2018 Dacia Duster Illustrates the "Don't Fix It If It Ain't Broken" Saying

Besides, the Germans had their own similarly priced cars, and the general consensus was that they were better, so there was no need to go looking for alternatives from their neighbors to the southwest. When Renault bought Romanian brand Dacia, all that went down the drain.

Europe did not have a truly accessible car with a decent build quality for a while, and that was because none of the major manufacturers thought they could make it work. But with some clever cost cutting and the more affordable workforce at the Mioveni plant in Romania (not to mention the one in Marrakech, in northern Africa), Renault finally pulled it off.

And Europe could not get enough of it. James May is probably the most high-profile fan of the brand, but he's definitely not alone. And after the Logan sedan and Sandero Hatchback, Dacia went one step further with the Duster SUV.

With a starting price of around €11,000 (approximately $12,000), buyers got a roomy, robust, no-nonsense off-roader (FWD for the base versions), with a surprisingly pleasant design and very good rough-terrain abilities (when equipped with a 4WD system).

Seven years on, the Duster is now up for a replacement, and we've got the testing car on camera as it drives down some winding roads in Spain. Dacia appears to play the conservative card and change as little as possible about the SUV, while making sure there's plenty of novelty to separate it from the current model.

The test vehicle has plenty of added cladding over its doors and hood, but we'd be surprised if there were any major changes. Cost efficiency is best achieved in the manufacturing process, so changing as little as possible on the assembly line is what keeps the Duster's price down.

The facelift the SUV got back in 2014 saw minor changes to the headlights, taillights, and roof bars. The second generation should operate slightly more comprehensive changes, but we think they'll be restricted to details such as the grille and the bumpers, leaving the body panels largely untouched.

The interior should also receive an update, but simplicity must remain the word of the day. Even so, Dacia offers a very decent infotainment system with sat-nav option for peanuts money, which is actually the leitmotif of its entire range.

Dacia hasn't said when it plans to launch the Duster, other that sales will begin in early 2018, so that only leaves the Frankfurt Motor Show in September as the most likely unveiling venue. Some voices claimed it would happen in Paris three days from now, but we find it hard to believe. Since Dacia doesn't have anything else important planned for Frankfurt, showing the Duster there to a much greater audience would make a lot more sense. If we're wrong, we'll find out on Thursday.