Dacia Disappointment. What did I really expect?
Discussion
nickfrog said:
They are very well priced indeed.
But value is another thing entirely. They will be good value for some but spend a little more on say an equivalent sized Kia and you may get a lot more for your money. Not to mention a 7 year warranty.
The kias hold their money much better as well. But value is another thing entirely. They will be good value for some but spend a little more on say an equivalent sized Kia and you may get a lot more for your money. Not to mention a 7 year warranty.
23.7 said:
Originally we thought of replacing Mrs 23s i20, purchased new for £8k 2014. Have you seen the price of them now?
Hyundai i20 1.0T Element 5Dr Manual is £16,500Sandero Essential Tce 100 5Dr Manual is £10,745
That is the difference, the Dacia is a third cheaper.
As I said earlier, I drove the top of the range Stepway Auto and with metallic paint that car is nearly 17K. A similar spec Kia Xceed Auto list price is £26,605
I really don't think I would pay the extra nearly £10K for the Kia Xceed over the Stepway if I am honest.
Wildcat45 said:
It didn’t feel durable. It felt quite lightly built.
Shaving pennies and grams off wherever possible and simplifying components and their assembly and still efficiently producing something does the job its intended to do has always been a strong ethos of French car engineering though. That's why many French cars going right back to the '70s have always felt light and flimsy compared to most other marques.Subjectively anybody might not like hard plastics, thin carpets and seat covers, drum brakes or simple technology and the odd bit of rattly trim or indeed a driving experience that some may find unsatisfactory but objectively there's nothing wrong with any of that, and it's simply what happens when you build a car that uses shared components and less resources and is lighter, more economical to run and cheaper to produce and therefore to buy.
And that surely is the entire point of a car such as this. Haters are always gonna hate of course, but that's really because they need something to shout about and denigrate because they want everybody to know budget utilitarian cars are utterly beneath them, as doing so makes themselves feel better about their own more expensive and prestigious choices.
I love the idea of the Dacia, the Duster in particular - the need for a really low end, stripped back car is massive!
And it's one finger up to the masses who just want to be a in mobile Apple shop
I looked at getting one, used of course and the utilitarian look of them was very appealing.
And it's one finger up to the masses who just want to be a in mobile Apple shop
I looked at getting one, used of course and the utilitarian look of them was very appealing.
757 said:
...the need for a really low end, stripped back car is massive!
The appeal of utilitarian don't give a toss cars is utterly compelling.I have a very well used and very low rent diesel Skoda Roomster which is pretty much the closest Teutonic equivalent to any Dacia you'll get and I also have a V8 Jaguar XJ which very definitely is the polar opposite of both.
The choice of which set of keys to grab presents whenever I left the house - but pre Covid the Roomster was doing over 20k miles every year whilst the Jaguar did less than 2k annually. The Roomster was also the weapon of choice on our last three week road trip through southern France whilst the Jaguar stayed home in the garage
Make of that whatever you will.
Jaguar steve said:
The appeal of utilitarian don't give a toss cars is utterly compelling.I have a very well used and very low rent diesel Skoda Roomster which is pretty much the closest Teutonic equivalent to any Dacia you'll get and I also have a V8 Jaguar XJ which very definitely is the polar opposite of both.
The choice of which set of keys to grab presents whenever I left the house - but pre Covid the Roomster was doing over 20k miles every year whilst the Jaguar did less than 2k annually. The Roomster was also the weapon of choice on our last three week road trip through southern France whilst the Jaguar stayed home in the garage
Make of that whatever you will.
It's a 2015 that cost £7k earlier this year. I'm quite impressed. Handles well on stiffer suspension and much lower profile tyres. I thought it pretty nippy for an auto. My first experience of a dsg box.
Saying that, £7k for a 6 year old car vs £10.5 for my brand new Dacia.
We bought a 65 plate Duster Laureate Prime (1.5dci) in March this year. It had to be a Laureate to get AC which was a requirement from the wife.
The prime has Satnav, AC and blue seat belts, which look funky. For what we paid, I am very pleased with the Duster and it has been a great addition to our fleet. Having an 840i and a Duster on the drive way great, and it's just so easy to drive it. We went on a 1600 mile UK holiday to Edinburgh, the lake district, Wales and Cornwall, all in 8 days, and it performed perfectly. I am even thinking about getting a new one as my next car. For the cost of a 2 year lease, I can get a brand new car with warranty and enough tech.
I hope our Duster stays faultless, but there's really not much to go wrong.
The prime has Satnav, AC and blue seat belts, which look funky. For what we paid, I am very pleased with the Duster and it has been a great addition to our fleet. Having an 840i and a Duster on the drive way great, and it's just so easy to drive it. We went on a 1600 mile UK holiday to Edinburgh, the lake district, Wales and Cornwall, all in 8 days, and it performed perfectly. I am even thinking about getting a new one as my next car. For the cost of a 2 year lease, I can get a brand new car with warranty and enough tech.
I hope our Duster stays faultless, but there's really not much to go wrong.
A lot of people who 'don't care about what they drive' seem to be quite fussy when it comes to actually buying a new car though. If the OP's Dad is used to Jaguars etc then a Dacia is going to be huge come down.
I reminds me (not quite the same) when our company car range increased hugely to encompass some very nice cars. A lot of people said 'I'll just get something like a Golf/Focus.' and a few months later the car park was full of premium 4x4s, GTIs, RS, etc.
I reminds me (not quite the same) when our company car range increased hugely to encompass some very nice cars. A lot of people said 'I'll just get something like a Golf/Focus.' and a few months later the car park was full of premium 4x4s, GTIs, RS, etc.
