The 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, which will go live in the second week of September 2017, will host the global premiere of the heavily updated Dacia Duster. Don’t get confused by the Dacia brand name, as it is a Romanian subsidiary of the French carmaker Renault.

But before it goes on display in Germany, the company has revealed how the updated 2018 Duster will look. The first thing that catches the eye is the same, hunkered-up stance that the Duster has always featured. The enormously flared wheel arches and in-your-face looks still remain part of its appeal. That said, there are a bunch of new styling cues to make it stand out from the original model.

At the front, there’s a new chrome-plated grille, three-barrel headlamps with DRLs, sporty crease lines on the bonnet and a larger skid plate. Move to the sides and the refreshed Duster reveals its higher belt line, new aluminium roof bars, newly styled 17-inch alloy wheels, blacked-out wing arch and the more steeply raked windscreen that has been moved forward by 100mm. Thanks to that last change, the cabin, Renault says, is longer and feels more spacious.

At the rear, the changes are subtle but make the Duster even more striking. There’s a wider skid plate with a satin-chrome finish and the company’s signature rear lighting – four red stacked squares, which remind you of the Jeep Renegade.

Apart from these details, Renault is tight-lipped about the updated Duster. However, September 12, which is when the car will make its global premiere, isn’t far away.

At present, the Renault Duster in India is available with a choice of diesel and petrol engines. While the petrol-fed powerplant displaces 1.5 litres to produce 106PS/142Nm, the diesel-powered 1.5-litre engine is available in two states of tune – 85PS/200Nm and 110PS/245Nm. The petrol unit can be opted with either a 5-speed manual or a CVT (continuously variable transmission). On the other hand, while the less powerful diesel engine makes do with a 5-speed manual transmission, the more powerful engine can be had with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed AMT (automated manual transmission).

It will be interesting to see when Renault brings the updated Duster to India. It has already revealed that the Captur is coming soon, which is a compact SUV based on the Duster.

(Source: CarDekho)