The All-New Dacia Duster opens the next chapter
THE All-New Dacia Duster opens the next chapter in the story of a model that has grown into a standardsetter in the market. It is an all-round icon, encapsulating everything the Dacia brand stands for: ‘Robust and Outdoor’, ‘Essential but Cool’, and ‘Eco-Smart’. Duster was born in 2010, overhauled for the first time in 2017, and rose to the top by rewriting the SUV rulebook.
Duster is a proven success story. In its 14-year-long career, it has been awarded more than 40 accolades, production stands at 2.2 million vehicles and counting, and it is steadily increasing in popularity, ranking as Europe’s best-selling SUV across all segments in the retail market in 2022. Around 1,000 Duster roll off the production lines at Dacia’s plant in Pitesti, Romania, every day – about one every minute!
STRONGER AND MORE ASSERTIVE DESIGN
Dacia has reinvented Duster’s design. It still has the striking looks that propelled the previous generations to the top – especially its solid, sturdy SUV character – but pushes them further with Dacia’s new, distinctive design.
David Duran, Dacia Design Director, said: “Before even starting work on All-New Duster’s style, we honed its proportions, to find a strong, balanced posture. When you get the proportions right early on, you don’t need artifices to tweak style later.”
Dacia’s philosophy of providing all the essentials applies to the All-New Duster’s design as much as every other model.
The team started simply, by looking at the cabin, bonnet and wings. Then they assembled them into the whole car to give the model a modern, well-built style, with deliberately taut, selfconfident lines.
The simple shapes and volumes add to the design’s power, including the sharp, vertical face, chamfered wheel-arch guards, large tailgate and side windows reaching seamlessly from bow to stern.
The All-New Duster is shielded with a stylish belt wrapping all the way around it. The side underbody shields connect to the hallmarks, then to the wheel-arches, which in turn connect to the front and rear bumpers, making the AllNew Duster more robust and ready for the outdoors than ever.
The All-New Duster’s design is consistent, it moves with the times and combines its adventurous character with a more sustainable edge.
The front and rear skid plates are dyed in the mass, meaning the plastic is already coloured when it is injected to make the part. Not using paint is both good for the environment and for customers, as scrapes and scratches won’t alter the original colour
The side underbody shields, wheel-arch guards, hallmarks, triangles on the front bumper and rear shield tail are made of a sturdy material called Starkle®. Designed by Dacia’s engineers and LyondellBasell’s chemists, the material, which was unveiled on the brand’s Manifesto concept car, is up to 20% recycled. Its composition includes white particles that give it a mottled look, which Dacia decided to display instead of painting.
David Durand continues: “We wanted the exterior and interior design to be consistent. The firm and tough style inside makes you feel properly protected.”
This feeling also comes from the high, vertical new dashboard. The shape of the air vents, which resemble the wheel arches, adds to the consistent feel.
Like the outside, the inside comes with all the essentials – meaning the features that serve a purpose. A lot of work went into the ergonomics, including the 10.1-inch central screen positioned in the driver’s field of view and at a 10° angle towards them. The new automatic transmission shifter, coupled with the HYBRID 140 engine, is particularly easy to use. The steering wheel’s flattened surfaces at the top and bottom make it exceedingly comfortable to handle.
David Durand said: “Duster wouldn’t be Duster without a clever and practical interior that makes daily life easier for users. Everything is designed to make you feel at home, front and back”.