RE: Dacia Duster
Discussion
The thing about real off road ability is that for a modern car it is not limited by the layout or parameters of that cars drivetrain, it is actually limited by a more fundamental factor, which is, "how much damage do you want to do to your car"! Take something like a RRS or D4 for example, an exceptionally capaable car off road, but one wrong move, a slip into a rock, or catch the roofline on an overhanging tree, and you'll do an entire Dusters worth of damage right there! The Duster is good off road because it's cheap, so, just like in those videos posted previously, you just select the lowest gear it's got, pin the throttle and hold on. If you've added some decent MT tyres, then the absolute performance off road will be pretty decent.
The biggest competition for this Duster clearly comes from second hand cars, where you can get some very good softroaders/pickups indeed for about £11k imo.
The biggest competition for this Duster clearly comes from second hand cars, where you can get some very good softroaders/pickups indeed for about £11k imo.
C36 Nico said:
It depends on where you are coming from though, if you were to ask a romanian farmer about the ride comfort in one - he would probably say it has a Maybach ride quality.
For us normal people used to driving modern cars, they are both very uncomfortable and more than half an hour on the M6 in either would probably give me a headache. The Jimny is a little bit better, but only just.
I have done round trips to Sofia airport, (about 600KM round trip), in a Suzuki SJ... a lifted on at that. Quite happy at motorway speeds. For us normal people used to driving modern cars, they are both very uncomfortable and more than half an hour on the M6 in either would probably give me a headache. The Jimny is a little bit better, but only just.
A saloon will be more comfortable, but they are certainly not undrivable.
Well we all know how we end up loving holiday rentals 
On a more serious note though, As a ownership proposition and a longterm at that I doubt the Dacia duster and a Jimny is comparable on the road, which was kind of my point. As a family car and something used to transporting family, wife, friends and children everywhere my guess is that a proposition of a Jimny as a sole means of transport would be getting old and rather fast at that.
On a more serious note though, As a ownership proposition and a longterm at that I doubt the Dacia duster and a Jimny is comparable on the road, which was kind of my point. As a family car and something used to transporting family, wife, friends and children everywhere my guess is that a proposition of a Jimny as a sole means of transport would be getting old and rather fast at that.
C36 Nico said:
Well we all know how we end up loving holiday rentals
On a more serious note though, As a ownership proposition and a longterm at that I doubt the Dacia duster and a Jimny is comparable on the road, which was kind of my point. As a family car and something used to transporting family, wife, friends and children everywhere my guess is that a proposition of a Jimny as a sole means of transport would be getting old and rather fast at that.
Holiday rental? It's my brothers car and I was picking him up at the airport. made the trip several times.On a more serious note though, As a ownership proposition and a longterm at that I doubt the Dacia duster and a Jimny is comparable on the road, which was kind of my point. As a family car and something used to transporting family, wife, friends and children everywhere my guess is that a proposition of a Jimny as a sole means of transport would be getting old and rather fast at that.
We have done considerable mileage across the country in both cars. The Dacia will ride far better than a Jimny, Niva or SJ, I reckon.
Nice! I love them both dont get me wrong.
Im not trying to spit hairs here, I was just pointing out the fact that pulling out Nivas and SJ/Jimnys as competitors for the Dacia is missing the point somewhat - this is a car with decent ride quality, decent offroading capability and a low price.
Im not trying to spit hairs here, I was just pointing out the fact that pulling out Nivas and SJ/Jimnys as competitors for the Dacia is missing the point somewhat - this is a car with decent ride quality, decent offroading capability and a low price.
C36 Nico said:
Nice! I love them both dont get me wrong.
Im not trying to spit hairs here, I was just pointing out the fact that pulling out Nivas and SJ/Jimnys as competitors for the Dacia is missing the point somewhat - this is a car with decent ride quality, decent offroading capability and a low price.
I agree about the Dacia. I was arguing that the Jimny's, etc, of this world are not un-drivable, and are actually very easy to drive long distance, as I have done so myself. Im not trying to spit hairs here, I was just pointing out the fact that pulling out Nivas and SJ/Jimnys as competitors for the Dacia is missing the point somewhat - this is a car with decent ride quality, decent offroading capability and a low price.
david_b said:
A Niva starts at over £11k - http://www.markkey.co.uk/
Not sure why you'd want a basic Niva but then choose to spec up the Duster as a comparison? Basic spec would be absolutely fine on the Dacia, it's got more features than my Up by the sound of it
(or my Elise ).
