Alternative Dacia Duster review
Discussion
Hb's short Dacia Duster review.
I know there is quite some interest in this car, having done a lot of reading about it, and bought it over a month ago, now have 1300 miles on it.
Had to wait 2 weeks for delivery as I opted for grey rather than white. White looks good but would have taken a lot longer to arrive & I'm never one to wait around. Shame that to bypass the delay cost around £500.. but it's entirely up to you.
Took two test drives before committing, and drove a Sandero Stepway in between for comparision.
The Duster won handsdown in my opinion, Stepway is nice, Duster was just that much more car.
Now I've had fast(ish) cars in the past, also a 1963 Landy, a Smart, a big 6.5litre Yank truck, and of course quite a lot of bikes. So I wasn't expecting the Duster to be quite as good as it was, came as quite a surprise actually.
Ok let's begin.
The exterior. I love it, apart from the shape of the tail gate. The lines where the rear lights go look a bit unusual but it grows on you. Actually in white these look better than the grey I ended up with. Black / dark blue also look better! The car is very muscular looking, without being too threatening. Kind of like a jacked up estate car - which is probably what it is. The front looks great in my opinion, and the rear quarter lights allow more visibility than the Qashqui. Wheels are nice and big and simple, very easy to clean. Tyres are a top level Continental, and on road they are excellent. Am thinking of a more aggressive tread pattern for some mild offroading, seeing as I saved £2000 and quite a few KG's by going 2WD.
Interior, this is the big surprise. Way way better than people made me expect. Went there expecting spit and sawdust, found nice big seats, and fairly good trim. Also quite good equipment levels on the mid to top range models. Nice blue tooth stereo too, with remote on steering column. Ample room in this car - took me a while to find the right seat position, but yesterday did 325 miles and got out with hardly an ache anywhere. Boot space is enormous, could not fault it, well - maybe I'd move the passenger seats further back, because when the drivers seat is full back, it is a bit of a squeeze for the person behind. This is mainly because I have freakishly long upper legs, and makes any car I drive into a bit of an ordeal (works on bikes though!).
Engine. Tiny little thing, at first glance would seem too small for the job but this is not the case. That little 1.5DCI lump is capable of (on private test track of course) 105 leptons, and never dropped below 47mpg with the aircon running. Did see 56mpg when trundling, but I didn't buy this for the mpg, got it for the torque. By the way I did baby the engine for the first 1000 miles as they suggest, which is still good for 70 while running in. By the time I got home it was flying. Acceleration is typical diesel madness - nothing much, then a quite a lot, then nothing. Repeat until 4th gear, then from this point it all makes more sense. 5th is smart, 6th is amazing on the motorway. Really don't understand how it is quite so rapid and economical in such a big vehicle.
Gearbox. Super slick 6 speeder. 1st is great for crawling in slow traffic, no revs required. Changes smooth, and runs approx 2500rpm at 75mph, so ample for UK speed limits. Reverse is pull up collar and dogleg forward. Nice and safe, predictable stuff. While talking reverse, it's an easy to park beast, with good visibility out the back (put headrests in low position though).
Steering. Not bad feel, no racer, but weighty enough not to feel floaty. Turning circle is tiny, and makes life simple in parking situations.
Suspension. My favourite bit. Glides over speed bumps as it they don't exist. Those annoying little speed cushions? 100% clearance, no need to slow at all. A full width ramp? at 30 these are just a nod of the head. The vicious little rubber blocks though, still rough, but atleast it isn't going to rip the car apart.
Handling and grip. A mixed bag. Grip is high, but as you may expect from a high than usual car, the handling is a compromise. One I am happy with though, because mid corner pot holes and bumps don't faze it at all. Leans a bit, but not excessively. Tyres just hang on and hang on, and the brakes are simply superb. Even on rough roads the brakes are awesomely powerful. So if you can tolerate a bit of body roll, this could suit you.
Build quality. The oily bits seem superb, only time will tell about rust & stuff, but it has a 5 year warranty on it so even if it goes bang after that it will have paid for itself.
Over all, a big fan. There are some omissions such as one touch leccy windows, and arm rest, but for the money who can possibly complain?
Finally, a good word to my Dealership if I may? Ware Garages, nice people who kept me informed of the import process and who made it easy. Hope it continues like this!
I know there is quite some interest in this car, having done a lot of reading about it, and bought it over a month ago, now have 1300 miles on it.
Had to wait 2 weeks for delivery as I opted for grey rather than white. White looks good but would have taken a lot longer to arrive & I'm never one to wait around. Shame that to bypass the delay cost around £500.. but it's entirely up to you.
Took two test drives before committing, and drove a Sandero Stepway in between for comparision.
The Duster won handsdown in my opinion, Stepway is nice, Duster was just that much more car.
Now I've had fast(ish) cars in the past, also a 1963 Landy, a Smart, a big 6.5litre Yank truck, and of course quite a lot of bikes. So I wasn't expecting the Duster to be quite as good as it was, came as quite a surprise actually.
Ok let's begin.
The exterior. I love it, apart from the shape of the tail gate. The lines where the rear lights go look a bit unusual but it grows on you. Actually in white these look better than the grey I ended up with. Black / dark blue also look better! The car is very muscular looking, without being too threatening. Kind of like a jacked up estate car - which is probably what it is. The front looks great in my opinion, and the rear quarter lights allow more visibility than the Qashqui. Wheels are nice and big and simple, very easy to clean. Tyres are a top level Continental, and on road they are excellent. Am thinking of a more aggressive tread pattern for some mild offroading, seeing as I saved £2000 and quite a few KG's by going 2WD.
