Dacia reveals its first concept car, the Duster, in Geneva

The B0 platform, which has already given birth to Dacia Logan line-up and Sandero, was also expected to allow a crossover vehicle. Although it must look a lot different in its production version, we can expect the name to remain the same. Here is the Duster, the first concept car from Dacia, a concept that will turn into reality very soon.



Duster is a 4.25 m long, 1.50 m tall, 1.64 m wide vehicle with an impressive wheelbase of 2.80 m. If it keeps this large measure when it comes to production lines, what is very likely, the car will surely drive a lot of attention, besides selling a lot. That's because it will be cheap, as it has happened with most B0 Dacia products.

Besides the huge space the car offers (there is a 470 l luggage compartment as well), the concept car presents a very daring desing. Its drag coefficient is as low as 0.30, what helps the 1.5 dCi turbodiesel engine deliver 139 g/km of CO2 and a fuel consumption of 18.9 km/l. This engine generates 105 bhp (77 kW) and 240 Nm at 2,000 rpm and is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Duster can reach 100 km/h in 9.6 s from standstill, what, with its 1,300 kg and its diesel engine, hints a rather spirited behavior, reinforced in appearance by its 21-inch five spoke wheels and 245/35 ZR21 tyres.

The concept car is also one of the only true four-door vehicles of the world that is not a sedan. That's because it does not have two doors on the left side, but only one. At its right side, there are two and the back door is in suicide style, or else, it opens from the middle to the back and is hinged in the C column instead of the B column, as usual.

The production version of this crossover will very likely reach the market in 2010, possibly in Brazil as its first marker, as it has already happened with Sandero. That's because Ford has created a small crossover vehicle called EcoSport that sells like hot cakes and Renault also wants a share of that market segment. A huge one, if possible. And Duster may be the answer for that.





















Source: Renault