PITESTI, Romania — Renault's Dacia Logan family, originally designed as a low-cost vehicle range for emerging markets, continues to expand with the newest arrival, a compact utility vehicle called the Dacia Duster.
Previewed earlier this year as a futuristic concept at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, the production version of the Duster is based on Renault's global B0 architecture. It will be built initially in Romania and, beginning in spring 2010, marketed in Europe, Turkey and North Africa.
As has been the case with other members of the Logan family — which now includes a sedan, a wagon, a pickup and a hatchback (dubbed the Sandero) — the Duster will be rolled out to other markets around the globe with either Dacia or Renault badging.
Starting next June, the vehicle will be shipped from Romania to the Ukraine, the Middle East and other African markets. In 2011, South American markets will be supplied from Renault's plant in Curitiba, Brazil, while the automaker's Avtoframos plant in Moscow is expected to add production in 2012.
Initially, the five-passenger Duster will be offered in both 4x2 and 4x4 variants, with a choice of four-cylinder gas and diesel engines, ranging in power from 85 to 110 horsepower.
Inside Line says: A name borrowed from the early days of Detroit's muscle-car era, now applied to a radically different concept for a radically different era. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
icecubefosho says:
09:11 AM, 12/10/2009
What the Nissan Rogue, should've been.