Dacia Duster Review & Prices

The Dacia Duster has been around since 2010, and in the years since it’s become a byword for no-nonsense practicality, ruggedness and outstanding value for money. The third-generation model looks set to continue this trend, bringing refreshed looks, new tech, and for the first time, the option of a hybrid engine.

Dacia has a new large SUV planned for later this year called the Bigster, and as such the Duster hasn’t grown in size. It shares almost exactly the same dimensions as the outgoing car, however the new chunky styling gives it the appearance of one of those high-tech walking boots. Like a walking boot, the Duster is well-suited for going off-road because it’s one of the few small SUVs which is offered with four-wheel drive.

If you’re shopping for a Duster you could also consider cars like the Volkswagen T-Cross, Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008. The four-wheel drive model has even fewer alternatives, with just the Jeep Compass and Suzuki Vitara to do battle with.

The new Duster looks a lot more rugged than any of these cars thanks to the boxy silhouette and the black cladding around the lower half of the car - something that will earn its keep fending off trollies in the supermarket car park.

Inside it’s equally sturdy. There aren’t many soft-touch or plush-feeling materials, everything in here feels hard-wearing and solid, and a variety of interesting textures mean it looks pretty cool as well.

The robust surfaces should hold up well to the trials and tribulations of family life, or adventuring – they’ll withstand a lot of punishment and wipe clean easily. The rubber floor mats are great as well – they're designed to look like map contours.

Dacia’s budget roots become obvious when you realise the entry-level model doesn’t come with an infotainment system, with just a mount for your phone in the centre and a USB port to charge it. All other versions get a touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a digital driver’s display that makes for a surprisingly high-tech looking dashboard.

It’s really spacious for a small SUV as well, with plenty of space in the back for six-foot adults and a big, square boot with handy underfloor storage. It’s larger in capacity than both the VW T-Cross and the Renault Captur’s boots as well.

The Duster is available with a few different engine options, but the big news here is the introduction of a new hybrid model. It uses a 1.6-litre petrol engine mated to an electric motor, and it can bumble around town at low speeds on EV mode to save some precious fuel.

This hybrid is the only version that has an automatic gearbox, with the rest all getting six-speed manuals. The entry-level engine is a 1.0-litre turbo petrol with 100hp, then there’s a 1.2-litre petrol with 130hp. The latter can also be specced with all-wheel drive for added off-road capability.

If the new Duster interests you but you can’t wait for its release, you could check out Carwow’s deals across the Dacia model range, or have a look for a used Dacia Duster. Or look at the rest of our favourite small SUVs to see the Duster’s main competitors. And when you’ve chosen your new set of wheels, don’t forget you can sell your car online through Carwow too.

The new Dacia Duster starts from £18,745, making it significantly cheaper than all of its alternatives. It’s over £5,000 less than a Volkswagen T-Cross, £3,000 cheaper than a Renault Captur and the Nissan Qashqai is very nearly £10,000 more expensive.

Entry-level Essential models are pretty spartan inside compared to a lot of SUVs these days, but it gets all the kit you realistically need. It has Bluetooth, air conditioning and somewhere to mount and charge your phone, but it also has steel wheels so those who are more fashion-conscious may want to step up to the Expression.

That car gets 17-inch alloy wheels, as well as a touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Journey is the one that is likely to catch your eye though. For £22,945 you get all the kit the Expression has, plus automatic air conditioning, a surround-view camera, sat nav and 18-inch alloy wheels.

If you’re feeling particularly boujee you could treat yourself to the range-topping Extreme model for £23,475, which gets you heated front seats, faux leather upholstery and clever modular roof bars that can be moved around to carry different loads.

Roomy for its size, but the Duster is still a small SUV

Practicality is a high point for the Dacia Duster. The rear seats have plenty of space and the boot is larger than some cars from the size above.

The driver’s seat does have height adjustment, but it misses out on additional features such as an extendable seat base, and the lumbar support can’t be adjusted up and down. The front seats are squashy and comfortable but don’t feel as though they’d hold you in place while cornering. The hard wearing upholstery appears more expensive than you’d expect given the Duster’s budget leanings, though.

