WATCH: Long awaited Renault bakkie shows face at Nampo

In arguably one of the biggest surprises this year, Renault showcased the long awaited Oroch double cab bakkie, albeit in ‘prototype’ form, at the Nampo Agricultural show in Bothaville in the Free State.

Watch Oroch walkaround below

Delayed numerous times for a variety of reasons after being mentioned as heading for South Africa in 2019, the showing of the Oroch also silences nearly two years of speculative reports about it arriving as either a double cab, or being an entirely different single cab similar to the Romanian-market Dacia Duster Pick-Up.

New but…

Effectively an almost six-year old model reportedly due for replacing within the next few years, the Oroch debuts on the back of a secondary facelift applied in South America last year that saw the Duster prefix falling away along with the large displacement 2.0-litre petrol engine.

As part of the update, the Oroch received the same tweaks at the first generation Duster that has remained on-sale in South America and India and not replacement by the current second generation Renault is expected to replace in 2025.

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Central to the changes is a new front bumper with integrated fog lamps, blacked-out taillight clusters, a new grille and cladding around the wheel arches.

Inside, the freestanding touchscreen infotainment system, new dashboard and climate control display have all failed to make to South Africa, meaning the retention of the pre-facelift Duster’s dash and integrated seven-inch display with embedded satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Carried over though are the new door panels and the electric window switches on the panels themselves rather than on the centre console.

Spec teasers

Despite being billed as a prototype, the production-ready looking Oroch featured amongst others, 16-inch alloy wheels, a tonneau cover and rubberised loadbin, leather seats, electric mirrors, cruise control, a reverse camera with rear parking sensors and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Dimensions and power

While no details pertaining to its overall dimensions were made, in South America, the Oroch measures 4 719 mm long, 1 634 mm high and 1 834 mm wide while riding on a 2 829 mm wheelbase. Claimed payload varies between 650 kg and 680 kg.

Up front, only mentioning was made to a single engine, the Daimler co-developed 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol used in the all-new Captur, the Mercedes-Benz A200, CLA 200, GLB 200 and GLA 200, and the Nissan Qashqai.

While capable of producing up to 125 kW in South America when fuelled by ethanol, for South Africa, the unit has retuned to deliver the same 115kW/270Nm as in the pre-facelift European-spec Captur.

On the transmission side, a CVT has been availed to the front-wheel-drive model, while the four-wheel-drive receives a six-speed manual with the same settings as the Duster; 2WD, 4WD and 4WD Lock.

For now, the 1.5 dCi turbodiesel engine from the Duster as well as the six-speed EDC have not been mentioned as a result of neither being available in the South American Oroch.

Here before year-end

For now, the Oroch remains under wraps and while no official details about price have been disclosed by Renault, murmurings around the Nampo exhibition allege a starting price between R400 000 and R450 000, and an official market launch before the end of this year.

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