The Dacia Duster is the first crossover SUV developed by the Romanian automaker Automobile Dacia Europe from 18 March 2010.Based on the Nissan B0 platform, the Duster measures 4.31 metres (169.7 in) in length, 1.82 metres (71.7 in) in width and has 210 mm (8.3 in) of ground clearance. Its luggage space has a volume of up to 475 litres (16.8 cu ft), while with the rear benchseat folded and tipped forward, its carrying ability can exceed 1,600 litres (57 cu ft).
The Duster is offered with two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The 4x4 variants make use of Nissan's all-wheel drive system[2] which allows the driver to choose from three different driving modes: Auto, in which the front/rear torque split is calculated automatically as a function of available grip, Lock, whereby 50 per cent of torque is consistently fed through the rear axle, and 4x2 where the transmission is locked into two-wheel drive for maximum fuel efficiency.
Dacia Duster features Bosch 8.1 ABS, as well as EBD electronic brakeforce distribution and EBA emergency brake assist. It also features ESC electronic stability control as an option on certain versions, as well as CSV understeer control and ASR traction control. This option also allows torque to be transferred away from a spinning wheel in 4x4 mode to improve traction when diagonal wheel spin occurs.On the passive safety front, Dacia Duster comes as standard with two front airbags (depending on market) and three-point seat belts with load limiters for the front seats. Depending on version, two lateral head/thorax airbags are fitted in addition to the driver and passenger front airbags to provide additional protection in the case of side impact. Pyrotechnic pretensioners for the front seats (depending on version) complete Dacia
A competition version of the Dacia Duster fitted with a 350 hp (261 kW) V6 engine and driven by Alain Prost took part in the 2009/2010 French ice racing championship Trophée Andros, finishing in second place.
In 2010, the Dacia Dacia teams successfully finished the Rallye on board the Duster: Dounia and Isabelle (Team 315 - Dacia ) were first in the general ranking, while Nathalie and Dorothée (Team 316 - Dacia
In 2011, Dacia announced that they would be racing the Dacia Duster in the "Unlimited Class" of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb/ The Dacia Duster 'No Limit' that they will be using will be powered by an 850 bhp version of the VR38DETT engine used in the Nissan GT-R mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. The car is tuned by Tork Engineering, Sodemo and Renaultsport and will be driven by three-time Trophee Andros winner Jean-Phillipe Dayraut.
