(The return of the) Dacia Duster | PH Fleet
Ding, ding - round two! Just how much has changed in six years?
There I was, minding my own business at my local petrol station, when I noticed the guy in front brimming his swanky SLK staring at me. Or more likely the nappy-brown Duster I was filling up. I had a love-hate relationship with the thing, so couldn’t help feeling a little ashamed about what might be going through his head as he looked on at the turd-coloured curio that was our old longtermer.
But wait, hang on a minute, he’s walking over. “I’m thinking about getting one of these, would you recommend one?” were not the words I was expecting to come out of his mouth. You see, Dacia had only been in the UK for four years in 2017, and most people in our world had only heard of them thanks to James May’s much-abused love for the Sandero on Top Gear. To everyone else, they were little more than a budget car for your aunt Doris, so surely not a good fit for PistonHeads.
But our punt paid off and you lot loved it as much as we did (most of the time). Your affection for Dacia on PH has grown to the point where you asked us for its own forum and our Duster Extreme SE review was the 11th most read for the whole of 2022. Blimey.
We loved the funky Tonka toy looks of the original Duster, but the interior was incredibly basic, the gearing felt awkward and for a 1.2-litre petrol, we struggled to average anything higher than 35mpg. Yet everyone forgave it for its misgivings and generally loved it; this was after all a car that started at £9,545 even if we’d nearly doubled that by throwing the kitchen sink at ours with every option, topping out at £18,980. So, just how far has the Renault parts-bin special come in six years?
The Duster now starts at £17,295, which clearly is a lot more than six years ago. But it’s no longer a plastic-fantastic shopping trolley either; it’s a genuinely great little car. And when the cheapest Nissan Qashqai is nearly £10k dearer at £26,770 there’s no Man Maths needed here - it’s just common sense. But wait, isn’t it still an environment-destroying SUV? Well, with a kerbweight of 1,263kg, it weighs about the same as an entry-level Mk8 Golf hatch. So no, it isn't.
What NG72 MKL is specifically, is a top-spec (if you ignore the special edition Extreme) Journey, which now starts at £19,795. It goes without saying we wanted the most power on offer, so opted for the petrol-powered TCe 150 Auto 4x2 at £22,145 (at time of ordering), adding urban grey paint (£650) and the only option available at the time, a spare wheel (£300), taking our total price to £23,095.
The peppy little 1,332cc turbocharged four-cylinder sends all of its 150hp through the front wheels to launch you to 62mph in 9.7 seconds, without requiring the use your left foot thanks to its six-speed automatic gearbox.
It has all the toys you’d expect (or need) at this price point: cruise control, leccy windows (no winders here), an 8-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay, parking sensors, four Multiview cameras, heated seats, keyless entry, and proper knobs that you turn for the climate control rather than being buried behind a display. Priority not necessarily in that order.
We’re going to rack up plenty of miles over the next six months, with many plans for our new workhorse from Sunday Services to Le Mans trips to making our 25th-anniversary party a reality. I’m already more than 1,000 miles in and the Duster is officially mightier than last time around, but more on that next time. Welcome to the fleet!
Car: 2023 Dacia Duster Journey TCe 150 Auto 4x2 EDC
Price as tested: £23,095 comprising urban grey paint (£650) and spare wheel (£300)
Run by: Ben Lowden
On fleet since: March 2023
Mileage: 1,940 (delivered on 633)
Have supply chain and inflation issues really inflated the price that much in recent years or is this Dacia just creaming it a little bit?
Also, why has no other manufacturer seen what Dacia have done and jumped on the "parts bin brand" wagon?
It’s ideal for the dogs and shifting stuff around, and as we moving house currently is great for taking stuff to the dump and general duties.
We can’t fault it.
It’s ideal for the dogs and shifting stuff around, and as we moving house currently is great for taking stuff to the dump and general duties.
We can’t fault it.
I sold my parents one of the very first Dusters in the UK, a granite grey 1.5 DCI Laureate, it was a superb car and brand new was something around £13k which was astonishing value.
I do feel that the recent price increases (which IMO are mostly because renault aren’t making any money on Renaults, so have decided to start making a bit more wedge on Dacia) have somewhat taken the shine off the value but it was inevitable!!
Get an a Indian built one and a Romanian built one side by side, they look pretty much the same apart from the grille, however the build and overall feeling of the 2 cars are worlds apart.
So yes they are far better even back to the early UK ones, as long as you get a Romanian built one.
It's a shame prices have gone up as much as they have. If they were still £10k, I would rather get one of these than something second hand.
I have had awful customer service from multiple Dacia dealerships (and their head office when escalating issues).
I bought a Jogger nearly a year ago. During that time:
- Multiple issues during the purchasing experience from Wilsons in Epsom (escalated to head office who did resolve most of these).
- Ripped off by Platinum in Trowbridge when fixing what should have been a warranty issue, and they blamed me. Head office unwilling to help in this instance.
- Apple CarPlay keeps disconnecting. A known issue on the forums that Dacia don’t want to know about.
- Just recently it has taken me over two weeks to book it’s 1st service…. No one answering the phone or replying to emails/messages at SMG dealerships across Surrey, Martins in Basingstoke and Platinum in Trowbridge. Eventually got through to Platinum, but it shouldn’t be this difficult.
I am currently tied to keeping this car for a few years due to the PCP agreement but I desperately wish I could get rid of it. The car itself is okay - it does what I need it to do, but I’ve never known such an awful experience with the dealerships. Once I’m done the warranty and service plan expires, I won’t be touching them with a barge pole!
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