TALK is cheap - and so is the Dacia Duster. You can have a new one on your driveway, the odometer reading 0000 miles, bobbles on the tyres and that indefinable ‘new car’ smell still permeating the cabin, for less than £10,000.
At that price, there’s nothing to touch it. Not even the ancient (and considerably smaller) Suzuki Jimny (yours for £11,995).
Yep, buying a Dacia is rather like shopping at Poundland - you get a lot for your cash, although you can’t afford to get too sniffy about the quality.
Mind you, with a store on every high street and more than four million weekly shoppers, Dacia’s parent, Renault, will be ecstatic if its cut-price brand emulates Poundland’s retail success.
And there’s sound reasoning to believe it just might.
The British love a bargain. According to psychologists, the idea of getting a “good deal” triggers a biological change in brain function. Consumers excited by the idea of a bargain are unable to judge whether the price is a good one, or not.
At least I can clear that up for you. In terms of metal for your money, the Duster is undeniably a good deal.
For a monkey (£500) less than ten grand, you can have a car that’s as roomy as a £16,895 Nissan Qashqai. If you’re prepared to spend a bit more, the Duster even comes with the same Renault-sourced 1.5-litre diesel engine as the Qashqai and a Nissan four-wheel drive system.
No wonder so many people stopped to ask me what the Duster was like when I had it on test.
ON THE ROAD: First surprise is that the Duster isn’t at all bad to drive. It doesn’t use an old-fashioned ladder chassis and therefore doesn’t have a ride like an overloaded pogo stick. Renault invested in a stretched version of the same platform that underpins the Note, the Juke and the Clio for Dacia’s exclusive use, so the Duster feels more like a tall hatchback than a commercial pick-up.
There’s a fair bit of slop in the steering, though, and the suspension tilts over quite a lot in tight corners, so you won’t be sitting on the back bumper of a well-driven Focus.
To avoid complaints from the rear seats it’s best to adopt a slow-and-sure driving technique .
If you can’t afford the diesel option, the 1.6-litre petrol engine is reasonably smooth and quiet. Strangely, the test car proved a reluctant first time starter. It never failed me, but, until I discovered the right knack (a small amount of throttle at every cold start), it always sputtered out after a second or two.
ON THE INSIDE: Signs of cost-cutting are everywhere in the cabin. You won’t find expensive slush-moulded plastics, touch-screens, voice control audio or little slivers of carbon fibre. The plastics are hard and scratchy, the three-piece instrument cowl doesn’t quite line up, the switchgear is Renault’s basic stalk arrangement and the (optional) Kenwood radio-CD (I almost wrote radio-cassette there) wouldn’t have looked out of place in a 1987 Opel Manta.
In the Duster’s favour, despite the preponderance of cheap plastics none of its creaked or groaned, and the interior stood up to the destruction test wreaked upon it by my four-year-old daughter and her older brother. I was dismayed to find only one of the three rear seat belt buckles worked - a situation which suggests Dacia’s quality control could be improved.
Refinement is better than a Jimny but falls short of what you’d expect from a modern crossover like the Qashqai. The big door mirrors generate a fair bit of wind flutter and tyre rumble is ever-present on motorways and A roads. At least the cabin’s rowdy atmosphere drowned out the inevitable childish arguments from the back seat over who would win in a three way fight: the Daleks, the Cybermen or... Dora the Explorer.
WHAT DO YOU GET: Precious little on basic models. Driving the Duster was like going back in time, to an era when cars didn’t have fancy air conditioning and electric rear windows and the door mirrors had to be manually adjusted. Ignore the tasty alloys on the Dacia TV ad - the test car rode on good old-fashioned steel wheels.
HOW PRACTICAL IS IT? The steering only adjusts for rake but it’s no hassle finding a comfortable driving position.
Forward visibility is good and there is enough room for three adults in the back. Cabin storage space is fine and the boot (in 2WD versions) is 65 litres larger than a Qashqai’s luggage compartment - a smidge less if you go with the 4x4. As a practical proposition, the Duster is a winner.
RUNNING COSTS: The 1.6 petrol engine isn’t particularly frugal (I recorded 34 mpg) or clean, but you have to balance that against the low purchase price. Service intervals are every 12 months or 12,000 miles, and there’s a three year/60,000 mile warranty.
VERDICT: So far Renault has done everything right with Dacia.
It has taken time to get the model mix right, invested in a new platform and avoided saddling Dacias with outdated engines and technology.
Now it is reaping the rewards. Dacia has established itself in the European market and despite the low prices, its profit margins wouldn’t disgrace an Audi or a BMW.
The Duster shows you can be cheap and cheerful. Provided the build quality is up to scratch, it would make a fine workhorse.
DACIA DUSTER.
Price: from £9,495.
Spec: Engine: 1598cc, four cylinder, 16 valve, petrol Power: 105 bhp @ 5750 rpm Torque: 109 ft/lb @ 3750 rpm Top speed: 104 mph 0-62mph: 11.8 seconds Fuel economy: 35.3 mpg (combined) CO2 emissions: 185 g/km (4WD) Insurance group: 5 Equipment: Power steering, six-speed gearbox, central locking, immobiliser, driver and passenger airbags, err...
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