The old adage “buy cheap, buy twice” is a common piece of advice.
In other words, if you save money on a buy, you’ll regret it later.
That might be sound advice when shopping for a new sofa or refrigerator, but does the Dacia Duster SUV show that being frugal may sometimes make you feel smug?
When it comes to giving motorists a lot of car for their money, Dacia is the champion in the world of wheels.
The Duster is a family SUV that can be had for half the price of a Seat Ateca or Skoda Karoq, and it outperforms the Renault Kadjar handsomely.
The Dacia Duster comes in a number of configurations to satisfy the needs of most people.
The cheapest models are built to be a no-nonsense domestic workhorse, while the higher trim levels come with a plethora of amenities.
Two or four-wheel drive is available, depending on which of the petrol or diesel engines you select.
It’s no surprise that the Dacia Duster won Best for Value in the family SUV class in our What Car? Car of the Year awards, with so many options and so good value.
Continue reading to see how it stacks up against its main competitors.
And, whatever new car catches your eye, our New Car Buying service is ready to give you a great deal on the Duster, as well as a range of other vehicles, with no haggling.
Drive and performance
Engine, gearbox, and 0-60mph
The 128bhp 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine badged TCe 130 is our favorite Duster engine, with good mid-range oomph and a pleasing briskness when revved out.
It takes 10.6 seconds to accelerate from zero to sixty miles per hour, which is about the same as an MG ZS 1.5 or a Skoda Karoq 1.0 TSI 115, and it has no trouble getting up to speed and providing fast highway cruising.
The more expensive 1.3-litre TCe 150 engine gives you a little more zip in a straight line, but it’s only worth it if you have to have the fastest Duster on the track.
The 113bhp 1.5-litre Blue dCi 115 diesel must be chosen if four-wheel drive is required.
Once you get the engine spinning above 2000rpm, it’s plenty solid, but interestingly for a diesel, it doesn’t add any extra low-end muscle over the petrols.
If you want to tow a caravan, this may be a concern.
Try to stay away from the 1.0-litre TCe 100.
The power distribution is fairly flat, and reaching highway speeds takes a long time.
Suspension and comfort
Since the Duster is based on older Renaults, its suspension isn’t cutting-edge, and it can’t match the shine of the best-riding family SUVs, such as the Skoda Karoq.
A four-wheel-drive variant, on the other hand, comes with a more sophisticated rear suspension that improves stability and comfort both on and off the track.
Both setups are incredibly gentle.
That’s not always a bad thing; it helps to smooth out most bumps and crags around town, thanks to Duster’s unique combination of small wheels and high-profile tyres – the extra rubber in the tyre sidewalls absorbs shocks even better.
The Duster handles well enough, but its soft suspension causes it to lean over a lot in corners as opposed to anything more polished, such as the Seat Ateca.
As compared to its price rival, the MG ZS, it’s also lacking in grip when you start pressing harder.
Then there’s the control of the vehicle.
It’s not as fast as the ZS’s, but it gives you a strong sense of link to the front wheels, so the Duster’s low-ish grip levels are rarely a problem.
However, if you order the four-wheel-drive version and go off-road, it has a trump card.
Yes, the Ateca, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Karoq, and two-wheel-drive only ZS can make you wince a little as it rubs its chin or belly due to the restricted ground clearance, but it has no trouble hauling itself up challengingly steep, rutted, dusty, or sandy inclines, and will outwit many more road-biased SUVs, including the Ateca, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Karo
Vibrations and noise
Under heavy acceleration, the petrol engines, including the Bi-Fuel, are remarkably quiet, with just the occasional slight whine or scream.
The diesel is also relatively quiet, but it transmits audible vibrations through the steering wheel and the area around the pedals on the floor.
In addition, the manual gearbox has a very long and unpleasant throw.
The biggest concern is wind noise.
On the highway, there’s a lot of it from the door mirrors and roof rails; so much so that you won’t hear the road noise.
The ZS, on the other hand, isn’t much better, and this is one of the main places where the more costly rivals – the Ateca, Karoq, and Qashqai, for example – would have a much calmer traveling atmosphere in which to cover long distances.
The layout, fit, and finish of the interior
Dashboard and driving position
Interior Dacia Duster
The Duster is tall enough to provide a comfortable driving position, which is ideal for a family SUV, but you may find it difficult to settle in.
