2022 Dacia Grand Duster Rendered With New Sandero Stepway Design Influences
Controlled by Renault since 1999, the Romanian automaker Dacia is stepping its game up for 2021 with the all-new Logan and Sandero. The Duster, however, will have to wait until 2022 for the mid-cycle refresh to come with Y-shaped signature lighting, autonomous emergency braking, and all that jazz.
From a design standpoint, however, we can all agree that the inevitable will happen. Something that isn’t quite clear in the automaker’s future plans is the Grand Duster, a seven-seat version of the compact utility vehicle we’ve been hearing about for one too many years. The rumors have come back to our attention for an obvious reason, namely the commercial failure of the Lodgy.
The three-row MPV isn’t selling well in these crossover-driven times, which is why the French motoring media is making a case for a Duster-like utility vehicle that would measure 4.5 meters from nose to tail. Renault and Dacia have repeatedly denied this project, so don’t get your hopes up too high.
Be that as it may, pixel artist Kleber Silva took to his Photoshop skills to imagine a Duster with two more seats, the styling language of the Logan and Sandero, and the Stepway package. Clearly based on the Renault Koleos, the rendering looks considerably better than the Lodgy in Stepway specification.
Considering the dimensions and curb weight of the Grand Duster, the TCe 100 three-cylinder turbo doesn’t make a lot of sense in this application. The most obvious engine choice would be the TCe 130 four-cylinder turbo, a Renault-Mercedes design that can also be found in the W177 A-Class.
If the Lodgy is indeed be replaced by the Grand Duster at some point in the future, you can also expect the starting price to be lower than the competition. As a refresher, the Duster is one of the cheapest CUVs in the segment because the entry-level trim doesn’t even come with air con.
