The all-new Renault Duster, which will come to India next year, is already on sale abroad and the brand is readying debut of the Duster 4X4 with unique mild hybrid powertrain. The off-road focused iteration of the popular Duster will come with petrol hybrid as well as a petrol-LPG powertrain option, spy shots from Motor.es confirm.
- Duster 4X4 to have petrol mild hybrid powertrain
- Will share electric rear axle with the Bigster
- Duster EV likely to come by 2031
Recent sightings of test mules on the outskirts of Spain show the Duster with the 1.2-liter ECO-G engine and 48-volt MHEV tech and 4X4 gear well. This engine has been coupled with petrol-LPG tech which will be seen on production Duster soon. The petrol MHEV LPG powertrain is still being tested and the test mule seen in these spy shots has a side mounted exhaust just in front of the left rear wheel, which may not be seen in production model.
This engine can run on petrol-LPG and delivers a power output of 150 hp. Driven through a dual-clutch automatic gearbox, it will have a 48V electric motor that will act on the rear axle in the event of loss of traction. This all-wheel drive tech will work in a similar way to that found, for example, in the Jeep Avenger 4xe. The same electric rear axle setup will also see duty on the Renault Bigster SUV.
At the moment, the new Duster gets three powertrain options globally, depending on market: a 100hp 1.0-litre bi-fuel three-cylinder engine, a 130hp 1.2-litre mild-hybrid and the top-spec 140hp 1.6-litre petrol-hybrid.
Duster EV in the works too
As reported by us recently, an electric Renault Duster is in the pipeline too but it will not be soon. The next-generation Duster, which would likely arrive in 2030 or 2031, could get an electric powertrain.
Renault Duster India launch details
Renault India is expected to launch the new Duster in 2026. For this year major updates for the Kiger and the Triber are being readied for market launch.