For starters, there’s not enough room for your left foot to fit between the side of the footwell and the clutch pedal, and the Access trim lacks driver’s seat height adjustment, which is only available on the Critical trim.
Lumbar adjustment is not available on any trim levels.
Despite this, the driver’s seat is comfortable enough to sit in for a long ride, but it loses side support when cornering.
The dashboard, on the other hand, is as complicated as a knife and fork, with simple rotary heater controls and clearly named buttons.
When fitted to higher trims, the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel are also easy to use, but the audio controls are on a separate stalk hidden behind the steering wheel, so you’ll have to learn by feel which button does what.
Parking sensors and cameras, as well as visibility
The Duster’s elevated driving position and thin-ish windscreen pillars provide a decent forward view, but the area around the rear pillars has some over-the-shoulder blind spots.
Even so, overall visibility is higher than in the MG ZS.
Since the lower trim levels have a small equipment list, you won’t get any vision aids, but once you reach the mid-level Comfort trim, you’ll get rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.
SE
A 360-degree camera is added to trim levels twenty and up.
It’s worth noting that the resolution of those cameras is very low as compared to what you’d get in a more luxurious vehicle like a Skoda Karoq.
Furthermore, no trim level offers bright LED headlights, which are standard or available as an option on many of the Duster’s more expensive competitors.
By contrast, regular halogen headlights are dark.
Comfort trim adds front fog lights, and all models get LED daytime running lights.
Infotainment and sat nav
The cheapest Access model doesn’t even come with a radio – only some wiring and a slot to place one in.
Next-in-line
A standard DAB radio with Bluetooth, four speakers, and a USB port are included in the Essential trim.
If you want a touchscreen infotainment device, you’ll have to switch to the Comfort trim.
The 7.0in screen is rather low-resolution and mounted quite low in the dash, and the program and tiny icons conspire to make it very clumsy to use.
The Skoda Karoq and Mazda CX-30’s infotainment systems are miles ahead in terms of overall usability.
There’s no doubt that the Duster is made to a budget; it lacks many of the cosmetic flourishes we’ve come to expect from more luxurious family SUVs.
The interior plastics are rough and unappealing, and you should possibly exfoliate your elbow on the door trim. The carpets are thin, and the majority of the fixtures and fittings sound low-rent.
For a similar price, the MG ZS feels better trimmed.
None of this would be an issue if you actually consider your Duster to be a low-cost family workhorse, and it does feel solidly bolted together in the center.
In reality, this is a vehicle designed to withstand extreme conditions.
Passenger & boot space
How it copes with people and clutter
The Duster’s tall, open front doors make getting in and out a breeze, and there’s plenty of headroom in the front.
However, the front seats don’t slide very far, so if you’re particularly tall, you’ll have trouble finding enough leg room compared to many of its competitors.
It’s also not ideal for storing objects.
Take the front cupholder, for example: it’s too shallow to fit something spillable in there, and each door pocket can only fit a half-litre water bottle.
With proper cupholders and larger doorbins, the MG ZS outclasses the Duster in terms of storage.
The Duster’s rear door openings are tall, just like the front ones, making access easy, and the height of the seats from the ground means you don’t have to bend down too far to help kids get in and out of their child seats.
Three adult passengers will just about fit, but the person in the middle seat will have to sit with their legs straddling the big central floor hump.
Overall, the Duster has a lot of room in the back and seems to be a decent match for most families.
The MG ZS, on the other hand, is much more welcoming at this low end of the family SUV price continuum.
Flexibility and seat folding
The all-or-nothing, one-piece folding rear bench is standard on Access trim, but Essential models and up have a more flexible 60/40 split-folding arrangement.
The Skoda Karoq’s Varioflex rear seats, which recline, slide, break 40/20/40, and can even be removed entirely, offer more flexibility.
The rear seatbacks of the Duster are also difficult to fold since the rear seat bases must first be flipped up.
The front passenger seat does not adjust for height or lumbar support, but it can be folded forward to around 45 degrees when the rear seats are folded to provide more room for extra-long loads.
Room for the boot
The boot of the Duster is roomy by family SUV standards, with plenty of room for a week’s worth of vacation luggage, a fold-up buggy, or the spoils of a particularly extensive grocery run.