Frimley111R said:
A lot of people who 'don't care about what they drive' seem to be quite fussy when it comes to actually buying a new car though. If the OP's Dad is used to Jaguars etc then a Dacia is going to be huge come down.
Well I'm used to Jaguars but don't see driving anything else as some sort of come down, simply because there's no such thing as a really dreadful car to drive anymore like there used to be years and years ago and comfort and refinement of budget cars has become good enough for hundreds of miles non stop driving.There's so much component and platform sharing and intensive bench marking going on between manufactures that the gap between cheaper and more expensive marques has narrowed to the point where things that don't really matter much like the gadget count or quality of interior plastic bits or trim options are the most prominent deciders between the two.
Oh and a prestigious badge of course - mustn't forget that as it's crucially important to some.
Edited by Jaguar steve on Thursday 9th December 13:14
Jaguar steve said:
comfort and refinement of budget cars has become good enough for hundreds of miles non stop driving...
...things that don't really matter much like the gadget count or quality of interior plastic bits or trim options are the most prominent deciders between the two.
Agreed....things that don't really matter much like the gadget count or quality of interior plastic bits or trim options are the most prominent deciders between the two.
A budget modern car is no hardship. You could buy a Sandero or Duster and drive to the Alps in the full confidence that it will get there, with none of your needs neglected, and that (assuming that you healthy and in reasonable condition to begin with) you won't be in discomfort when you get there.
Jaguar steve said:
And that surely is the entire point of a car such as this. Haters are always gonna hate of course, but that's really because they need something to shout about and denigrate because they want everybody to know budget utilitarian cars are utterly beneath them, as doing so makes themselves feel better about their own more expensive and prestigious choices.
No they buy a non budget utilitarian car to wind you up Steve.
I assume your boat is "budget utilitarian" too.
nickfrog said:
Jaguar steve said:
And that surely is the entire point of a car such as this. Haters are always gonna hate of course, but that's really because they need something to shout about and denigrate because they want everybody to know budget utilitarian cars are utterly beneath them, as doing so makes themselves feel better about their own more expensive and prestigious choices.
No they buy a non budget utilitarian car to wind you up Steve.
I assume your boat is "budget utilitarian" too.
A budget car is a budget car. Quelle surprise it's full of hard plastics, thin carpets, unsophisticated tech and features a short rather than long options list. It's a modern Renault 4 after all, but as somebody whose quite taken with simplicity and functional design as well as an efficient use of resources I'm quite a fanboy myself.
My boat? Well, since you asked that's very definitely a lot closer to the bottom end of the market than the top and what's more its quite old and is hopelessly underpowered with a weedy 9 HP diesel. Happily sailors are an egalitarian bunch though who don't tend tend to concern themselves too much with stuff like that.
Jaguar steve said:
It's interesting to see that even on a car orientated site Dacias, sheds and budget cars in general attract many more positive comments then negative ones, but the negative ones all seem to focus on subjective opinions rather than objective facts.
I haven't seen that Steve. Personally I love the Dacias despite the fact that I don't think they are very good value. At least they offer an entry price point which is great.Jaguar steve said:
Happily sailors are an egalitarian bunch though who don't tend tend to concern themselves too much with stuff like that.
That sounds like the huge majority of motorists then, quelle surprise.In fairness, the sailors I know seem to have cars that you would immediately judge as being ostentatious even though the owners don't really care about other people's opinions or have nothing to prove. They're just into cars, like most people on PH, quelle surprise. That's proper egalitarian for you, not judging a book by its cover and not ruling out a car just because the frugalies may be offended.
Joey Deacon said:
But that car with metallic paint and a spare wheel is now £16,990 due to recent price rises. I think the Dacia worked when they were dirt cheap, but now the prices mean that are expensive for (what was) a budget car. Like your father in law I think I would rather spend £17K on something nearly new, although the messed up car market due to Covid means the second hand option isn't as desirable as it was.
Everything is going up at a similar rate so that doesn't really make sense. The cheapest auto Toyota Aygo is £16k with metallic paint! Base spec Peugeot 208 auto? £21k.£16,990 for a Stepway really is the top end with accessories (and auto box), for most people the Stepway is nowhere near a £17k car (£13k buys you a well equipped manual with aircon). For the size of car Dacia still undercut everything by a margin.
I do wonder if people who say Dacia's are no longer good value have actually compared prices. For the Duster in particular depreciation is basically non existent at the moment.
Edited by ch37 on Friday 10th December 19:17
My Duster was at the dealers for a fan switch repair, they loaned me a Kadjar. Nice car, digital dash , plusher seats etc. It’s for sale used pre reg for £25k. It was nice but not 2.5 times nicer than my Duster Comfort LPG model. It also cost me £23 per day to run where my Duster is currently about £9. As a long gone uncle used to say “you pays yer money” etc etc.
ch37 said:
I do wonder if people who say Dacia's are no longer good value have actually compared prices. For the Duster in particular depreciation is basically non existent at the moment.
Depreciation is pretty much non existent for most new cars at the moment, not just Dacias.I don't think anyone said they are no longer good value, the entry level cars in particular don't even have any real competition.
But the higher trim level of the Stepway for instance is poorer value than a Kia Stonic for instance in my view when comparing respective transaction prices, ie after discounts.
CraigyMc said:
Are Dacias still built on old renault platforms or have they moved on with the merger with Autovaz?
They use Renault/nissan platforms. Duster 2 is the old Clio BO platform.
Latest Sandero is on the new CMF B (common module family) expect the duster 3 (2024) to share it.
Drive chains are current shared across the brands.
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