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2016 Renault Duster Facelift Getting 6-Speed Twin-Clutch Automatic in India

The European market still doesn't have any automatic version of a Dacia model, but because emerging markets don't treat the Duster or Sandero as cheap cars, they get much better goodies. A report from India suggests the Renault Duster is getting a facelift for the local market, and that will also include a twin-clutch automatic gearbox.
2016 Renault Duster Facelift 6 photos
Photo: Renault
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The automatic cog-changer is going to be familiar to anyone who knows the Renault model range. The same 6-speed EDC, short for Efficient Dual Clutch, is also available on the Clio supermini and its Captur crossover brother.

Twin-clutch tech is nothing new, having been developed in motorsport and pioneered on mass-market cars by Audi and Volkswagen over a decade ago. However, it's interesting to see that even affordable cars now pack such features.

On the Duster, the EDC gearbox will only be available with front-wheel drive versions of the Duster, likely matched to a 1.5-liter turbodiesel engine making 90 horsepower (110 hp is also feasible).

The Duster is made locally in India and sold as a Renault. So we aren't talking about the EU-spec facelift shown at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, but a diamond-badged model like the one we recently saw in Russia. Last year, some right-hand drive Duster models made in India were exported and sold in Britain. However UK-bound production switched to Romania, so we have no way of knowing if the gearbox will find its way to Europe.

Auto magazine Motoring World reports that the robo-Duster is being launched as a response to the Hyundai Creta and the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross. However, we think there is real demand for this car in Europe.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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