History and characteristics of Renault Duster cars

Renault Duster — a compact crossover (J-segment) of the French company "Renault", as well as the Romanian subsidiary "Dacia" under the name Dacia Duster, which has been produced since 2009 and is currently in production. The first generation was renamed to "Nissan Terrano" in Russia and India. The body shape was only a five-door station wagon with front or all-wheel drive. The gasoline or diesel engine is located transversely in front, all are only four-cylinder in-line engines. For South American countries, there was a version of a four-door pickup called "Duster Oroch".

The main competitors and classmates at present are the following cars from other automakers: BMW X1, Citroen C-Crosser, Chery Tiggo, Chevrolet Captiva, Chevrolet Niva, Ford Kuga, Great Wall Hover, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Lada 4x4 Vision, Land Rover Freelander, LIFAN Myway, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class, Nissan Qashqai, Opel Antara, Peugeot 4008, Renault Koleos, Skoda Kodiaq, SsangYong Actyon, Suzuki SX4, Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan.

First generation (2009-2017)

The first generation was presented in November 2009 at the French National Ice Races "Andros Trophy", and in December 2009 the car was shown to the press. At the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010, Duster was presented to the public. It is based on the "B0" platform, which is an extended modification of the "Nissan B" platform. This platform is used for "Renault" cars: "Logan", "Sandero", "Kaptur", "Duster"; other brands: "Dacia Lodgy", "Dacia Dokker", "LADA Largus" and "LADA XRAY", as well as many cars of the company "Nissan". The body was mainly a five-door station wagon with a wheelbase of 2673 mm, a length of 4315 mm, a width of 1822 mm, a height of 1630-1690 mm and a curb weight of 1160-1294 kg. There was also a four-door pickup with a wheelbase of 2829 mm and an overall length of 4700 mm.

The engine was located transversely in the front with front-wheel drive or with all-wheel drive using Nissan technology. The line of four-cylinder petrol engines looked like this:

• 1.2 liters (1197 cm³, H5Ft, turbo) with a capacity of 123 hp.
• 1.6 liters (1598 cm³, K4M) with a capacity of 103 hp (petrol), 113 hp (ethanol) and 101 hp (gas)
• 2.0 liters (1998 cm³, F4R) with a capacity of 133 hp (gasoline) and 139 hp (ethanol)

The diesel engine was a single 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (1461 cc, K9K, SOHC) with a capacity of 84, 106 and 109 hp. The gearbox was a six- or five-speed manual, a four- or six-speed automatic, and also a continuously variable transmission "X-Tronic".

The car is equipped with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and emergency braking system (EBA). As an additional option, there is electronic stability control (ESC), understeer control (CSV) and traction control (ASR). Two airbags are installed in the front on all models, and as an option, side airbags for the head and chest are additionally installed. In 2011, the Duster was tested by the European committee "Euro NCAP" to determine its safety and awarded it only three stars out of five. The low rating was due to the lack of a maximum speed limiter and the lack of electronic stability control in the basic configuration.

The updated car was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2013. The front received a chrome grille and updated headlights, the rear underwent minor changes, and the interior was also updated.

The first generation of Renault Duster was produced in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Colombia, Russia and Romania. In total, more than 2 million cars were produced. In India, the production of the first generation will continue until 2023, when it should be replaced by the third generation.

Second generation (2017-present)

The second generation Duster was officially presented in August 2017 and was shown in September 2017 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and sales began in November. It is based on the same "B0" platform as the first generation. The body is in the form of a five-door station wagon with five seats. The length of the car is 4320 mm, the width is 1820 mm, the height is 1630-1700 mm, the wheelbase is 2673 mm and the curb weight is 1160-1294 kg. The exterior and interior design are completely updated. The noise in the cabin has been halved, but because of this, the trunk volume has decreased. The power steering has been replaced with an electric power steering. The engine is located transversely in front, the drive is full or only on the front wheels. There were four trim levels - basic "Duster", "Essential", "Comfort" and "Prestige".

At first, the engines were installed from the first generation, but then they were updated in the summer of 2018. Currently, the petrol engines have the following characteristics - 1.2 liters "TCe" (1197 cm³, H5FT, turbo, 125 hp), 1.3 liters "TKe" (1333 cm³, turbo, 130 and 150 hp) and 1.6 liters "SCe" (1598 cm³, H4M, 115 hp). 1.5 liter turbocharged diesel engine (1461 cm³, K9K) — "DCi" with a capacity of 90/110 hp and "Blue DCi" with a capacity of 95/115 hp. The gearbox is installed six- or five-speed manual, as well as a six-speed automatic with a double clutch "DCT".

The car comes standard with a four-camera MultiView system, automatic climate control, blind-spot warning, daytime running lights, and keyless entry and ignition. Hill-start assist and hill-descent assist are also available.

In December 2017, the European committee "EuroNCAP" published the results of crash tests of the second-generation Duster model. It received three stars out of five, although most competitors received five stars.