Dacia Duster
Encyclopedia
The Dacia Duster is the first crossover SUV developed by the Romania
n automaker
Automobile Dacia. Officially revealed on 8 December 2009, it became available in Europe from 18 March 2010.
, the Duster measures 4.31 metres (169.7 in) in length, 1.82 metres (71.7 in) in width and has 210 mm (8.3 in) of ground clearance. Its luggage space has a volume of up to 475 litres (16.8 cu ft), while with the rear benchseat folded and tipped forward, its carrying ability can exceed 1600 litres (56.5 cu ft).
The Duster is offered with two-wheel or four-wheel drive
. The 4x4 variants make use of Nissan's all-wheel drive system which allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Auto, in which the front/rear torque split is calculated automatically as a function of available grip, Lock, whereby 50 per cent of torque is consistently fed through the rear axle, and 4x2 where the transmission is locked into two-wheel drive for maximum fuel efficiency.
, as well as EBD electronic brakeforce distribution
and EBA emergency brake assist
. It also features ESC electronic stability control
as an option on certain versions, as well as CSV understeer
control and ASR traction control
. This option also allows torque to be transferred away from a spinning wheel in 4x4 mode to improve traction when diagonal wheel spin occurs.
On the passive safety front, Dacia Duster comes as standard with two front airbags (depending on market) and three-point seat belts with load limiters for the front seats. Depending on version, two lateral head/thorax airbags are fitted in addition to the driver and passenger front airbags to provide additional protection in the case of side impact. Pyrotechnic pretensioners for the front seats (depending on version) complete Dacia Duster's retention system.
, Algeria
, Morocco
from March 2010, with prices starting from €11,900 (or €10,500 in Romanian domestic market) for the two-wheel drive version, and from €13,900 (or €11,500 in Romanian domestic market) for the 4x4 version. From June 2010, the Duster is also available in Ukraine
, Jordan
, Syria
, Egypt
and Lebanon
and in some African countries badged as a Renault, while in 2011, it will be sold in the Persian Gulf States
.
In June 2011, Renault revealed the Duster in South America at the Buenos Aires Motor Show. It will be produced at its Curitiba
plant in Brazil for distribution in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile, and at the Sofasa
plant in Colombia
, with marketing planned to start in the last quarter of 2011. At a later date, the Duster will go on to be manufactured at the Avtoframos
plant in Moscow, Russia.
It has also been confirmed that the Duster will be released in the UK in 2012, relaunching the Dacia brand there. There is talk about the Duster being launched in other emerging markets, like India, where it will be produced at the Chennai
plant and will roll out in the second half of 2012 under the Renault brand.
took part in the 2009/2010 French ice racing
championship Trophée Andros
, finishing in second place.
In 2010, the Duster participated in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles
, being first in the crossover class. The two Dacia teams successfully finished the Rallye on board the Duster: Dounia and Isabelle (Team 315 - Dacia) were first in the general ranking, while Nathalie and Dorothée (Team 316 - Dacia) finished in 5th place (out of 8 teams competing in the class).
In 2011, Dacia announced that they would be racing the Duster in the "Unlimited Class" of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The Dacia Duster 'No Limit' will be powered by an 850 bhp version of the VR38DETT
engine used in the Nissan GT-R
mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. The car is tuned by Tork Engineering, Sodemo and Renaultsport
and will be driven by three-time Trophee Andros winner Jean-Phillipe Dayraut.
This concept vehicle (a SUV/sports coupe crossover ) addressed the needs of families, with a roomy cabin in a compact package and a large 470 l (124 US gal; 103 imp gal) trunk
. The car had a very efficient motor capable of emitting 139 grams of carbon dioxide
per kilometer and a fuel consumption of 5.3L/100km (44.38MPG US, 53.3MPG Imperial). The Dacia Duster was the first concept car entirely made by Dacia. The Duster normally has four seats but can be converted into a two seat car, the passenger seat slides under the driver's seat and the right back seat slides under the left back seat freeing an extra room of 2000 l (71 cu ft) ideal for a bicycle
.
