Dacia Duster gains new look and technology for 2021
Value SUV gets Sandero-inspired front end and a larger, updated infotainment system
The Dacia Duster has been lightly restyled to bring it into line with its new Sandero sibling as part of a mid-life facelift.
Dacia’s new Y-shaped headlight designs and a chrome grille mark the new SUV out from the current car, and more efficient LED front indicators have been fitted for the first time.
New aero-optimised 15in and 16in wheels and spoiler designs, in conjunction with new wheel bearings, tyres and the more efficient lights, are said to help cut CO2 emissions by 5.8g/km on the four-wheel-drive Duster.
The lightly revamped interior - designed with input from Dacia customers - receives new materials and a redesigned centre console with a 1.1-litre storage cubby, and an 8.0in touchscreen with smartphone integration has been introduced as standard.
Julien Ferry, programme director for the Duster line-up, told Autocar that keeping the Duster ‘recipe’ is an overarching priority, but subtle changes have arrived to secure its continued appeal: “The feedback we have is very good. What we wanted to improve, however, is to give the car a bit more freshness. We wanted to improve the little things that the customer is sensitive to, like the multimedia system with a wider screen.
“We also wanted to improve ease of use, so we put in a new centre console between the front seats, several USB ports [on certain trims] and we also tried to improve the energetic efficiency by reducing its CO2 and consumption."
Elsewhere, the top-rung TCe 150 petrol engine is now mated to a new six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox - “long awaited”, according to Ferry - and the Bi-Fuel car, more popular in mainland Europe than in the UK, gains a 50%-larger LPG tank
Orders open this summer, with prices expected to start from around £12,000.
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