Photo: Renault
After the big motor show debut of the second-generation Dacia Duster in Frankfurt, we now have a new Renault version for South America, soon to be joined by Asia, Russia and the Ukraine.
Not surprisingly, it looks pretty much the same as the Dacia version. The big difference is, of course, a new front grille which copies the design seen on the Koleos and Espace, as well as Renault's trucks. It swoops down at the bottom to create room for the taller diamond logo.
But we kind of like the Dacia Duster more because its grille is a uniform slab with Range Rover-like accents, which is the way to go for an SUV. In fact, the photos you see are Photoshopped versions of the ones released by Dacia a few months ago.
The bumper and hood had to be tweaked for the new badge and fascia, but the overall design has stayed the same. Though we don't have the complete specs for this Renault crossover, we suspect that the suspension has also been raised by about 20mm to cope with rougher roads.
A few changes have been made inside as well. For example, the three round air vents have been replaced by two more traditional-looking ones with an octagonal shape. There's also a different steering wheel that looks like something Nissan developed for the Terrano.
As we expected, the South American market continues to offer a 2-liter engine, though the output has increased to 145 HP when running on ethanol. This can be specified in both 4x4 and 4x2 configurations.
The base Renault Duster engine remains the 1.6-liter SCe four-cylinder, which can be coupled to a CVT gearbox. European models, meanwhile, are now combining a more efficient 1.2 turbo and twin-clutch EDC.
Some markets will offer the French-badged crossover with the 1.5-liter dCI, rated at either 90 to 110 HP.
But we kind of like the Dacia Duster more because its grille is a uniform slab with Range Rover-like accents, which is the way to go for an SUV. In fact, the photos you see are Photoshopped versions of the ones released by Dacia a few months ago.
The bumper and hood had to be tweaked for the new badge and fascia, but the overall design has stayed the same. Though we don't have the complete specs for this Renault crossover, we suspect that the suspension has also been raised by about 20mm to cope with rougher roads.
A few changes have been made inside as well. For example, the three round air vents have been replaced by two more traditional-looking ones with an octagonal shape. There's also a different steering wheel that looks like something Nissan developed for the Terrano.
As we expected, the South American market continues to offer a 2-liter engine, though the output has increased to 145 HP when running on ethanol. This can be specified in both 4x4 and 4x2 configurations.
The base Renault Duster engine remains the 1.6-liter SCe four-cylinder, which can be coupled to a CVT gearbox. European models, meanwhile, are now combining a more efficient 1.2 turbo and twin-clutch EDC.
Some markets will offer the French-badged crossover with the 1.5-liter dCI, rated at either 90 to 110 HP.
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