Interior, this is the big surprise. Way way better than people made me expect. Went there expecting spit and sawdust, found nice big seats, and fairly good trim. Also quite good equipment levels on the mid to top range models. Nice blue tooth stereo too, with remote on steering column. Ample room in this car - took me a while to find the right seat position, but yesterday did 325 miles and got out with hardly an ache anywhere. Boot space is enormous, could not fault it, well - maybe I'd move the passenger seats further back, because when the drivers seat is full back, it is a bit of a squeeze for the person behind. This is mainly because I have freakishly long upper legs, and makes any car I drive into a bit of an ordeal (works on bikes though!).
Engine. Tiny little thing, at first glance would seem too small for the job but this is not the case. That little 1.5DCI lump is capable of (on private test track of course) 105 leptons, and never dropped below 47mpg with the aircon running. Did see 56mpg when trundling, but I didn't buy this for the mpg, got it for the torque. By the way I did baby the engine for the first 1000 miles as they suggest, which is still good for 70 while running in. By the time I got home it was flying. Acceleration is typical diesel madness - nothing much, then a quite a lot, then nothing. Repeat until 4th gear, then from this point it all makes more sense. 5th is smart, 6th is amazing on the motorway. Really don't understand how it is quite so rapid and economical in such a big vehicle.
Gearbox. Super slick 6 speeder. 1st is great for crawling in slow traffic, no revs required. Changes smooth, and runs approx 2500rpm at 75mph, so ample for UK speed limits. Reverse is pull up collar and dogleg forward. Nice and safe, predictable stuff. While talking reverse, it's an easy to park beast, with good visibility out the back (put headrests in low position though).
Steering. Not bad feel, no racer, but weighty enough not to feel floaty. Turning circle is tiny, and makes life simple in parking situations.
Suspension. My favourite bit. Glides over speed bumps as it they don't exist. Those annoying little speed cushions? 100% clearance, no need to slow at all. A full width ramp? at 30 these are just a nod of the head. The vicious little rubber blocks though, still rough, but atleast it isn't going to rip the car apart.
Handling and grip. A mixed bag. Grip is high, but as you may expect from a high than usual car, the handling is a compromise. One I am happy with though, because mid corner pot holes and bumps don't faze it at all. Leans a bit, but not excessively. Tyres just hang on and hang on, and the brakes are simply superb. Even on rough roads the brakes are awesomely powerful. So if you can tolerate a bit of body roll, this could suit you.
Build quality. The oily bits seem superb, only time will tell about rust & stuff, but it has a 5 year warranty on it so even if it goes bang after that it will have paid for itself.
Over all, a big fan. There are some omissions such as one touch leccy windows, and arm rest, but for the money who can possibly complain?
Finally, a good word to my Dealership if I may? Ware Garages, nice people who kept me informed of the import process and who made it easy. Hope it continues like this!
doogz said:
Is this some sort of joke that I'm missing out on?
I do like the look of them though, when/if my Shogun ever snuffs it, I may end up with one.
It's quite high, and carries 2/3's of it's weight on the front axle. In winter I think even the 2wd version would be pretty good, and if I stick £300 of AT or Winter tyres on it, it will go places that other 2wd cars can't. No joke, I didn't have the 2K handy, but a new set of tyres I can afford. Plus the 2wd is more economical if that is an issue. And the other part of this - if I have 4wd, I'd be tempted to use it seriously, and then mess the car up! atleast with 2wd you get stuck before you damage things.I do like the look of them though, when/if my Shogun ever snuffs it, I may end up with one.
kiethton said:
Great to hear a positive review, we are looking at picking one up for my mum in October time. Isn't there a facelift due soon?
I thought we had the face lifted version now? the interior is a lot different to the first lot. I'm not too worried either way, it is a lot of car for the money however you look at it. Seriously it goes like a car 6-10K more expensive. If you have test driven and like it, excellent. My wife loves ours, and she owns a Mini cooper!KTF said:
Out of interest does the steering column adjust both ways?
I know there are a lot of Mk2.5 Clio parts in it so wondered it that was the same? My wife used to have a Clio mk2.5 and I always found the driving position a bit odd.
I have seen a few of these on the road now (and abroad on holiday) and totally see what you mean about the looks. 'Tough' but without being too aggressive and a but more muscular than the QQ.
Steering is height only - seems to fit most people better than me, but over the years I have got used to it as every car I had apart from the Shogun only had height.. ideally I'd like reach as well. Have a test drive and see what you think.I know there are a lot of Mk2.5 Clio parts in it so wondered it that was the same? My wife used to have a Clio mk2.5 and I always found the driving position a bit odd.
I have seen a few of these on the road now (and abroad on holiday) and totally see what you mean about the looks. 'Tough' but without being too aggressive and a but more muscular than the QQ.
Still keep coming back to this though - a new 'big' car for 13K with 5yr warranty is cool. Insurance is cheap too! dunno about tax? can't be much though. I really like the QQ but like new cars, and the only QQ I could buy for the money is 2 or 3 years old.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
^^^ My post was made distinctly with tongue in cheek - having said that I could never, ever make a jump from something as accomplished as an E61 to a Duster, unless of course I had absolutely no choice.
Fine cars for what they do (the Dacias), alas Luxury, comfortable, accomplished etc are words which I will not be associating with the marque any time soon.
Do you really think a softly sprung armchair is going to be less comfortable than a leather filled car with no suspension travel? I agree it isn't all that luxurious but disagree about comfort.Fine cars for what they do (the Dacias), alas Luxury, comfortable, accomplished etc are words which I will not be associating with the marque any time soon.
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