The Dacia Duster is a proven success story. Now in its 14th year, the cheap and cheerful Duster has won more than 40 awards, is ranked as one of Europe's best-selling cars, and sees 1,000 units roll off the production lines at Dacia’s plant in Romania, every day.
No pressure on newest Duster, then. Building on the merits of its predecessor, the new third generation Duster comes with an improved design, greater interior comfort and space, and the latest technologies including hybrid powertrains and advancements in safety.
All well and good, but is the Dacia Duster still a 'cheap' car?
Prices for this new model start from €25,990, an increase of around 10 grand on the first generation launched in Ireland over a decade ago. The Duster that I recently had on test, for example, came in at just under €35k. Not exactly loose change.
So, is Dacia starting to shift away from its budget-friendly roots, here? Not quite. With its new Duster, the brand has taken its rugged, yet proven product, and added a great deal of refinement as standard, while keeping prices at what's aptly described as 'competitive' in today's market. Standard equipment includes media control, fixed roof bars, six airbags, rear parking radar, and more.
The interior of the new Dacia Duster is still littered with hard plastics that will probably last the test of time (or kids ). Although stylish, the exterior of the car is very much the same, with new pointy side protectors and wheel arches, made from 20 per cent recycled plastics. This new Duster feels geared towards the 'outdoorsy' type. Chunky 18-inch wheels and the '4x4' lettering on the rear are the biggest giveaways.
The new Duster is built on the CMF-B platform, providing more space for passengers and luggage than the previous generation. The all-wheel drive version I tested boasts a good ground clearance of 217mm and the same overall length of 4.34 metres. This comes with a 1.2-litre turbocharged, three-cylinder petrol engine paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid motor. It has 130hp, 230Nm of torque, and a max towing capacity of 1,500kg.
The new Duster does a good job in tackling bumps and dirt roads, with Snow, Mud/Sand and Off-Road driving modes readily available via the central rotary. It does a fine job at motorway cruising speeds, too.
One caveat of the new Dacia Duster, is its six-speed manual gearbox, which has incredibly short gear ratios between first and fourth, making urban driving a drudging task. Thankfully there is an automatic transmission available, so probably best buy that to avoid burning through the clutch in the long run.
Overall, the Dacia Duster continues to evolve in the right direction, with this latest iteration sure to continue its humble success story.
