Renault Duster vs Toyota RAV4

What's the difference?

The Dacia Duster, a well-liked small SUV in Europe, has been available in overseas markets for about 15 years and it’s now here, albeit rebadged as the Renault Duster.

At a time when people increasingly want to escape the modern-day rat race, vehicles such as the Duster offer a family- and budget-friendly way of achieving just that.

A new small 4x4 that actually might be somewhat capable off-road and with a manual gearbox? How refreshing.

But is the Duster a legitimate rival for something like the Suzuki Jimny?

Read on.

This is probably the most important new car launch of the year.

The 2026 Toyota RAV4 needs to be bang-on exactly what customers want, because it’s not only Toyota’s most popular model globally, it was the most popular new car in the world last year.

It’s also Toyota Australia’s second-most popular model behind the Toyota HiLux the highest-selling non-ute in the nation.

Crucially, The HiLux has just been launched in a new generation albeit not a revolutionary change, and it somewhat overlaps with the generation changeover of the RAV4.

Toyota is also facing a significant sales dip, the first quarter of sales for the brand in 2026 is down 23 per cent compared to the same time last year. It’s a bigger dip than the industry as a whole, as its market share is down from 19.9 per cent to 15.7 per cent in the same periods.

The new RAV4’s launch must bring strong sales as the vast majority of the brand’s dip is thanks to the mid-size SUV’s changeover.

But as well as an influx of new competitors, the RAV4 must also contend with a lack of ANCAP safety rating for its first few months on sale.

Has Toyota done enough to convince Australia its family SUV is still worthy of its position as the best-selling passenger car getting around? We headed to its Australian launch in Tasmania’s north to find out.