In 2019, the Renault Duster Latin NCAP rating was 4 stars!
The 2022 Renault Duster has received a zero-star rating at the recent Latin NCAP safety test, much like the Suzuki Swift sold in the Latin American market.
Weighing 1510 kg, the second-generation Renault Duster that was crash tested had, as standard, dual front airbags, front seat belt pretensioners, belt load limiters, Seat Belt Reminder (SBR), passenger-side airbag cut-off switch and ESC.
Latin NCAP subjected the SUV to the frontal offset deformable barrier test (64 km/hr), side mobile barrier test (50 km/hr), pedestrian safety tests (40 km/hr), ESC and Moose test (60-80 km/hr).
Scoring 11.79 points or 29 percent in the adult occupant protection category, the 2022 second-generation Renault Duster (which did not get introduced in India) was found to offer good protection to the front passengers’ head and neck.
The driver and passenger’s chest, driver’s knees and one of the passenger’s knees showed marginal protection. A fuel leak was found after the frontal impact test and as a result, Latin NCAP has asked Renault to recall all second-generation Dusters built in Brazil.
In the side impact test, the 2022 Renault Duster Latin NCAP results show that it offers good head, abdomen and pelvis protection, but marginal chest protection. Also, the structural intrusion was high and the car flipped over, which affected the B-pillar and caused one of the doors to open.
Scoring 11.24 points or 23 percent for child occupant protection, the 2022 Duster, which comes with ISOFIX points in the second row outboard seats, could not prevent the heads of the child dummies contacting its interior. The side impact protection for both dummies was good.
The car’s bodyshell was rated unstable and it was not capable of withstanding further loadings. Similarly, the footwell area was rated as unstable too.
Showing adequate to marginal pedestrian protection (this figure is for the model built in Romania), the SUV received 15 points or 35 percent in the Safety Assist systems test.
It has ESC and SBR as standard, but does not come with a speed limitation device, AEB, Blind Spot Detection or Lane Support Systems either.
This result is particularly shocking, because the same second-generation Duster when tested in October 2019 was awarded a 4-star rating by Latin NCAP. The difference here is that Latin NCAP protocols have changed and also, the model that was assessed was made not in Romania, but in Brazil.