The Renault Duster has long been popular for South African buyers seeking value, a degree of off-road capability and frugality. Renault has introduced a new version, and sadly, the diesel engine is gone, and in its place the 1.2T Hybrid Zen 4WD model. The flagship model offered to me to test is only available with a manual gearbox, and those wanting an automatic will have to opt for a 1.3-litre four-cylinder model with a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox sending power and torque to the front wheels. Let's see how I got on with the newcomer!
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Pros
- Design is attractive
- Off-road capability remains
- Retains spaciousness and practicality
- Rugged and capable image
Cons
- Not as efficient as predecessor
- Limited appeal of manual hybrid model
- It is no longer cheap
History of Duster
The Renault Duster's journey began in 2010, not under the Renault badge initially, but as a Dacia–Renault's Romanian subsidiary. Conceived as an affordable small SUV for emerging markets, it quickly gained popularity for its low price, spaciousness, and capable off-road abilities in its 4x4 guise. Its success in these markets prompted Renault to rebadge and introduce it to other regions, including South Africa, where it became a strong seller, lauded for its value proposition and rugged charm. I once drove a 4WD diesel Duster from Johannesburg to southern Mozambique, and remember only having to fill-up when exiting the border on the way back! The time spent with that car made the Duster on my shortlist when recommending small SUVs to buyers, such was its no-nonsense approach.
Over the years, the Duster has seen multiple updates and generations, each building upon the core strengths of affordability and practicality while incorporating modern features and improved refinement, culminating in introducing this new hybrid variant. The latest model is built on the Renault–Nissan CMF-B LS platform, with variants built in both Romania and Turkey.
Styling
The latest generation Duster maintains its robust and no-nonsense design. The familiar boxy silhouette, high ground clearance, and prominent wheel arches give it an attractive off-road aesthetic. The Hybrid Zen 4WD model doesn't drastically deviate from the standard Duster's aesthetics, but subtle hybrid badging and 18-inch wheels hint at its electrified nature. I'm a big fan of how the new Duster looks, and, anecdotally, at least, those I asked about it during my time with the car found it attractive, too!
Interior
Inside, the Duster is still focused on durability and functionality. There's an abundance of hard plastics, but these don't appear overly cheap, and the unqiye design of the Duster's interior gives it a hard-wearing, mildly rugged appeal, aided by the rubber floor mats and inclkudion of what looks and feels like recycled materials on the dark roof liner and seats.
There's a digitised instrument cluster, which is smaller than it initially appears, as well as a touchscreen infortainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The system isn't class-leading, but works just fine, with repsctable resolution and ease of use, although the quality of the reverse camera is lacklustre.
The Duster has always been praised for its practicality, offering a spacious cabin and a decent-sized boot. The new model is no different, with impressive rear occupant space, which includes two rear USB C ports, and a relatively large boot measuring 474 litres, bigger than the boot in a Toyota Corolla Cross. The 4WD Duster also offers solid off-road credentials, with a ground clearance figure of 217mm, an approach angle of 31 degrees, a breakover angle of 23 degrees and a depatre angle of 36 degrees. There's also a braked towing capacity of 1500kg.
Drivetrain
The Duster 1.2T Hybrid Zen 4WD combines a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor. The engine, codenamed HR12DDV is a 1.2-litre all-aluminium direct injected, turbocharged three-cylinder motorwith a timing chain. The engine also features a48V mHEV, with the 0.9 kWh battery located under the passenger seat said to provide performance and efficiency benefits. The unit provides 96kW and 230Nm of torque and is paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox for the local market.
There is also a 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine in the range. The HR13DDT (H5Ht) produces 113kW and 250Nm and is paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, the same drivetrain seen in many Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Renault products.
The inclusion of 4WD sets the flagship Duster apart, offering enhanced traction on various terrains, making it an option to the likes of the more off-road capable 5-door Suzuki Jimny, while offering more capability than other four-wheel drive options at this price point such as the Suzuki Grand Vitara AllGrip and Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max AWD.
Driving impression
The latest Duster is, overall, a nicer car to drive, offering better refinement, comfort and more usable power and torque. The hybrid engine cetrainly offers stronger performance than the previous diesel, but it's still quite gruff, and there's some notable lag, which can be irksome in this manual model when crawling in traffic.
The suspension set-up and handling strikes a good balance between on-road and off-road use, not entirely falling to pieces when confronted with a corner, but also not being too road-bias, although the Continental rubber fitted to the press unit was certainly more suited to road driving. Since we've experience near unprecedented rains in Gauteng, most of my local off-road spots were simply too rutted to use, but I tried anyway, and was impressed with how the little Duster performs off the beaten path.
Fuel Economy
Previous Dusters had the distance advantage of being incredibly efficient, often hovering around 5.0 L/100km with ease Renault claim that this new hybrid model will consume fuel at a rate of 5.7 L/100km, but my combined consumption sat at 7.3 L/100km over my 400kms of driving.
Safety
Verdict
The latest Duster was a polarising car for me. One one hand, the interior, exterior, general drive quality and off-road ability is an improvement over the outgoing car, but it is now over R500 000 for the flagship model, and the loss of the diesel powetrain has taken away much of the previous Dusters' unique selling proposition. I would suggest the 1.3-litre, front-wheel driver Duster being added to your shortlist of "must drives" when shopping in this segment, but it isn't the default option it once was among ever increasing competition.
