Exactly two years ago, Romanian coachbuilder Romturingia unveiled a pickup prototype based on the second-generation Dacia Duster. Since then, Dacia has worked with Romturingia to develop a production model and today the Dacia Duster Pick-Up officially launched in Romania. As with the previous-gen model, the new Duster Pick-Up is only available as a single cab in order to offer a reasonably-sized cargo area.
The truck bed measures 1.65 meters in length, has a volume of 1,000 liters, and is capable of
hauling a payload of 500 kg. The tailgate, made of composite
materials covering a metallic structure, retains the exterior design of the
Duster SUV’s rear hatch and integrates the third brake light at the top.
Compared to the Duster SUV, the pickup is
19 mm shorter (4,341 mm). Mind you, the ground
clearance (measured when empty) is 14 mm higher at 224 mm.
Based on the 4×4 variant of the Duster SUV, the pickup variant offers a single
powertrain: the 115 PS 1.5-liter BlueDCi turbodiesel engine mated to a
six-speed manual transmission and four-wheel drive. Dacia says the peak torque
of 260 Nm at 2,000 rpm and low fuel consumption make this engine
ideal for the Duster Pick-Up. Speaking of efficiency, the Duster Pick-Up is
officially rated at 4,93 liters/100 km (57.3 mpg UK / 47.7 mpg US) on the
combined cycle (NEDC).
Dacia offers the Duster Pick-Up in a
single exterior color (Glacier White), with all models getting standard 16-inch
alloys. Standard equipment also includes Hill Start assist, Hill Descent
Control, ESP, ABS with EBD, as well as front and side airbags. The Duster
Pick-Up is priced at € 22,546 (US$ 26,775) in Romania, including 19 percent VAT.
That’s a steep € 4,046 (US$ 4,800) increase over the Duster Blue dCi 115 4WD SUV in
Comfort trim on which it is based. Customers in Dacia’s home market can place
orders from October 22; the automaker did not say if the pickup will be
available for export.
