The Dacia Duster van is now available with Dacia (or unofficial Dacia tuners), redoing the Duster SUV for the Austrian market by creating a panel van version. The Duster Van will be equipped with either the 1.6i 16v engine with 105 hp, or the 1.5 dCi with 85 or 110 hp.

The rear windows of the Duster have been replaced with metal paneling and the rear seats have been removed to create a greater rear space. Glass separates the front cabin from the rear. The space at the back has a volume of 1,636 litres for a maximum weight of 450 kg. Length measures 1.61 metres. The Duster Van is available with front or four-wheel drive and costs from 10,424 euros.

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The Dacia Logan will get a next generation update in 2012, with the new style to be anyone’s guess. We think it’s unlikely that the low-cost sedan will have the same success as its SUV sibling, but that Dacia is expanding is no news to anyone. The new Logan is currently codenamed X52 and is being put together by a large number of suppliers - hence the unknown design at this stage.

The new Logan will keep Dacia’s current engine line-up, with a few updates to bring them in line with Euro5 laws. They should get power and torque upgrades while decreasing emissions and fuel consumption. The Logan will also go international as Dacia plants in Romania are nearing capacity. Production outsourcing to Russia and Morocco will likely occur.

Apparently, through collaboration with suppliers, we could see some elements like LED headlights make their way onto the Logan, making it perhaps a little less low-cost. We’re hoping that we may be out of this economic crisis by 2012; not that we will get any closer to purchasing the new Audi A7 Sportback, but it would be interesting to see the fortunes of low-cost brands like Dacia were our European bank balances to be suddenly healthy again.

Source | AutoEvolution

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After the news that the Dacia Duster will get new engines, we also find out that a production increase is planned. It won’t be easy though as Dacia already has a six-month delivery time. That’s a long time to be waiting for your new low-cost SUV and of the 35,500 orders taken in four months of availability, only 12,000 Dusters have been delivered so far.

If the company can get over the logistical problems associated with component parts and increasing production line potential, we could be seeing quite a phenomenon on our hands with other manufacturers a bit slow to the low-cost party. Dacia plans to take its Duster production levels from 20 units a day to 35 units a day starting January 2011. There will be a transition period with plans to get to 25 units from October this year.

The orders for the Dacia Duster started from its unveiling at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and since then it has experienced a boom. The model was originally offered with three engine choices, but of the new engines planned for the Dacia Duster, it gets two new four-cylinder units: a 1.6-litre petrol engine and a 1.5-litre turbodiesel.

Source | AutoEvolution

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Competition in the low-cost segment is heating up with Peugeot and Citroen announcing the development of their own low-cost brand, and Renault developing a Tata Nano competitor in collaboration with Nissan. In Europe though, Renault has a head start with its Dacia brand, especially the Dacia Duster model running away with early sales.

Dacia has now announced new engines for its low-cost SUV and is aiming at broadening its appeal even further. The Duster will get two new four-cylinder units in the form of a 1600cc and a turbodiesel 1500cc with 90 hp. The turbodiesel will replace the current 85 hp option and will comply with Euro 5 anti-pollution laws.

As with the rest of the Dacia Duster range, both models will be available in 4×2 or 4×4 drive options. Pricing should remain more or less the same, with the four-wheel-drive models costing about 1,000 euros more than the 4×2 options.

Source | Autosblog.fr

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The first Dacia hybrid vehicle could be on its way in the form of the Dacia Hamster and these spy shots without camouflage are the first to show a complete look at the car. The pics come from a Romanian car forum which still doesn’t indicate whether the Dacia Hamster will actually become a production series model or not. Previously designed as a test model to develop Dacia experience in the hybrid sector, according to the drive-test.ro site, the Hamster is nothing more than a student project supervised by the company.

The car has a hybrid platform with a classic fuel engine and one electric motor that works on the rear wheels. As far as we can tell this system makes the Hamster an all-wheel drive model, as seen with the “E4WD” badge in the pics. If Dacia were to develop this Hamster model which became anywhere as successful as the low-cost SUV Dacia Duster, the hybrid segment could be in for a shake-up.

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PSA group President Philippe Varin has declared that Peugeot and Citroen will not be making low-cost cars to compete with Renault’s low-cost Dacia brand. In an interview with BFM radio, Varin stated that a low-cost brand is currently incompatible with their commercial vision, and that the Peugeot and Citroen brands need to concentrate on their own market position at this stage.

The statements come in addition to discussion over the Peugeot M3 and Citroen M4 models. Varin has said that these cars are currently being developed under those brands and aren’t destined for the Western Europe market, but will be designed specifically for emerging markets

Source | AutoPlus.fr

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Forget our environmentally conscious society, it seems the world just can’t get enough of SUVs. The new low-cost Dacia Duster of the Renault group has already sold 5,000 units in just two weeks from the launch date. The Duster is definitely the poor man’s SUV as, at a starting price of nearly 12,000 euros, it has no other SUV competitors in sight of this price point.