There are plenty of storage slots for odds and ends, including a shelf perfectly sized for your smartphone, a pair of cupholders and large door bins. There’s also a clever modular system called YouClip that Dacia’s developed, with mounting points across the cabin and boot - you’ll be able to attach clamps, phone or tablet holders or even lights. Expect to see a whole range of Dacia accessories developed to fit this in the future.

Space in the back seats

The rear doors open nice and wide, and the flat rear bench lends itself well to accommodating three adults - assuming they can fit width-wise. It’s comfortable for two six-footers, though, even if they’re sat behind a driver of a similar size. Headroom is generous and the big windows give a great view out.

There’s USB-C charging available for rear passengers, as well as one of the aforementioned mounting points - ideal for mounting a tablet so that those in the back can watch a movie or play a game on a long journey.

Boot space

Boot space varies depending on the model you select. Two-wheel drive petrol models get 472 litres of space, which is one of the biggest boots in a car of this size - more than the 385 litres of the Volkswagen T-Cross or 400 litres of the Skoda Kamiq. Four-wheel drive and hybrid models lose some capacity as they have mechanicals to accommodate under the rear - raising the boot floor by a few inches. 

The rear seats fold easily with tabs on the top edge, but they do leave a significant hump in the load floor when flat. They go down in a 60:40 split, and there are bag hooks and an optional rubber liner to keep the carpet clean.

Adventurous sorts will enjoy the optional Sleep Pack, which takes the form of a bespoke wooden box in the rear. Using the dropped seat backs, you’ll be able to fold out a double bed for comfortable in-car camping.

Hard wearing and well-built, but far from plush

Basic models of the Dacia Duster really live up to that title - they don’t even get a central infotainment screen. Instead, you get a mount for your phone in the middle of the dashboard, from which you can run a bespoke Dacia app or your own choice of sat nav and media. The car does still have a radio if you don’t want to plug in your phone; you can control this via the small screen in the instrument panel and the buttons on the steering wheel.

Most models come with a 10.1-inch touchscreen instead, which is much brighter, slicker and better-looking than in any Dacia that’s come before this. It offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as displaying the reversing camera, while top-spec models also get built-in sat nav.

The overall style is sort of cyberpunk meets lumberjack. It’s clearly designed for hard work outdoors, with rubber floor mats, wipe-clean surfaces and nice touches like off-road specific information available on the infotainment screen. But it’s also quite cool and angular, and uses interesting textures and patterns to hide the fact that the materials are quite a long way from plush.

Though the steering wheel and gear selector feel posh enough in the hand, areas such as the door cards and armrests are made entirely of hard, unyielding plastics. These will no doubt stand up to some real punishment but they don’t conjure up a very premium feel - nor are they that nice to touch. That is to be expected given the car’s price, though.

Official fuel economy figures for the Duster haven’t been released yet so we can only speculate. However, Dacia (and parent company Renault) has used these engines before. The 1.6-litre hybrid, fitted in the Jogger, can achieve over 50mpg with ease - though the Duster’s blockier body might see this drop a little. 

The hybrid will certainly offer the lowest CO2 emissions of the Duster’s engines, and so the lowest road tax or company car rates. Opting for a higher trim level or a 4x4 variant will see emissions increase, with a corresponding rise in tax.

The Bi-Fuel 1.0-litre could be an interesting proposition if you live close to an LPG filling station. LPG is typically around half the price of petrol, and could result in much lower running costs.

Dacia’s official Euro NCAP scores often suffer as the firm tends to shy away from fitting active driver aids to keep costs low. And so it proves with the latest Duster, which has scored three stars out of five in safety testing. Child occupant protection is pretty good at 84%, but the 70% adult occupant score is quite disappointing.

Despite scoring poorly for driver assist technology, the new Duster comes equipped with all the basics as they’re now required by European law - so you get autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition with a speed alert, lane-keeping assist, driver attention monitoring and rear parking sensors.

Historically Dacia’s no-nonsense engineering has led to reasonable reliability - less to go wrong! The new Duster introduces a lot more software and safety systems to the fray, but the engines and oily bits are well-proven and should be pretty dependable.

Dacia’s standard warranty is three years and 60,000 miles, which is beginning to look stingy next to some other budget brands. Kia and MG both offer seven years of cover, for example.