Geneva Sees Dacia Launch Sixth Model - Duster - The Compact Off-Roader
SEE ALSO: 2010 Geneva Motor Show Press Pass Coverage
GENAVA – March 2, 2010; Dacia Duster, All A 4x4 Should Be
Assertive all-wheel drive
styling…
Today’s all-terrain vehicles are often synonymous with bulk, but Duster is an antidote to that idea. With a length of 4.31 metres and a width of 1.82 metres, Duster is very compact. Its Megane-size proportions ensure that it is as at home in built-up areas as it is off the beaten track. While it clearly belongs to the world of all-terrain vehicles, Dacia Duster displays attractive lines.
Duster is unmistakably a 4x4. From the front, it exudes an impression of toughness: the wide wheelarches, the imposing lines of the chrome grille and the sump guard clearly emphasise the 4x4 DNA of Duster. Seen from the side, the high ground clearance, clearly defined wheelarches and protective mouldings encourage the driver to tackle even the toughest roads and tracks.
With the optional Look Pack, owners of Duster can enhance the vehicle’s good looks. This pack includes 16-inch aluminium alloy wheels, roof bars, extra-tinted rear glass, and satin-finish chrome exterior mirrors, front and rear skid plates, and sills. A comprehensive range of accessories (including broad door protectors and styling bars) will complete this unique look.
Inside, the elevated driving position provides a better view of potential hazards and improves the driver’s ability to anticipate problems. The interior echoes the core values of the Dacia brand: the dashboard is modern, uncluttered and functional. Its design varies according to version, and several areas can be modified with different colours or surface finishes. Duster introduces a new brown trim, while a Leather Pack (seats, steering wheel, gearlever knob) is also available. Particular attention has been paid to its ergonomics to ensure that the controls are conveniently positioned and that driving data is easy to read: the well-placed, intuitive 4x4 control button is a perfect example of this.
… with genuine go-anywhere ability
Duster was designed
to cope with all types of road and track, all over the world. In order to
meet these wide-ranging needs, Duster will be available in both 4x4 and 4x2
form. The 4x2 version has been designed for customers who want good ground
clearance and a reassuring elevated driving position, as well as
loose-surface ability, but who don't have a real need for all-wheel
drive.
The strengthened underside of Duster is suitable for loose-surfaces and
all-terrain use thanks to
Duster is a vehicle that is easy to use. It is lightweight for its size: 1,160kg in 4x2 specification and 1,250kg for the 4x4 version1. Combined with compact dimensions, this ensures Duster is particularly agile.
Duster has been developed on a platform derived from the Logan family, with a MacPherson-type arrangement with wishbones for the front suspension. In 4x4 configuration, the rear suspension is a MacPherson-type multi-arm system; for the 4x2 version, the programmed deflection, flexible H-beam permits greater carrying ability in terms of volume. Both systems allow significant suspension travel for improved traction and comfort.
Duster 4x4 is equipped with a new six-speed gearbox with a very short first ratio (5.79kph per 1,000 rpm). This simple solution allows the vehicle to travel at very slow speed on uneven terrain, and improves performance as you pull away from standstill with heavy loads or on steep slopes.
The 4x4 control located on the lower part of the centre console allows
drivers of Duster 4x4 to easily adapt the vehicle’s configuration to
their needs. This control permits three modes
A 100% Dacia 4x4 With All The Brand’s Acclaimed
Advantages
Duster, the sixth vehicle in the Dacia range,
stay’s true to the philosophy and values of the brand. Duster offers
unbeatable interior space for its price, as well as low running costs
thanks to thrifty fuel consumption, low maintenance costs, high levels of
safety and reliability in all conditions. Duster perfectly embodies the
brand values of reliability and affordability, while at the same time
shaking up the market, a role that has helped forge Dacia’s
reputation.
Unbeatable space for its price
Although Duster’s price
is comparable to that of a city car, its exterior and interior dimensions
are more akin to those of compact cars in the next segment up.
Duster can comfortably seat up to five adults and offers both front and rear occupants the same amount of space as the Dacia Logan saloon.
Duster's boot capacity – up to 475 cubic metres VDA (depending on version) – is also very competitive given the vehicle’s compact dimensions. With the rear benchseat folded, Duster offers an impressive carrying capacity of up to 1,636 cubic metres VDA (depending on version).
Reliable, economical, low-emission engines
Duster will be
available with a choice of three powerplants for both the 4x2 and 4x4
versions: one petrol engine (1.6 16V 110hp) and two diesel engines (dCi 85
and dCi 110). The strengths of these engines have already been demonstrated
under the bonnet of many Renault group vehicles. These engines are a
perfect fit for the criteria of cost, reliability and easy maintenance that
are hallmarks of the Dacia brand.
Combined with Duster’s low weight, they offer low fuel consumption and impressive ecological credentials. The dCi versions emit from 135g of CO2/km for the 4x2 version (which qualifies it for the Dacia eCO2 signature) and from 145g of CO2/km in the case of the 4x4 version.
Economical to buy and run
Servicing and maintenance costs have
been significantly reduced thanks to extended service intervals for oil
changes, and brake pad and tyre replacements. The useful life of the air
filters has been extended to 90,000km/four years for petrol versions, while
that for diesel it has gone from 40,000km to 60,000km.