The Duster concept car had a Dacia Logan
1.5 litre inline-4 engine equipped with Bosch Mono-Jetronic fuel injection producing 106 PS at 5400 rpm and 240 newton metres (177 ft·lbf) at 2000 rpm of torque
. It was a front engined, two-wheel drive
or four-wheel drive
vehicle based on the Nissan B platform
. It accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometre per hour in 9.6 seconds. If the model had been produced, its initial price would have been around 15,000 euro
(US$ 18,750).
on some markets, such as the United Kingdom, during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n automaker
Automaker
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
Automobile Dacia. Officially revealed on 8 December 2009, it became available in Europe from 18 March 2010.
Design
Based on the Nissan B0 platformNissan B platform
The B platform is an automobile platform for compact cars from Nissan. See Nissan Sunny for a list of vehicles based on this platform.-Renault-Nissan:A new subcompact/B-class B platform is shared by Nissan and Renault...
, the Duster measures 4.31 metres (169.7 in) in length, 1.82 metres (71.7 in) in width and has 210 mm (8.3 in) of ground clearance. Its luggage space has a volume of up to 475 litres (16.8 cu ft), while with the rear benchseat folded and tipped forward, its carrying ability can exceed 1600 litres (56.5 cu ft).
The Duster is offered with two-wheel or four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
. The 4x4 variants make use of Nissan's all-wheel drive system which allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Auto, in which the front/rear torque split is calculated automatically as a function of available grip, Lock, whereby 50 per cent of torque is consistently fed through the rear axle, and 4x2 where the transmission is locked into two-wheel drive for maximum fuel efficiency.
Safety
Dacia Duster features Bosch 8.1 ABSAnti-lock braking system
An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...
, as well as EBD electronic brakeforce distribution
Electronic brakeforce distribution
Electronic brakeforce distribution ', Electronic brakeforce limitation ' is an automobile brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's brakes, based on road conditions, speed, loading, etc...
and EBA emergency brake assist
Emergency Brake Assist
Emergency Brake Assist is a safety system in motor vehicles designed to ensure maximum braking power is used in an emergency stop situation...
. It also features ESC electronic stability control
Electronic stability control
Electronic stability control is a computerized technology that may potentially improve the safety of a vehicle's stability by detecting and minimizing skids. When ESC detects loss of steering control, it automatically applies the brakes to help "steer" the vehicle where the driver intends to go...
as an option on certain versions, as well as CSV understeer
Understeer
Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Simply put, oversteer is what occurs when a car turns by more than the amount commanded by the driver...
control and ASR traction control
Traction control system
A traction control system , also known as anti-slip regulation , is typically a secondary function of the anti-lock braking system on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction of driven road wheels...
. This option also allows torque to be transferred away from a spinning wheel in 4x4 mode to improve traction when diagonal wheel spin occurs.
On the passive safety front, Dacia Duster comes as standard with two front airbags (depending on market) and three-point seat belts with load limiters for the front seats. Depending on version, two lateral head/thorax airbags are fitted in addition to the driver and passenger front airbags to provide additional protection in the case of side impact. Pyrotechnic pretensioners for the front seats (depending on version) complete Dacia Duster's retention system.
