Dacia has revealed its first ever concept car at the
Geneva Motor Show. The Duster is a compact crossover vehicle apparently designed to emphasise the Romanian company's brand values of simplicity, robustness and authenticity.
Design teams in Romania and France co-operated to produce the Duster. Though the design combines elements of MPV, off-roader and coupé, the most striking feature is the asymmetrical styling. From the driver's side it looks like a two-door coupé while the passenger's side features an extra door for rear-seat access.
As it has been designed with a view to urban use Duster is relatively compact at 4.25-metres long and 1.64-metres wide. The 21-inch alloy wheels have been pushed as near to the corners as possible to give an appearance of stability and toughness while the designers have paid attention to lowering aerodynamic drag aiming to channel airflow along the sides of the car and out through the tail lamps. Dacia quotes a drag factor of 0.30 and claims that 53.3mpg is possible from the 1.5-litre dCi engine.
The interior of the Duster is finished in blue and chocolate brown and is supposed to instil a sense of well-being in the occupants. It is light and airy, courtesy of the glazed roof panel and pillar-less side windows. Slim-line seats take up the minimum possible space with the driver's seat incorporated in a wraparound structure that runs from sill to centre console. There is plenty of storage space including a large glovebox and door bins. To emphasise the Duster's versatility the interior can be reconfigured with the seats folding away to leave plenty of load space.
There is no indication that Duster will go on sale any time soon. If it did then many of the show car's details would be replaced with more down-to-earth features. However it is possible that the Romanian company wants to add a third model to its current line-up of Logan and Sandero.
John Lambert - 3 Mar 2009