Safety, an essential priority
Duster benefits from
Renault’s acclaimed expertise in the area of safety, Dacia's 4x4
features Bosch 8.1 ABS, as well as EBV electronic brakeforce distribution
and emergency brake assist.
Dacia Duster is the brand’s first vehicle to feature ESC 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, Duster is fitted, as standard, with two front airbags (depending on market) and three-point seat belts with load limiters for the front seats, to which pyrotechnic pretensioners can be added. Depending on the version, two lateral head/thorax airbags are fitted in addition to the driver and passenger front airbags.
Dacia fundamentals: reliability and strength
Like all the
vehicles based on the Logan platform, Duster has been engineered to deliver
the brand's hallmark strength and reliability.
Particular attention has been paid to anti-corrosion protection thanks
to several measures
The 4x4 running gear uses tried and tested components, sourced from the Alliance (Nissan rear axle and coupling, new six-speed TL8 gearbox derived from the TL4 gearbox that has been well-proven in the Renault and Nissan ranges).
In order to underline its high build quality, Dacia Duster is backed up by a three-year or 100,000km (60,000 mile) warranty in the majority of its European markets.
A Vehicle With Global Ambitions
Duster is an international
vehicle, both in terms of its markets and production. It will be rolled out
progressively in different global regions in the same way as Logan and
Sandero.
Launched from spring 2010 in the brand’s main
markets
Duster will be launched with Dacia badging this spring in
Europe, Turkey and the Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco.) It will complete
the Dacia range, which is enjoying growth in the majority of these markets.
Apart from the three vehicles aimed at the private sector – namely
Logan, Logan MCV and Sandero – Dacia has also staked its claim in the
light-commercial sector with Logan van and Logan pick-up.
From June 2010, Duster will also be available – badged as a Renault – in the Ukraine, the Middle East (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt) and other African countries.
The Pitesti factory (Rumania) will supply all these markets, whether Dacia- or Renault-badged. The Romanian plant has an annual production capacity of 350,000 vehicles and will continue to produce the brand’s other models.
In 2011, Renault Duster will be launched in Brazil, Russia and the Gulf states. It will be built alongside Logan, Sandero and Sandero Stepway in Curitiba, Brazil, for distribution in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile. Duster will later be manufactured at the Avtoframos plant in Moscow, Russia. It will be distributed in the Gulf States, supplied from the Pitesti factory.
The Genesis Of Duster
A global project to meet an
unsatisfied demand
The Duster project began with a simple premise:
there is a genuine need around the world for a comfortable, robust and
affordable 4x4. However, this demand is not currently being met. Aware of
this, Dacia developed an all-terrain vehicle aimed primarily at emerging
markets. The needs of European customers were also taken into account from
the start of the project.
Collaborative design between France and Romania
The Duster
project marks another milestone in collaborative engineering between
Renault Technologies Romania (RTR) and LeLosange (new name of
Renault’s Technocentre site near Versailles) in France. The design
process began at Le Losange, but Renault Technologies Romania engineering
resources were devoted to the Duster project from the beginning. Le Losange
and Renault Technologies Romania collaborated closely to make the vehicle
production-ready. From the stage of the second fleet of prototypes (roughly
one year before the launch of Duster), the nerve centre of the project
moved to Romania to be closer to the factory. Vehicle design was conducted
at LeLosange, in cooperation with Renault Design Central Europe (RDCE, the
satellite design facility in Bucharest).
Manufactured at the primary factory in Romania
Duster arrived
at the Pitesti factory in April 2009. This process was facilitated by a new
production line for special prototypes, which can be used for every model
variant produced and which is managed directly by Renault Technologies
Romania. This production line is located within the factory, making it
easier to train the assembly staff. Duster necessitated several
modifications to the production lines in Pitesti: a new body shop was built
specifically for this model; the assembly line was modified for the new
powertrains and 4x4 running gear, while revisions were made to the supply
logistics and storage of raw materials in the metal stamping process, in
line with the overall factory management scheme. In all, six different body
styles are now produced on the same assembly line.
Investment on a reasonable scale
In total, €290 million
was invested in the development of Duster, and its production at Pitesti.
This includes the cost of the new TL8 gearbox (manual, six-speed, 4x4) and
the forthcoming range of Euro4 and Euro5 engines. Of this total, just under
€70 million was invested in the production facility.
A good level of carry-over reduced the overall level of investment: in total, just over 50 per cent of components come from other vehicles in the Dacia and Renault ranges (engine and gearbox, for example).
The maximum production capacity at Pitesti is 25 Duster vehicles per hour. In time, Duster could account for over one third of total production at Pitesti.
Dacia Duster Contested The “Trophée Andros” Ice-Racing
Series In The Hands Of Alain Prost
The competition version of Dacia
Duster made its debut in the hands of Alain Prost in the opening round of
the 2009/2010 Trophée Andros, at Val-Thorens, France, on December 5-6,
2009. Alain Prost finished second with his Dacia Duster in the overall
standings of this winter's seven-round Trophée Andros.