IT’S WILD, it’s futuristic, it’s avant-garde, it’s… a Dacia? Besides being the forgotten branch of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, Romanian car brand Dacia is more commonly known for being a provider of conservative, cost-conscious cars – which is why the Dacia Manifesto Concept it revealed last week is all the more attention-grabbing.

A doorless side-by side off-road buggy with no windscreen and airless tyres, the Manifesto is clearly designed to get the attention of adventure-seekers. And the name is no accident: Dacia regards the Manifesto as not so much a precursor for a production car, but more a statement of intent.

What’s perhaps most interesting, is that Aussie adventurers look set to reap the fruits of Dacia’s ambition.

Speaking to GoAutoNews Premium, Renault’s Australian general manager Glen Sealey said the impending electrification of Renault’s mainstay models over the next few years would leave a product gap that Dacia could neatly slot into – albeit wearing the more familiar Renault badge on snouts and rumps for Australian audiences

“Because electrification is expensive and we see that core range adopting the best technology Renault has, it then leaves room for what we call our ‘Adventure’ range, and that range will include the likes of the Dacia Duster,” he said.

“We can’t bring in the existing Duster because of ADR85, so we need to wait for the new generation of that vehicle to come through.”

With the next generation of Duster currently expected to hit European markets in 2024, there’s still a little time for Renault’s Australian importer Ateco to develop its Dacia-driven Adventure range strategy.

“With the new generation of Dacia’s coming through, we’re certainly going to have our hand up for that to bring them into this market,” Mr Sealey said.

“We see our Adventure range as being simply about internal-combustion engines, four-by-four drivetrains, and tough design. Do we want it to compete with something between a Suzuki Jimny and Jeep Wrangler? Yeah, that’s the space we want [it] to occupy.”

There’s also scope for the Duster’s bigger brother – aptly named ‘Bigster’ – to join it Down Under after it makes its production debut sometime in the middle of the decade.

Previewed in concept form in early 2021 the Bigster measures around 4.6 metres long, putting it firmly in the midsize SUV class as a Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 rival.
Renault’s intentions for a new-generation Koleos have yet to be made clear, but the Bigster could provide the company’s local operation with a charmingly rugged-looking alternative to Koleos if the company chose to pivot the nameplate toward that direction.

And, crucially for Renault, leveraging Dacia’s product portfolio could finally give it the ute it’s been lusting for – at least when next-generation versions of those options materialise.

“We’ll always have our hands up for any sort of pickup SUV,” Mr Sealey said.

“It’s the biggest segment in Australia today, and if you want to be successful in this market you need to be in that segment.

“There are products within the Renault range that offer a pickup – you’ve got the [Dacia] Oroch in South America and there’s the Alaskan, but the Alaskan for us is not on the cards today. It’s probably too close to the end of its life.”

And what of the Manifesto? While Bear Grylls would undoubtedly be champing at the bit to get his hands on one, the Manifesto is strictly a design study.

However if we take the Manifesto as a signal of where the brand wants to go, then there’s a good chance that outdoorsy Aussies may soon have more than a few good reasons to walk into a Renault showroom in the coming years.

By Tony O’Kane