Renault Duster Not Delayed, Coming In 2025: Confirmed!
Renault India is expected to have big launches in 2025. The most important one, however, is the all-new Duster. The carmaker is expected to bring the third generation of the SUV to India this year. Following the Nissan-Honda merger and the chaos associated with it, there was some uncertainty around whether Renault would pull back from the Duster’s launch plans. Now, a video shared by Acko Drive confirms that the new Duster will launch this year.
In the beginning of the video, the host says that the third-generation Duster is definitely coming to India in 2025. Towards the end of what looks like a hands-on review of the new SUV from Slovenia, the host says ” Much remains to be seen in terms of where the Renault- Nissan alliance may end up, and what that means for the Indian market, and their joint plant in Chennai. But needless to say, the four cars promised on this new platform will be delivered. The Duster will be the most Brutish, rugged and macho. ” This more or less confirms the launch.
Now for those who might be wondering what the ‘4 cars’ are, the third generation Duster will come in both 5-seater and 7-seater versions and each of them will have corresponding Nissan counterparts. This means that there will be a 5-seater and 7-seater Terranos (not sure if that would be the name) as well. This makes it a total of 4 cars. Previous presentations by Nissan confirmed this.
New Third-Generation Duster: What We Know About It
The third-generation Duster will have major design and cabin reworks gone into it. It will be based on a new platform- CMF-B LS (Common Module Family). The LS version of this architecture is aimed at developing markets like India and the letters expand to ‘Low Specification’. The platform is likely going to be more cost-effective than the regular CMF-B.
In design, the new Duster will have cues that bring about ample visual distinction, even while going loud about it being a Duster. The cabin will have generous use of premium trims and finishes. There will be goot kit levels as well. The expected equipment list consists of digital driver display, panoramic sunroof, wireless charging, driver-inclined touchscreen infotainment panel with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, leatherette ventilated seats, powered driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control and even ADAS.
The ADAS functions expected are adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, emergency braking, and lane-keeping assist. In addition to these, the new Duster will also come with a host of other safety features such as 6-7 airbags, ABS, EBD, hill descent control and more.
In global markets, the new Dacia Duster is available with several engine options. For the Indian market, it could come with a petrol engine alone. Renault could introduce a 1.3-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine (HR13DDT) on the new SUV.
This mill has been developed jointly with Nissan and will likely be available in two states of tune- 130 BHP/ 240 Nm and 150 BHP/ 250 Nm. The last Duster that was on sale in the country had diesel engines on offer. This, however, won’t be the case with the new SUV. It will be a petrol-only model.
Renault could offer two gearbox choices on the India-spec Duster- a six-speed manual and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox (EDC – Efficient Dual Clutch). This will be a wet clutch DCT, and should thus have an edge over the dry clutch units of some of its competitors.