The Dacia Duster: an affordable SUV

DW (English)

With few affordable SUVs on the market but demand for such vehicles strong, the Dacia Duster stands out. REV puts the newest iteration to the test to see just what you can get for as little as €19,000.

Transcript

00:00The Dacia Duster has always been a successful model since its launch in 2010 simply because

00:06of the fact that it is so cheap.

00:09And this is the new version for 2024, which aims to be even better without getting too

00:15expensive.

00:16Let's check it out.

00:17Welcome to Rev.

00:18The new Duster comes with three powertrains on offer, 100 horsepower, 130 and the most

00:24powerful variant that we're testing.

00:28The top version is the 140 horsepower full hybrid that will also be able to drive a few

00:34kilometers purely electric.

00:37This version comes equipped with a 1.2 kilowatt hour battery and has an average consumption

00:42of 4.9 liters per 100 kilometers.

00:45The entry level version has an engine that can use both regular fuel and LPG.

00:53The general driving impression in the new Dacia Duster is okay.

00:59Of course, a car in that price segment you won't expect very much.

01:03And it is clear if you step on the gas too hard, the engine will be quite prominent in

01:09the interior.

01:10You also have wind noises and you have a little bit of rolling noises from the tires.

01:15But then the moment you remember that the car has an entry level price of under €19,000,

01:20you will instantly forget about all of the noise you have in the interior.

01:32A thing that has been criticized with the previous version, Duster, is it didn't have

01:37a lot of driver assistance systems which earned it a very bad review from the German automobile

01:43club, ADAC.

01:51With the new generation, that is getting better because now it has almost everything you would

01:59expect in a car in the BSUV segment.

02:02So you have adaptive cruise control, lane assist and many more that are also, by the

02:09way, legally required for future cars.

02:12So Dacia had no other choice than to put that into their new Duster.

02:21The problem with all of these assistance systems is they will constantly beep at you.

02:27You're driving too fast, you're driving on the line.

02:31And that's why I like to deactivate them.

02:34But due to regulations, you can't keep that setting.

02:37So every time you start up the car, they will be activated again.

02:42But Dacia has a very clever solution to that problem and that is a setting that will let

02:54you manually adjust your liking in terms of assistance systems.

02:58So let's say you deactivate the speed warning and the lane assist warning.

03:05And that is then kept in that profile.

03:07And with the button next to the steering wheel, if you press it twice, you can activate that.

03:12That profile of yours.

03:14And then the systems will be instantly deactivated and you don't have to search for them in the menu.

03:19And that is quite a clever solution, I think.

03:30While the Duster is beloved for its off-road ability, keep in mind that only the mid-sized

03:35mild hybrid engine with 130 horsepower on offer is available as an all-wheel drive version.

03:41But the Duster's rugged exterior is, of course, standard across the board, complete with cool

03:46LED headlights.

03:49The interior of the Duster looks quite good to me.

03:53Of course, a car in that price segment, it's clear you have a lot of plastic.

03:57You will not exactly see it on the first look, but if you listen to it, all of this is plastic.

04:07It's clear it's cheaper.

04:08But I have to admit, the way the plastic is finished with these different types of

04:14looks, I really like the design.

04:18And to me, the interior is absolutely okay, even though it has that much plastic.

04:25The off-road fenders are made from 20% recycled materials.

04:31You have buttons here at the steering wheel for the different functions.

04:34Right behind here, you have one for the media, which is usually found here with other manufacturers.

04:42But that's simply, it takes some getting used to, and afterwards, you won't even notice

04:47it anymore.

04:54Right down here, very important, physical buttons for the climate control.

04:59I'm always a huge fan of that.

05:02Right down here, you have USB slots to charge your smartphone.

05:06Also, wireless charging is possible, and some more space to put bigger or smaller things

05:13inside.

05:19The vents look quite fancy.

05:22I like those.

05:24And right above, you have a 10.1-inch touchscreen, which is, depending on the version you get,

05:31either with or without navigation system.

05:39But that is not the standard.

05:40The standard does have a holder for your smartphone instead, where you can then horizontally place

05:45your smartphone and then connect it to the car.

05:48Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, wirelessly, is always with the car, and then you can listen

05:54to your music or use Google Maps or whatever.

05:58So, I really like the idea.

06:01Both work equally fine.

06:03The interior features a system called U-Clip with four to six little knobs throughout the

06:08car where additional equipment can be easily attached.

06:11The trunk has a capacity of 472 liters, which increases when the rear seats are folded flat.

06:21Originally founded in 1966, the Dacia brand was reinvented in 1999, when the Renault Group

06:27acquired it.

06:29It was the Logan that catapulted them to success.

06:34Available as a pickup, estate, and sedan, it sold over 4 million units globally.

06:39Now present in 44 countries around the world, and with models like the Duster on offer,

06:45the brand's global sales have surpassed the 8 million mark.

06:54Dacia cars are located in the A and B segment.

06:57That is also true for the Duster, which is a B SUV, and in that segment, for privately

07:02owned cars, Dacia has almost 20% of market share.

07:08So, every fifth car, you can basically say, is a Dacia car.

07:13The next one right behind it is VW, almost the same, 0.1% less, but also basically every

07:20fifth car.

07:21And the next one is far behind.

07:23About even 9%, and that is Skoda.

07:26So you can see, Dacia really appeals to the customers with their affordable cars.

07:34The Duster is based on the CMF-B platform, which it shares with the Sandero and Logan

07:40models.

07:46The Dacia Duster has gotten so much better in terms of safety and driver assistance systems.

07:52And what's even more important to me, it also looks way better than the predecessor

07:56that were somewhat ugly, I have to say.

08:00But this one, I could even consider buying it if it wasn't an SUV.

08:03It also has gotten a little more expensive, but 1,500 euros more than the predecessor

08:08is still okay, if you consider that it still starts at under 19,000 euros.

08:14So the new Duster, to me, is the perfect embodiment of a car that has good value for money.

08:20To sum up, the new Dacia Duster is a good-looking car at a very competitive price, with a lot

08:26of clever features.

08:28On the downside, the budget build also means the Duster loses points for its noise level

08:33and heavy use of plastic in the interior.

08:36But with a top-end model available for under 28,000 euros in Germany, it's an appealing

08:42buy.

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