India-bound New Renault Duster Crash Tested By Euro NCAP, Scores An Average Three Stars

Quick Highlights 

• India-bound Renault Duster secures three stars in Euro NCAP crash safety test. 
• It secured 70 percent in Adult Occupant and 84 percent in Child Occupant protection. 
• Global-spec Duster gets six airbags, electronic stability control and some ADAS features. 
• It is expected to launch in India sometime in 2025. 

The upcoming India-bound new-gen Renault Duster has secured three stars in the Euro NCAP crash test. It must be noted that the model tested was the Dacia Duster, but the same will be rebadged for the Indian market. Without wasting any time, let’s decipher the crash test report to see how the upcoming model has performed. 

The upcoming Renault Duster secured 70 percent in Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), 84 percent in Child Occupant Protection (COP), 60 percent in Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and 57 percent in Safety Assist (SA). 

Adult Occupant Protection 

In the frontal offset test, the Duster offered good protection to both the dummy’s knees and femurs. However, the shielding offered to the driver’s chest was weak. In the full-width rigid barrier test, protection offered to the driver and rear passenger’s chest was marginal. Where the Duster really shone was in the side barrier and side pole impact tests, where it offered good protection to all critical body parts. The headrests offered good protection against whiplash injuries, however, it has no measures to protect head to head contact between both the front occupants, resulting in a poor rating for far-side protection. 

What is reassuring to know is that the Duster’s body shell was rated stable in the frontal offset test. 

Child Occupant Protection 

This is an area where the new Duster performed really well. It offered good protection for almost all critical body parts of both the child dummies in the frontal offset and side barrier tests. The only setback was for the neck of the 10-year old dummy in the frontal offset test, where it was rated adequate. Also, another minor points loss on this front is the lack of a child presence detection system. 

However, brownie points were awarded to the fact that the front passenger airbag can be discontinued, so that the child restraint types can be installed properly in the car. 

Vulnerable Road Users 

This is an area where the Duster didn’t perform all that well. Yes, it offered adequate / good protection to the struck pedestrian’s head. However, if the person came in impact with the stiff windscreen pillars, then the shielding offered was rated poor. Also, it was rated poor once again for the protection of pelvis at all test locations, while that of the knee and tibia was mixed. 

The new Duster also comes equipped with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), whose response was adequate for pedestrians and good for cyclists. However, Euro NCAP has pointed out it has no protection against dooring, where the car’s door is suddenly opened in the way of a cyclist approaching. 

Safety Assists

The Duster tested by Euro NCAP came equipped with safety features such as six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) such as autonomous emergency braking and lane keeping assist. 

The Duster’s AEB performance was adequate when it came to reaction to other vehicles. Also, the lane keeping assist gently corrects the car with a stricter intervention in more critical situations. It also has a driver fatigue detection system, where it monitors the driver and inputs. However, while it had a seatbelt reminder system fitted as standard across all seats, there was no occupant detection system for the rear seats, and no point was awarded on this front. 

Lastly, the Duster’s connected car tech alerts emergency services in case of an unfortunate crash. It also has a system where the doors can be opened if the vehicle has lost power. 

Renault Duster: India Launch And Expected Price 

The new-gen Renault Duster is expected to break cover in India sometime in 2025. It will slot in the compact SUV segment and could be priced from around Rs 11 lakh (ex-showroom). You can check out more details about the new-gen Renault Duster in this report. 

It will lock horns with the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, VW Taigun, Skoda Kushaq, Honda Elevate and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara.