News

Dacia has revealed a van variant of its new Duster SUV, priced from £22,995 (excluding VAT).

The van trades the passenger version’s rear seats for a flat wooden floor and four lashing points for securing large cargo, and the load bay is separated from the cockpit by a mesh bulkhead.

The tweaks give the commercial Duster an 1149-litre load capacity - almost as much as the similarly conceived Toyota Corolla Commercial, which is the closest comparable car-based van currently on sale. 

To ensure privacy, the electric rear windows are swapped for fixed items tinted opaque black, and there's a removable load cover.

The Duster Cargo is available with a choice of two petrol powertrains: a mild hybrid with four-wheel drive and a full hybrid that drives only the front wheels.

The mild hybrid uses a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine that puts out 128bhp and 170lb ft of torque. This is paired with a six-speed manual gearbox and yields 46.3mpg.

The full hybrid, meanwhile, uses a naturally aspirated 1.8-litre four-pot that, together with two electric motors, produces 153bhp and 151bhp. This set-up nets 59mpg.

Payload capacities are rated at 410kg for the mild hybrid and 430kg for the full hybrid.

However, the mild hybrid can tow up to 1.5 tonnes, while the full hybrid is capped at half that.

The Duster Cargo will be offered in one trim level, Expression, bringing 17in alloy wheels, a six-way-adjustable driver’s seat and a 10.1in infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The mild hybrid costs £22,995, while the full hybrid is £600 more. 

Customer deliveries are earmarked to begin before the end of the year.