Dacia Duster review: cheap and cheerful – but so much more besides

My first acquaintance of the new, third-generation Duster came in January and was largely positive, but the model tested was one of the more expensive in the range: the £26,745 Extreme Hybrid 140. Then just as I was speculating whether a cheaper, mild-hybrid model with a manual gearbox might make even more sense, the firm's UK PR department offered me a longer test with that apparently lesser model.
Not much lesser, as it turned out, since the test car supplied, while having the desired manual gearbox and mild hybrid three-cylinder engine, was in the penultimate trim level, Journey, with a starting price of £23,030 plus bronze metallic paint.
Nevertheless, this is probably the best all-round Duster drivetrain; the TCe 130 mild hybrid is the first Dacia to benefit from parent company Renault's 1.2-litre, three-cylinder engine with assistance from a small battery. The petrol engine operates in the Miller cycle; the intake engine valves remain open when the compression stroke starts, effectively giving a larger expansion ratio than compression ratio, which provides greater fuel efficiency.
It is offered with a six-speed manual gearbox and is available with front- or four-wheel drive and costs between £21,245 and £25,945.
The maximum torque is 170lb ft, with a top speed of 111mph, 0-62mph in 9.9sec, a WLTP Combined fuel consumption of 51.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 124g/km.
The chassis is based on that of the current Clio introduced in 2019 by Renault, with strut-based front suspension and a twist beam at the rear. It's old tech, but still good to go.
The first Duster was launched in 2010 as an SUV version of the Logan saloon. With a decent specification at budget prices, it immediately took off despite its weird looks and has sold 2.2 million through what is now three generations.
The first cars were ungainly, but the second and now third generations have been a huge improvement, although thankfully it hasn't increased much in size along the way. With its stereotypical rugged 4x4 looks, the new version might look huge but at 4,343mm long, 1,921mm wide with the mirrors folded and 1,657mm tall with the optional roof bars, it's not actually much bigger than the previous model, just a lot better looking.
Snow debut
The loan coincided with the 2025 Car of the Year drive-off in early January. The Duster had been my choice to take the award before this loan car had been discussed, but in the end the electric Renault 5 scooped the prize.
Driving across the top of France and into Belgium for the final drive-off along with all the other European jurors was interesting because it snowed quite hard and I only had front-wheel drive; four-wheel drive with dedicated winter tyres would have been more reassuring. Locals equipped with winter tyres dogged my bumper as I cautiously slid my way to the circuit.
It was also unnerving because the Mettet circuit is located down a long slope which was covered with compacted ice and snow; I made it, but only just, with the front wheels spinning hard and the car sliding sideways.
And the journey was ultimately pointless, because the 2.3km circuit was a foot deep in snow and virtually unusable. Just as well I had had experience of all seven shortlisted cars during the UK jurors' drive-off at Silverstone just before Christmas. A dash back to the DFDS Dunkirk to Calais ferry (thanks for that DFDS) resulted in an average of just over 60mph at just under 50mpg. Considering the speed and temperature, that was pretty good.
Does cheap motoring feel cheap?
In a way, yes. The Duster is clearly built down to a price and not all the plain hard plastics are there to attain what Denis Le Vot, Dacia's chief executive, calls 'essentiality'.
While the unpainted grey plastic body cladding in a material called Starkle might consist of 20 per cent reused polypropylene, they look suspiciously like the lower body panels of the original Renault 5 back in the early Seventies.
Inside, the instrument binnacle is far too large for the graphic displays so there void is filled by superfluous horizontal illuminated lines. Some of the moulding marks are clearly visible and the seats, while tolerable over long distances, aren't the last word in comfort or support.
The central touchscreen is just as you'd find on the most modern cars, just not as good; it lags, doesn't always recognise the touch of a finger and the radio function has not worked for approximately half the time. Over-the-air updates revive its functions for a while, but disappear again within days.
The Journey trim provides Apple Carplay and Android Auto connectivity alongside a fistful of modern Automatic Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) driver aids; these, as you'll probably know, are a mixed blessing. In this application, the automatic braking function is terrifyingly abrupt and the lane centring system corrupts the steering so that the wheel squirms in your hands on even the straightest of roads, especially if you try to avoid the potholes. Fortunately, you can switch off most of it with a double press of the Perso button, which is one of the best and most simple ways of circumventing these mandated Nanny State monitors I can think of.
The next adventure involves more foreign travel. In the meantime, the Duster is proving itself a solid if unspectacular workhorse, as I pound the motorways of the UK between jobs.
The facts
On test: Dacia Duster TCe 130 Journey
Body style: five-door B-segment SUV
On sale: now
How much? £23,030 (range from £18,745)
How fast? 111mph, 0-62mph in 9.9sec
How economical? 51.4mpg (WLTP Combined) 48.6mpg on test
Maximum power/torque: 127bhp/170lb ft

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