Dacia is originally a Romanian brand, and the Duster is made in its home country, ready to produce about 150,000 units a year. The Duster SUV should also be made available in markets other than Europe, including Russia and Colombia where about 60 to 80,000 units will be dedicated.

The entry level Dacia Duster has a 16V, 1.6-litre engine that is then available in 4WD for a cost of about 2,000 euros extra. Other engine options include the 1.5 dCi available in 85 or 105 hp, and the top of the range 1.5-litre in 4WD option.

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The low-cost Dacia Duster pricing has been released as the SUV debuts around Europe this month. With plenty of interest in the Duster, we’re wondering if it won’t manage to make its presence felt in the competitive SUV segment. The Dacia Duster entry level model starts at 11,900 euros and comes with a 16V 1.6-litre engine with 105 hp, or a 1.5 dCi engine with 85 or 110 hp.

The Duster is available in three different packages: Ambiance, Lauréate and Prestige. Both two-wheel and four-wheel drive is available with the all-wheel drive option costing exactly 2,000 euros more. The price jump between one package and the next is about 1,000 euros. For example, the entry level 16V 1.6 model costing 11,900 euros, costs 13,900 euros in all-wheel drive version. The Duster 1.5 dCi with 85 hp is available only with two-wheel drive with prices starting from 14,100 euros.

The 1.5 dCi with 110 hp start at 14,900 euros for the Ambiance package with 2WD and 16,900 euros for the 4WD version. The top of the range Duster features the dCi engine with 105 hp and all-wheel drive in the Prestige package. It costs 18,900 euros. After the jump is the full list of Dacia Duster pricing in Europe.

Continue reading: Dacia Duster price for European launch

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Dacia is working on a low-cost MPV which you can see in these spy photos, where the camouflage includes the exterior body of the current Dacia Logan MCV. Underneath, however, is a new chassis and engine unit for a model that will be part of the Renault Grand Scenic segment. The low-cost MPV will be larger than the Renault, with a shorter wheel base and changed wheel height.

The new aggressive marketing campaign from Dacia includes a US model of the Dacia Duster under the Renault brand, and this new MPV could provide an opportunity for a new range of engines. With the Duster, Dacia production lines are running at capacity and so this new model could move to Renault’s North African facilities for manufacturing. It will be interesting to see how Dacia’s expansion plans turn out, but so far some intelligent choices regarding the model range have provided for a positive start.

Source | Automarket.ro

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If it’s European expansion is anything to go by, the Dacia brand is enjoying a successful period. As further evidence, the Dacia Sandero range gets a new entry for the French market with the E85, which runs off a combined fuel and bio-ethanol system. The Dacia Sandero E85 is being introduced a few months after the first Dacia ethanol option became available in France, the Logan E85.

The Dacia Sandero E85 is equipped with a 1.6-litre MPI engine with 90 hp which has been modified to accommodate the ethanol fuel. Modifications include changes to the cooling system, cam heads and valves, and obviously the petrol pump and tank. The Dacia Sandero E85 price starts at 10,200 euros in France, and further European exportation depends on the use of ethanol fuels in other markets.

Soure | LeBlogAuto

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The Dacia Duster will debut in the UK in 2012, with the new SUV appearing on the European market in a few weeks’ time at just 11,900 euros. The Dacia is a Romanian car brand that belongs to the Renault group, and is creating a stir with its entry level market options. Dacia was not a brand originally earmarked for the UK market, but with solid results in the last five years, the Duster is up to the challenge.

While Dacia is not set for a UK debut until 2012, you can see details of the project on the website at www.daciacars.co.uk, complete with a countdown. The Dacia Duster will be available in both 4×2 and 4×4 driving options, costing 11,900 euros or 13,900 euros. It has an engine range with a 16 valve, 1.6-litre petrol unit with 110 hp, and two dCi diesel models with 85 or 110 hp. CO2 emissions measure between 135 and 145 g/km. It has the minimum safety features you’d expect with ABS, ESP and four airbags.

Off-road options include the Pack Look kit with 16-inch light alloy wheels, roof bar, brushed chrome side skirts and darkened rear windows. The Pack Cuoio, on the other hand, includes interior leather finishes. The Dacia Duster comes with a six-speed manual gearbox with a short shift for off-road driving. Below you can find live pics of the Duster at Geneva, more official pics and a video showing its offroad capabilities.

Continue reading: Dacia Duster at 2010 Geneva Motor Show: official details, price and video

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This video shows the French Formula One driver at the wheel of the new Dacia Duster crossover, rally driving the new car for its market debut. The Dacia Duster in the video has been designed for driving on ice and there’s plenty of sliding and drifting for the rev heads among you. The Dacia Duster is a low cost model based on the Nissan Qashqai and you can get a closer look of its style in this video.

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