Engines
| Name | Code | Capacity | Configuration | Power | Torque | Top speed | Acceleration 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) | Fuel economy (combined) | CO2 emissions Emission standard Emission standards are requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment. Many emissions standards focus on regulating pollutants released by automobiles and other powered vehicles but they can also regulate emissions from industry, power... | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6 16V 105 | K4M Renault K-Type engine -KxJ Petrol Engine:The KxJ displaces 1390cc or 1.4L. It is an evolution from Renault Energy ExJ.-Applications :Starting 2011 Dacia replaced the old KxJ with Euro 5 1.2 and 1.6 liter engines.-Applications :-KxM Petrol Engine:... 690 |
1598 cc | I4 DOHC | 77 kW at 5750 rpm | 148 newton metre at 3750 rpm | 164 km/h (101.9 mph) | 11.5 s | 7.5 l/100 km | 177 g Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... /km |
Only available on 4X2 version |
| 1.6 16V Ethanol Ethanol fuel Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres... |
K4M Renault K-Type engine -KxJ Petrol Engine:The KxJ displaces 1390cc or 1.4L. It is an evolution from Renault Energy ExJ.-Applications :Starting 2011 Dacia replaced the old KxJ with Euro 5 1.2 and 1.6 liter engines.-Applications :-KxM Petrol Engine:... |
1598 cc | I4 DOHC | 77 kW at 5750 rpm | 148 newton metre at 3750 rpm | 164 km/h (101.9 mph) | 11.5 s | 7.1 l/100 km | 165 g/km | Only available on 4X2 version |
| 1.6 16V 105 | K4M 606 | 1598 cc | I4 DOHC | 77 kW at 5750 rpm | 148 newton metre at 3750 rpm | 160 km/h (99.4 mph) | 12.8 s | 8 l/100 km | 185 g/km | Only available on 4X4 version |
| 1.5 dCi Common rail Common rail direct fuel injection is a modern variant of direct fuel injection system for petrol and diesel engines.On diesel engines, it features a high-pressure fuel rail feeding individual solenoid valves, as opposed to low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors... 85 |
K9K 796 | 1461 cc | Turbocharged Turbocharger A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance... Diesel I4 SOHC |
63 kW at 4000 rpm | 200 newton metre at 1900 rpm | 156 km/h (96.9 mph) | 13.9 s | 5.1 l/100 km | 135 g/km | Only available on 4X2 version |
| 1.5 dCi 110 | K9K 896 | 1461 cc | Turbocharged Diesel I4 SOHC | 79 kW at 4000 rpm | 240 newton metre at 1750 rpm | 171 km/h (106.3 mph) | 11.8 s | 5.3 l/100 km | 139 g/km | Only available on 4X2 version Has DPF Diesel Particulate Filter A diesel particulate filter is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine. Wall-flow diesel particulate filters usually remove 85% or more of the soot, and under certain conditions can attain soot removal efficiencies of close to 100%... |
| 1.5 dCi 110 | K9K 898 | 1461 cc | Turbocharged Diesel I4 SOHC | 81 kW at 4000 rpm | 240 newton metre at 1750 rpm | 168 km/h (104.4 mph) | 12.5 s | 5.6 l/100 km | 145 g/km | Only available on 4X4 version Has DPF |
Marketing and production
Dacia Duster is offered in Europe, TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
from March 2010, with prices starting from €11,900 (or €10,500 in Romanian domestic market) for the two-wheel drive version, and from €13,900 (or €11,500 in Romanian domestic market) for the 4x4 version. From June 2010, the Duster is also available in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and in some African countries badged as a Renault, while in 2011, it will be sold in the Persian Gulf States
Arab states of the Persian Gulf
"Arab states of the Persian Gulf" or "Arab Persian Gulf states" or "Persian Gulf Arab states" or "Arabic Persian Gulf states" or "Arab States of The Gulf", are terms that refer to the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, bordering the Persian Gulf....
.
In June 2011, Renault revealed the Duster in South America at the Buenos Aires Motor Show. It will be produced at its Curitiba
São José dos Pinhais
São José dos Pinhais is a city in Paraná, Brazil. It is located at around . It is a part of the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba. St. Joseph of the Pines is a municipality in the state of Paraná, located in the Greater Curitiba. It is located at 25 ° 32'05 "south latitude and 49 º 12'23" west...
plant in Brazil for distribution in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile, and at the Sofasa
Sofasa
Sofasa is an automobile company in Colombia that assembles imported Renault, Toyota and Delta Daihatsu vehicles. The company then exports to the Andean Community of Nations and supplies the national market of automobiles in Colombia....
plant in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, with marketing planned to start in the last quarter of 2011. At a later date, the Duster will go on to be manufactured at the Avtoframos
Avtoframos
Avtoframos is a Russian automotive company, a joint venture with Renault and the government of Moscow, headquartered in Moscow...
plant in Moscow, Russia.
It has also been confirmed that the Duster will be released in the UK in 2012, relaunching the Dacia brand there. There is talk about the Duster being launched in other emerging markets, like India, where it will be produced at the Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
plant and will roll out in the second half of 2012 under the Renault brand.
Racing
A competition version of the Duster fitted with a 350 hp V6 engine and driven by Alain ProstAlain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
took part in the 2009/2010 French ice racing
Ice racing
Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, All-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on carefully groomed frozen lots...
championship Trophée Andros
Andros Trophy
The Andros Trophy is the French national Ice Racing championship.-History:The idea of an Ice Racing series first became an idea when professional racer Max Mamers and the owner of the Andros company , Frédéric Gervoson met as rugby fans in 1985...
