I've driven a Dacia Duster.
Discussion
Be prepared, if it comes to these shores for £12,000 they'll be flying off the forcourt.
I'm currently working in Romania for, and so far have done two road trips out of Bucherest to Transylavania and surrounding areas. The second one (as the first) involved E roads (mainly dual carriage ways), and roads that turned into communal roads.
The DD handled everything superbly, very smooth and comfortable on the E roads, and very capable off road. The car comes as standard with 4wd that you can switch to two only or auto or lock it on 4wd.
Display is very Renault, the engine was diesel but not sure what size, was going up hill on mountain roads in fourth gear. I drove more than 400 miles and felt fine at the end. Practically, large space in the back.
Bad points, at this price it's hard to complain, the manual gear box (you need manual in Romania) is very notchy and not smooth at all, and some of the switches are in awkaward places.
If I was ever in the market for an SUV, I would wait for this, you will be suprised.
I'm currently working in Romania for, and so far have done two road trips out of Bucherest to Transylavania and surrounding areas. The second one (as the first) involved E roads (mainly dual carriage ways), and roads that turned into communal roads.
The DD handled everything superbly, very smooth and comfortable on the E roads, and very capable off road. The car comes as standard with 4wd that you can switch to two only or auto or lock it on 4wd.
Display is very Renault, the engine was diesel but not sure what size, was going up hill on mountain roads in fourth gear. I drove more than 400 miles and felt fine at the end. Practically, large space in the back.
Bad points, at this price it's hard to complain, the manual gear box (you need manual in Romania) is very notchy and not smooth at all, and some of the switches are in awkaward places.
If I was ever in the market for an SUV, I would wait for this, you will be suprised.
thinfourth2 said:
Its cheap so it must be s
t
Imagine taking a decent car and sticking some eastern European badge on it and selling it cheap it would never work.
Hogwash.tImagine taking a decent car and sticking some eastern European badge on it and selling it cheap it would never work.
Look at which end of the market boomed during the scrappage scheme. The most popular car bought as a result of scrappage was the Kia Picanto, one of the cheapest cars on the market. Contrary to the skewed PH opinion, people aren't as rich as many on here think they are, and if they were after a big, cheap family car, the Duster makes a mockery of much of the competition. Even the already reasonably-priced stuff like the Skoda Yeti.
If you read Autocar, or any of the motoring supplements, they have nothing but praise for the Duster. It's cheap, it's unpretentious, it does exactly what it says on the tin, and it even has 'By Renault' written on the back. You can bet it'll be sold through Renault dealerships too.
I get the idea sometimes on this site that people seem to think Britain sees itself as being above economising. Fat lot of good thirteen years of that particular delusion did the economy
.Twincam16 said:
thinfourth2 said:
Its cheap so it must be st
Imagine taking a decent car and sticking some eastern European badge on it and selling it cheap it would never work.
Hogwash.tImagine taking a decent car and sticking some eastern European badge on it and selling it cheap it would never work.
Look at which end of the market boomed during the scrappage scheme. The most popular car bought as a result of scrappage was the Kia Picanto, one of the cheapest cars on the market. Contrary to the skewed PH opinion, people aren't as rich as many on here think they are, and if they were after a big, cheap family car, the Duster makes a mockery of much of the competition. Even the already reasonably-priced stuff like the Skoda Yeti.
If you read Autocar, or any of the motoring supplements, they have nothing but praise for the Duster. It's cheap, it's unpretentious, it does exactly what it says on the tin, and it even has 'By Renault' written on the back. You can bet it'll be sold through Renault dealerships too.
I get the idea sometimes on this site that people seem to think Britain sees itself as being above economising. Fat lot of good thirteen years of that particular delusion did the economy
.rfn said:
Twincam16 said:
thinfourth2 said:
Its cheap so it must be st
Imagine taking a decent car and sticking some eastern European badge on it and selling it cheap it would never work.
Hogwash.tImagine taking a decent car and sticking some eastern European badge on it and selling it cheap it would never work.
Look at which end of the market boomed during the scrappage scheme. The most popular car bought as a result of scrappage was the Kia Picanto, one of the cheapest cars on the market. Contrary to the skewed PH opinion, people aren't as rich as many on here think they are, and if they were after a big, cheap family car, the Duster makes a mockery of much of the competition. Even the already reasonably-priced stuff like the Skoda Yeti.
If you read Autocar, or any of the motoring supplements, they have nothing but praise for the Duster. It's cheap, it's unpretentious, it does exactly what it says on the tin, and it even has 'By Renault' written on the back. You can bet it'll be sold through Renault dealerships too.
I get the idea sometimes on this site that people seem to think Britain sees itself as being above economising. Fat lot of good thirteen years of that particular delusion did the economy
.
Renault was talking about launching its Romanian budget brand Dacia in UK just as the financial crisis kicked in so they quickly engaged reverse gear.
IMO Dacia still has the potential to have a significant impact on "budget" motoring in UK. The first cars are supposedly due here in 2012, but don't hold your breath!
IMO Dacia still has the potential to have a significant impact on "budget" motoring in UK. The first cars are supposedly due here in 2012, but don't hold your breath!
Wheelrepairit said:
I drove up from the french alps yesterday, and was amazed at how many of these we saw en route, mostly with Belgium no plates.
Thought it had the look of a Nissan qashqai about it.
I thought it was just a rebadged Quashqai but according to this link it based on a stretched platform from the Juke, Note and others. It does have the Nissan 4x4 system.Thought it had the look of a Nissan qashqai about it.
Seems to have all the right kit and looks ok. At 10-14kk it would be a hit regardless of badge and would need to be cheaper than the Skoda Yeti which I think is the nicer car (it feels just like a VW, I doubt a mix of Renault and Nissan bits would feel so upmarket).
I do wonder what the reliability is like by combining Nissan 4x4 and platform, Renault engine, Bosch electronic and Romanian build quality...Seat and Skoda have proven to be as reliable as the VW/Audi they are based on so hopefully the Romanians can do it although I am not sure being reliable as a Renault is a good thing...
It has Optional UNDERSTEER CONTROL. Nice...
Dacia Duster features Bosch 8.1 ABS, as well as EBD electronic brakeforce distribution and EBA emergency brake assist. It also features ESC electronic stability control as an option on certain versions, as well as CSV understeer control and ASR traction control. This option also allows torque to be transferred away from a spinning wheel in 4x4 mode to improve traction when diagonal wheel spin occur
Edited by Dino D on Sunday 16th January 18:34
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