Four-wheel-drive Dusters have slightly less capacity than front-wheel-drive versions, but in our measurements, both accommodate seven carry-on suitcases.
That’s more than a Suzuki Vitara, which can seat five people, or a Nissan Qashqai, which can seat six people, while the Skoda Karoq can seat up to nine people.
It’s also worth remembering that the TCe 100 Bi-additional Fuel’s fuel tank has no effect on boot space because it replaces the spare wheel.
Front-wheel-drive Dusters have 1623 litres of volume with the rear seats folded as flat as they can go, which is enough for a trip to that well-known Swedish shop for some flat-pack furniture.
The boot’s shape is also very useful: it’s wide and tall, with just a small lip to load items over.
Costs, insurance groups, MPG, and CO2 emissions are also factors to consider.
The Duster lineup starts with the ridiculously low-cost Access trim level, which, as previously mentioned, is priced to undercut rivals like the Seat Ateca.
While not everyone wants an SUV without a radio or air conditioning, even our recommended mid-spec Comfort trim looks cheap when compared to competitors like the Peugeot 3008, Nissan Qashqai, and Skoda Karoq.
To come close to the Duster’s affordability, you can look at the MG ZS, which is similarly priced.
In terms of operating costs, however, the Duster edges out the ZS.
The diesel is fuel-efficient; you can get about 45.5mpg on average, while our recommended TCe 130 petrol can get close to 40mpg in daily driving.
The ZS 1.0T GDi will get closer to 32 miles per gallon.
CO2 emissions are also smaller than those of the MG, which is good news for company car users.
Keep in mind that the diesel with four-wheel drive is more costly to purchase and comes with higher fuel and company car tax bills.
Meanwhile, the Duster TCe 100 Bi-Fuel is an intriguing choice for those looking to save money on gas.
While the vehicle is slightly less fuel efficient when running on LPG than when running on gasoline, the fact that the former is so much cheaper at the pump means you can save a lot of money on gas.
It also has a wide combined driving range thanks to its two tanks (one for gasoline and one for LPG).
It is, without a doubt, a compelling alternative.
In terms of insurance, the Duster is especially affordable, as it falls into one of the lower insurance classes, and Dacia also provides some very lucrative PCP finance deals.
When you factor in long-term costs, such as depreciation, the Duster also outperforms the ZS as the most cost-effective family SUV on the market.
Extras, options, and equipment
For such a low price tag, you won’t be shocked to find that the entry-level Access trim is extremely sparse.
Electric front windows are the only extras; otherwise, black bumpers, 16-inch steel wheels, manually adjustable door mirrors, and no air conditioning are standard.
So at the very least, the Critical trim adds air conditioning, body-colored bumpers, and features like the 60/40-split rear seats and the Bluetooth-enabled DAB radio we mentioned earlier.
However, alloy wheels are still unavailable.
As a result, we recommend the Comfort trim.
Even with features like a trip screen, cruise control, 16-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, heated and electrically adjustable door mirrors, electric rear windows, and basic items like a passenger vanity mirror, it’s still less expensive than its mainstream SUV competitors.
Also included are the reversing aids and touchscreen infotainment device that we discussed separately earlier.
Even the top-of-the-line Prestige trim isn’t overpriced as compared to a base Ateca.
Since Dacia is owned by Renault, many of the parts it uses come from the French company.
Dacia, believe it or not, beat Renault to a respectable joint 15th place (with Suzuki) out of 31 manufacturers in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey, putting it well ahead of Ford, MG, Nissan, Vauxhall, and Volkswagen.
However, Kia, Hyundai, and Skoda came in ahead of it.
In our small and value car class reliability survey, the Duster came in first place.
Safety and security
One of the places where the Duster lags behind is in terms of safety.
Blind spot detection is the most sophisticated safety feature, and it’s only available on the SE Twenty trim level.
The choice of automatic emergency braking isn’t even available.
That’s one of the reasons the Duster got a dismal three stars in the Euro NCAP safety tests.
It also received a low rating for the safety it provides the driver’s head and neck in the event of a collision.
The MG ZS, on the other hand, earned three stars, and this is one of those main places where investing more pays off – many of its more expensive competitors are objectively safer cars in terms of crash avoidance and safety.
The Duster won two stars from Thatcham Research for its ability to avoid being broken into and four stars for its overall resistance to theft.
It’s also concerning that there isn’t a regular warning.
