Yahoo Autos Third-generation Dacia Duster gets more rugged while staying cheap
Released in 2010 as a cheap, no-frills off-roader, the original Dacia Duster helped launch the crossover craze in Europe. It has moved slightly upmarket since, and the third-generation model makes its debut with an outdoorsy look and more tech while staying true to its roots.
The new crossover stretches about 171 inches long, 71 inches wide and 65 inches tall, so it's almost exactly the same size as the outgoing model. Dacia borrowed the CMF-B platform from parent company Renault for the third-generation Duster. It's a unibody architecture that also underpins small hatchbacks like the Renault Clio and the Dacia Logan, but the Duster remains available with four-wheel drive.
While the overall proportions haven't changed much, the new Duster stands out with a more rugged-looking exterior design characterized by a tall, upright front end, a generous serving of plastic cladding, and punched-out wheel arches. Some of the trim pieces are made using a material called Starkle that Dacia developed in-house with help from chemical company LyondellBasell; these bits are intentionally left unpainted. Out back, the C-shaped lights are pushed out to the edges of each quarter panel to emphasize the crossover's sense of width.
