French publication Cardisiac says Dacia is getting ready for the 2016 reveal of its all-new Duster. It says the new model will bring some “high-risk” changes to the now familiar formula, the most important of which will be the addition of a three-row variant.
We don’t agree with the source that it will look like the Renault Oroch concept, simply because that’s a conept-ized version of the current car and not a close to production preview. The new model will have a new style, although it could be more in-line with the Sandero, a model whose design is newer by a couple of years.
The third-row option is expected to cost under €800, but since it will have to carry more car and passengers you’ll also have to pay for beefier engines too. Apparently, those will be provided (expect the 1.6-liter DCi130 to be the range topper), and the new Duster will be more powerful and dynamic than the current one (which is not very dynamic on-road).
On a personal note, they should really do something about that really short first gear which is meant for off-road crawling. It does the crawling bit very well, but you don’t ever need it in town and it’s a bit of a nuisance and feels unnatural – they should also focus on making it a quieter place to sit, as it’s not really a stretch to call its interior comfort/noise levels a bit agricultural. The facelift of the current model has addressed some refinement issues, but they need an all-new model to tackle more deeply entrenched ones.
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