, finishing in second place.
In 2010, the Duster participated in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles
Rallye Aicha des Gazelles
The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc is a rally which is held in the deserted parts of southern Morocco. The distinctive feature of the rally is that participation is restricted to women only....
, being first in the crossover class. The two Dacia teams successfully finished the Rallye on board the Duster: Dounia and Isabelle (Team 315 - Dacia) were first in the general ranking, while Nathalie and Dorothée (Team 316 - Dacia) finished in 5th place (out of 8 teams competing in the class).
In 2011, Dacia announced that they would be racing the Duster in the "Unlimited Class" of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The Dacia Duster 'No Limit' will be powered by an 850 bhp version of the VR38DETT
Nissan VR engine
The VR engine is a 3.8 L V6 piston engine from Nissan. The engine is the product of further development of the widely successful VQ engine series, in particular drawing experience from the JGTC racing engines as well as Nissan's VRH engines from vehicles such as the Nissan R390...
engine used in the Nissan GT-R
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a sports car produced by Nissan released in Japan on December 6, 2007, the United States on July 4, 2008, and the rest of the world in March 2009.-History:...
mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. The car is tuned by Tork Engineering, Sodemo and Renaultsport
Renault Sport
Renault Sport Technologies is the France motorsport division of Renault. Renault Sport was responsible for Renault's sports car racing entries during the 1970s, including their win at the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans race with the Renault Alpine A442.Actual Renault's Formula One team, Renault F1 in...
and will be driven by three-time Trophee Andros winner Jean-Phillipe Dayraut.
Concept car
Renault Design Central Europe presented, at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, a concept car named Dacia DusterThis concept vehicle (a SUV/sports coupe crossover ) addressed the needs of families, with a roomy cabin in a compact package and a large 470 l (124 US gal; 103 imp gal) trunk
Trunk (automobile)
The trunk or boot of an automobile or car is the vehicle's main storage, luggage, or cargo compartment. Trunk is used in North American English and Jamaican English; boot is used elsewhere in the English speaking world. Trunk is also primarily used in many non-English speaking regions, such as...
. The car had a very efficient motor capable of emitting 139 grams of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
per kilometer and a fuel consumption of 5.3L/100km (44.38MPG US, 53.3MPG Imperial). The Dacia Duster was the first concept car entirely made by Dacia. The Duster normally has four seats but can be converted into a two seat car, the passenger seat slides under the driver's seat and the right back seat slides under the left back seat freeing an extra room of 2000 l (71 cu ft) ideal for a bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
.
The Duster concept car had a Dacia Logan
Dacia Logan
The Dacia Logan is a small family car car produced jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its subsidiary Dacia of Romania. It is manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, and in Colombia, Brazil, Russia, Morocco, Iran, India and South Africa...
1.5 litre inline-4 engine equipped with Bosch Mono-Jetronic fuel injection producing 106 PS at 5400 rpm and 240 newton metres (177 ft·lbf) at 2000 rpm of torque
Torque
Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
. It was a front engined, two-wheel drive
Two-wheel drive
Two wheel drive or 2WD describes vehicles with a drivetrain that allows two wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously.-Four wheeled vehicles:...
or four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
vehicle based on the Nissan B platform
Nissan B platform
The B platform is an automobile platform for compact cars from Nissan. See Nissan Sunny for a list of vehicles based on this platform.-Renault-Nissan:A new subcompact/B-class B platform is shared by Nissan and Renault...
. It accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometre per hour in 9.6 seconds. If the model had been produced, its initial price would have been around 15,000 euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
(US$ 18,750).
Former use of the name
Dacia Duster was also the name used to sell the ARO 10ARO 10
ARO 10 was an off-road vehicle produced by ARO and manufactured in Romania. The ARO 24 Series got a "little brother" in 1980, the ARO 10 Series. While the ARO-24 can be classified as mid-size SUVs, the ARO 10 is about the size of a Jeep Wrangler. It was produced in many body trims, equipped with...
on some markets, such as the United Kingdom, during the 1980s and early 1990s.