How comes these are so much to tax? Their CO2 output isn't that high is it?Not sure why you'd want a basic Niva but then choose to spec up the Duster as a comparison? Basic spec would be absolutely fine on the Dacia, it's got more features than my Up by the sound of it
(or my Elise ).Just intrigued to see how / why they cost as much as some high end perfomance saloons to tax!
But, the LPG addition for around £500 is a bargain!
They are, but if you showed me 100 miles of M6 and asked me if I wanted to do it in a Nissan Quashqai or a Jimny there would be a strong preference for the former - I suspect many ( not you obviously, nor me for that matter I like small jeeps) would not accept the ride quality and general noise at speed from small jeeps as an everyday proposition.
Anyway!
I wonder if the Dacia duster will have aftermarket kits available? Those Transilvanian trophy fenders and wheels look absolutely fantastic - like a junior Arctic truck Land cruiser!
Anyway!
I wonder if the Dacia duster will have aftermarket kits available? Those Transilvanian trophy fenders and wheels look absolutely fantastic - like a junior Arctic truck Land cruiser!
C36 Nico said:
They are, but if you showed me 100 miles of M6 and asked me if I wanted to do it in a Nissan Quashqai or a Jimny there would be a strong preference for the former - I suspect many ( not you obviously, nor me for that matter I like small jeeps) would not accept the ride quality and general noise at speed from small jeeps as an everyday proposition.
I never said they were better than a Quashqai, or any other car, merely that they are not un-drivable above 30mph. my Vit is an everyday car by the way, MT's and all. How big inside are they? Would they take me and 4 growing kids in comfort and still fit all the camping gear in the back?
My current E36 will only take me and 3 kids as the boot and the rest of the space in the car is taken up with all the kit as well as one of those roof boxes, and I still didn't bring enough stuff
Was thinking of the 4 door Wrangler as they are down to around £12k with no air con.
My current E36 will only take me and 3 kids as the boot and the rest of the space in the car is taken up with all the kit as well as one of those roof boxes, and I still didn't bring enough stuff
Was thinking of the 4 door Wrangler as they are down to around £12k with no air con.
croyde said:
How big inside are they? Would they take me and 4 growing kids in comfort and still fit all the camping gear in the back?
My current E36 will only take me and 3 kids as the boot and the rest of the space in the car is taken up with all the kit as well as one of those roof boxes, and I still didn't bring enough stuff
Was thinking of the 4 door Wrangler as they are down to around £12k with no air con.
Not sure on space or boot room. But a Wrangler Unlimited is a much better vehicle period and will likely retain it's money better too. The only downer is used vs new.My current E36 will only take me and 3 kids as the boot and the rest of the space in the car is taken up with all the kit as well as one of those roof boxes, and I still didn't bring enough stuff
Was thinking of the 4 door Wrangler as they are down to around £12k with no air con.
croyde said:
How big inside are they? Would they take me and 4 growing kids in comfort and still fit all the camping gear in the back?
My current E36 will only take me and 3 kids as the boot and the rest of the space in the car is taken up with all the kit as well as one of those roof boxes, and I still didn't bring enough stuff
Was thinking of the 4 door Wrangler as they are down to around £12k with no air con.
Did a three man trip from Bucherest into Transylvannia, over 3 days with luggage and was more comfortable than the X-Trail we had earlier for another trip, though the X-Trail felt more solid inside the cabin. But the again thats not saying the Dacia wasn't solid, it just didn't have enough in it to fall apart (pull out stereo)!My current E36 will only take me and 3 kids as the boot and the rest of the space in the car is taken up with all the kit as well as one of those roof boxes, and I still didn't bring enough stuff
Was thinking of the 4 door Wrangler as they are down to around £12k with no air con.
The general opinion was that the duster was a better car. As I was the only one that drove the X-trail and the majority of the Dacia , I can say the Dacia was better to drive and pretty comfortable, bearing in mind we drove Romaina roads and the country side during the winter, the results shown below.
C36 Nico said:
Better to drive than an X-trail? Blimey. Not bad then...
Is it just me, or is the UN-spec white duster with metal wheels better-looking than the metallic brown one?
Better overall, I felt it was more comfortable, but off road it was equal and a lot of roads in Romania are just really tracks and dirt roads.Is it just me, or is the UN-spec white duster with metal wheels better-looking than the metallic brown one?
Then again I'm no expert in off road driving.
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