Dacia has confirmed it will launch a new full-hybrid all-wheel-drive version of the Duster and Bigster in the UK, and the set-up features an electrified back axle.
The new Hybrid 150 4x4 powertrain joins the 130 4x4 in the Duster line-up but replaces the 130 4x4 in the Bigster range. It combines a 138bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine that drives the front wheels with a 31bhp electric motor that turns the rears.
Compared with the 130, the new 150 offers a 23bhp boost to 152bhp. It also swaps the six-speed manual for an equivalent automatic gearbox – and the motor gets its own two-speed ’box (for better torque distribution on and off road) that can also disengage the rear axle.
A tiny, 0.84kWh lithium ion battery means the Hybrid 150 4x4 can also switch off the engine for periods of electric-only driving. While no EV-only range have been given, Dacia says the system will drive in EV mode 60% of the time in normal driving conditions. In mainland Europe, it is also sold as an LPG-fuelled model under the Hybrid-G 150 4x4 badge.
The set-up will be offered in the UK later this year. Dacia said more information on timings and pricing will be confirmed “in the coming months”.
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I can see this being huge with utility companies and the boat people importers (RNLI). This is the trick that JLR and Ineos missed...a cheap 4x4 of adequate size.
4x4 sh#t boxes......great.
Perhaps you weren't aware that Dacia just won the Dakar Rally?