Facelift last year saw the Duster receive Dacia's new Link logo and front facia. Image: Dacia
Having last benefitted from a significant update in 2021, a new report from France has alleged that Renault-owned Dacia will be revealing the all-new third generation Duster in Portugal on 29 November.
Although updated last year in Europe, which saw the introduction of Dacia’s new corporate badge on a restyled grille and the headlights restyled, the Duster has remained otherwise unaltered since its main mid-life facelift two years ago as both a Renault and Dacia.
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Officially six years old after debuting in the run-up to the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2017, the replacement for the current Duster will form part of an eventual two model SUV line-up headed by the production version of the Bigster Concept in 2025.
Citing its claims from motorsactu.com, Autocar India reports that the third generation will become the most powerful Duster ever made with output of as much as 125 kW from the Daimler co-developed 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine currently used in Europe.
Supposedly already confirmed for India and South America from 2024, the mentioned mill will be supplemented by two other petrol options; a 1.0-litre turbo outputting 81 kW and a 1.2-litre hybrid in two states of tune; 88 kW and 103 kW.
While on-track to keep the popular liquid petroleum gas (LPG) options in Europe, the long serving 1.5 dCi turbodiesel that has powered the Duster ever since the original’s debut in 2010, has fallen by the wayside most likely as a result of the Euro 7 emissions regulations and Renault’s move towards complete electrification before 2030.
Set to take styling inspiration from the Bigster, in addition to providing seating for seven for the first time, the biggest confusion remains whether the Duster will continue be sold under both Renault and Dacia nameplates depending on the market where the respective brand is the strongest.
Back in 2018, French website, caradisiac.com, reported that the rebadging of Dacias as Renault will cease as a means of keeping both separate and focused on their marking placings i.e. Dacia as the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s low-cost division and Renault as the more premium marque.
Months later, Renault Design boss, Laurens van den Acker told Britain’s Autocar, “Cars that are Renault derivatives of Dacias, I want that to stop.
“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. But now we will start to differentiate”.
Van den Acker, however, stated that the Duster will be exception and while the Motorsactu report alleges otherwise, spy shots by motor1.com of the prototype undergoing testing confirms the presence of the Dacia Link emblem introduced last year.
At the same time, the arrival of the Duster and subsequently the Bigster, could see Dacia morph into a more cost-effective Jeep rival should approval be given.
“In my view, there’s no serious competitor for Jeep in Europe. Why couldn’t Dacia be that? There’s no [affordable] brand that’s linked to the outdoors, that gets you out of town, which, especially since the Covid days, is becoming extremely relevant,” van den Acker told Autocar back in August.
“[Dacia] is a brand that’s very well positioned for people who love the outdoors. It gives you two reasons to buy the car, not just one”.
As it stands, nothing else about the Duster continues to be known outright, however, should the 29 November reveal prove accurate, expect more details in the likely form of teasers to emerge within the coming days and weeks.
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