Dacia, a brand of Renault Group has revealed two official pictures of the upcoming new 2014 Dacia Duster which is expected to be the 2014 Renault Duster for India. The new Duster takes design cues from the D-Cross concept revealed few months back. Dacia Duster is very popular car in Europe and is European counterpart of Indian Renault Duster SUV. In very short time, Duster has been a part of many Indian families with its relatively affordable price point, butch looks and great mileage and ride quality. With the new design of the 2014 Renault Duster, it will be even more compelling buy.
In this article, we take a look on what has changed and what all can we expect in the new 2014 Renault Duster in India.
What Is New on 2014 Renault Duster?
Exteriors
Talking of the changes in the new 2014 Renault Duster, the exterior face lift is quite visible on both front and rear of the car while keeping the profile and side body lines same as before. The dimension of the car have also not been changed externally. The front gets more attractive with a more modern looking grille design, better sectioned headlamps with probably daytime running LEDs (not confirmed, appears in the pictures), new design on the front air-dams and under-body cladding which give it a more sporty look.
The side view of new Duster is not much different from the present generation Duster expect for more attractive looking alloy wheels with 5 spoke design. Coming to the rear of the Duster, the under-body cladding visible near the tail-pipe finished nicely in silver looks good with reflectors mounted just above it. The rear seems practically the same except for minor changes in the finish of the under-body cladding at rear.
2014 Renault Duster 4×2 Exteriors Video
2014 Renault Duster 4×4 Exteriors Video
Interiors
There is a lot to be desired from new Duster on the interiors compared to the old model. The same has been addressed by Nissan in Terrano which is practically rebadged Duster only. By the looks of it, the Dacia Duster gets better interiors, it may be dark toned but the Renault Duster will get the beige interior trim option found on the current variant of the SUV. The steering gets some control buttons on it, though the design hasn’t changed. The biggest change is in the centre console, firstly it has received a slight design makeover and secondly, the plain looking media unit on the old SUV has been replaced with a touch screen multi-media unit, which we hope will make it to the Renault Duster facelift coming to India too. Renault claims that boot space on the Duster facelift has increased by 475 litres, the cabin soundproofing has been improved. There seem to be no other changes on the inside.
2014 Renault Duster Interiors Video
Engine and Transmission
Renault has added a new 1.2-litre, 120 BHP petrol motor mated to a six-speed manual transmission in the 2014 Dacia Duster facelift, which may or may not make its way to India. No other mechanical changes have been done to the pretty well put together package. The existing engines offered in India may receive a bit of tuning adjustment based on customer feedback. The 4 wheel drive version of Renault Duster will be highly welcome by Indian buyers, but Renault may not launch it anytime soon because of the cost factor.
Photo Comparison: 2014 Dacia Duster Facelift vs. 2012 Renault Duster
Competition
Renault had enjoyed almost zero competition until Ford launched the EcoSport in India and it can feel the heat of the same as EcoSport is already selling like hot cakes in India. Although its not a direct price overlap, EcoSport does seem to have taken away some part of Duster’s sale. With competition becoming more intense in years to come, with new compact SUVs planned by Maruti and Hyundai, its still a good time for Renault to strengthen its product to deal with the upcoming competition in a better way. It will not be wrong to say that Duster has turned Renault Indian’s fortunes, but its now a question of continuing with this success in long run. Stay tuned to Car Blog India for latest updates on the new Duster.
