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Anastasia Tregubova Reviews Renault Duster Automatic, Finds Strange Flaws

For years, budget car fans have been asking us "where's the Duster automatic?". Finally, there is such a thing, available from Renault. The only problem is it's in Russia. Still, that means the budget crossover can be reviewed by an ex Playboy model called Anastasia Tregubova.
Duster 2.0 Automatic review 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
Getting past the fact that a beautiful blonde is reviewing a back-to-basics 4x4 is going to be pretty hard. Anastasia is absolutely gorgeous and a qualified racing driver, which has made concentrating really difficult for us.

But we did notice a couple of flaws that she pointed out. For example, the stick for the automatic gearbox is way too long and impedes access to the air conditioning knobs. The little switch that controls the electric door mirrors is conveniently located under the handbrake lever. So either you can't move or you can't see the kerb while parking – make your pick!

If you're familiar with the Logan, then you might already know this is a common problem with all Dacia car. But you probably don't… because nobody has ever bough a Logan sedan with electric windows.

The upside to putting up with all these flaws is that the Duster is cheap. Prices start at just 492,000 rubles (€10,500) for a 4x2 model with a 1.6-liter engine and a manual gearbox and can go as high as 800,000 rubles (€17,000) for a "Luxe Privilege 4x4" with a 2-liter petrol engine and a 4-speed automatic like this test car.

Of course, there's also the option of a frugal 1.5-liter dCi diesel engine and a manual, like the one we drove.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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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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