Facelifted Duster officially unveiled, could come to India soon

The Renault Duster is a compact SUV that’s sold under different badges, the original one being the Dacia Duster – and that’s the one that has now got a new face. The facelifted Dacia Duster was showcased at the Frankfurt Motor show and the new-look is likely to be adopted by Renault as well, and could be brought into India after the Nissan Terrano launch, to give the Duster a bit more oomph.

The changes are largely cosmetic with no sheet metal or mechanical changes being made to the Duster. The most noticeable change is in the front of the Duster with the thick chrome, chain-link like grille and twin-beam headlamps that now get an asymmetric pattern, with a large-reflector low-beam and a smaller high-beam pattern. The bumper too gets a mild update with a lower airdam. Also see: Renault Duster modification by DC Design for Rs. 3.49 lakh!

In profile the only visible changes to the Duster are in the roof-rails, which get grooves and Duster branding on them. At the rear there is a very minor change in the tail-lamps, while the number plate cover gets a matt finish with Duster branding instead of chrome. The 4×4 variant gets a new sticker, positioned next to the tail-light. Also read: All you wanted to know about the Renault Duster

The big change though is to the interiors, with an all new instrument panel. The Duster now features a three-gauge layout instead of the two gauge with MID set-up in the present Duster. Of course, the MID has only moved to the third guage, but it looks sportier. The Duster showcases some updated equipment which includes six airbags in the top-end variant, repositioned mirror controls, and electronic stability control. The Duster also gets steering mounted audio controls and cruise control – but we are not sure this equipment list would make it to the Duster sold in India, due to cost constraints. The seats have also been redesigned apparently for better comfort.

The Dacia Duster gets a new engine option – a turbocharged 1.2 litre four-cylinder petrol engine that puts out 120 bhp of power and comes with a six-speed manual transmission, but it’s unlikely that Renault would consider that for India as there are very few buyers of its petrol variant anyway.

What do you think of these updated looks? Still prefer the Nissan Terrano? Also read: Nissan Terrano to come in seven variants; features explained