Latin NCAP: Renault Duster scores 4 star rating

The Renault Duster has scored a four star rating for adult occupant safety in the Latin New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) crash tests.

The vehicle tested was the Colombia-built base variant, which is equipped with just a driver's airbag. Other safety features such as ABS, passenger's airbag, pre-tensioners for the front seatbelts, seatbelt reminder and ISOFIX anchorages. The car managed to score 11 points out of a possible 17 in adult occupant safety.

According to the report, in the frontal impact, the driver's head was well protected and passenger's head was close to contact with the dashboard. The chests showed marginal protection from the restraint systems. There were hazardous structures in the area of the facia that could be impacted by the driver and front passenger knees.

The Duster put up a poor show in child occupant safety. It managed to score just 21.37 points out of a possible 49, translating to a 2 star rating. The report mentioned that the child seat for a 3 year old child was unable to prevent excessive forward movement during the impact and offered low protection to neck and chest. The dynamic performance of the 18 months child restraint offered good protection. Most of the child restraint systems (CRS) that were assessed for installation pass considering the exempted positions in the manual. The car does not have warning marking for installing a CRS in the front passenger seat and it is not possible to disconnect the passenger airbag in versions with 2 airbags.

The Duster's bodyshell was rated as unstable. Side impact tests have not been conducted on the car.