saying.

“I can’t argue with the business sense to do it, because Renaults were expensive for some markets and Dacias were relatively modern cars that were reliable and affordable, so we rebadged them. It helped us gain a foot in those markets. But now, we will start to differentiate”.

Duster success story

First shown as a Renault in Turkey in February last year, four months after the Dacia version’s reveal, the Duster’s arrival form part of a broader product expansion that will result in the seven-seat Bigster possibly becoming available either in 2026 or 2027.

For now, the emphasis remains on the Duster, which, in both Renault and Dacia guises, has sold 2.2 million units globally since the original’s world premiere in 2010.

Goodbye diesel

Based, once again, on the CMF-B platform that underpins all of Dacia’s current products, the Duster’s biggest difference from any past generation involves a switch to electrification in the form of a 48-volt mild-hybrid system in combination with the 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine.

In a move that ends the hugely popular 1.5 dCi turbodiesel engine, the electrically assisted petrol will suggestively produce the same 96 kW as in Europe, hooked to a six-speed manual gearbox only, as indicated by the displayed variant.

Like the outgoing Duster, the newcomer will come standard with front-wheel drive or, as an option, four-wheel drive complete with five driving modes: Eco, Auto, Snow, Mud/Sand, and Off-Road.

On the specification front, and in line with the Turkish variant, the South African model could get the seven-inch instrument cluster and 10.1-inch infotainment system complete with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and optional satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control, a wireless smartphone charger, and, on flagship grades, a six-speaker Arkamys sound system.

The revamped safety and driver assistance systems sheet is expected to include, among other things, Lane Keep Assist, Driver Attention Alert, Lane Departure Warning, and Autonomous Emergency Braking.

More soon

As mentioned, final details haven’t been disclosed, though don’t be surprised if does emerge as teasers in preparation for the official launch.

Once out, expect a substantial price increase over the current model from R397 999 to R465 999.

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