Right-Hand Drive Dacia Duster Aimed for Australia

One of the first markets that could see a right-hand drive version of Dacia's low-cost SUV Duster might be Australia, as French manufacturer Renault is now pondering launching the recently-released model in Oz. Of course, details are still unclear at this point, but it seems like Renault is looking into ways to bring the SUV in Australia in an effort to continue the success of the car in Europe outside the continent.

Drive.com.au writes that in case the Duster really arrives on Australian soil, it would most likely wear Renault's badge, rather than Dacia's, because the French guys want to avoid overpopulating the local market with multiple brands.

Dacia's Duster was one of the European Car of the Year 2011 finalists, but was placed on the last position in the competition won by Nissan's Leaf.

The car is offered in Europe with a choice of three engines for both 4x2 and 4x4 versions: one petrol engine (1.6 16V 110hp) and two diesel engines (dCi 85 and dCi 110). If we are to trust Dacia's official figures (and we really should since most of these engines are already available on various Renault vehicles) the dCi versions emit from 135g of CO2/km for the 4x2 version (which qualifies it for the Dacia eco2 signature) and from 145g of CO2/km in the case of the 4x4 version.

There are lots of rumors regarding the future of the SUV, mostly because Renault is continuously looking into ways to benefit from Dacia's growing popularity outside its domestic market Romania. Voices familiar with the matter claim that Renault is also working on a special version of the Duster with an automatic unit, while others predict a right-hand drive configuration for the UK market will arrive in 2012.

autoevolution has already tested Dacia's Duster, so you can read our review here.