In the latest round of crash tests conducted by European safety body, Euro NCAP, the 2017 Dacia Duster has achieved a three-star rating in its standard form. The Duster scored 71 percent for adult occupant protection, 66 percent for child occupant protection, 56 percent for pedestrian safety and 37 percent for safety assistance systems.

Euro NCAP observed that the passenger compartment of the Duster remained stable in the frontal offset test. However, the SUV lost all points for the driver protection in the full-width rigid barrier test as head injury values indicated poor protection, the safety watchdog said.

In the side barrier test, the Duster provided good protection to all critical body areas and scored maximum points. Even in the more severe side pole test, protection of the chest was observed to be adequate and that of other body areas was good.

The Duster lost out on achieving a higher score due to the lack of advanced driving aids – such as Lane Assist System and Autonomous Emergency Braking.

In a statement to our sister magazine Autocar UK, Dacia said the three-star rating met its expected target. "Aiming for four or five stars would have meant equipping Duster with a range of recent driving aids and technology and that would have made the car more expensive and more complex to drive," said the Romanian car manufacturer. "That is not consistent with the vehicle’s positioning.”

The Dacia Duster will come to India as a Renault, albeit at a later stage. It should be noted that the Euro NCAP crash test is not fully applicable to India, as features that the Duster will get in the Indian market may vary. As it stands, the current-generation standard trim of the Renault Duster available in India does not get safety features such as airbag, ABS, EBD and ESP.

The Dacia Duster is equipped with a seatbelt reminder for the front and rear seats, a driver-set speed limiter, a side head airbag and belt pretensioner for driver, passenger and at the rear, as well as a side chest airbag for the driver and passenger. Moreover, the vehicle tested by the Euro NCAP was a left-hand-drive.