autoevolution
 

DACIA Duster Review

OUR TEST CAR: DACIA Duster 1.6 4x4 16v

 
DACIA Duster  - Page - 2
Since we got to test the current top of the range trim level of the Duster, called "Laureate", we were expecting some better than average features on the car. At least as opposed to regular modern Dacias, which are practically the epitome of simplicity in cars. Truth is, just like with almost any other Dacia, with the Duster you kind of get what you bargain for.

For the very first time in Dacia's history, there's a car which can be bought with leather upholstery. Since that option only costs 400 euros, we had our doubts about its quality, but those soon vanished after we got in the car and realized that we're talking about synthetic leather. Have no fears though, its feel was very similar to a that of a low-end natural leather upholstery found in a BMW 1-Series.

The "Laureate" trim level also adds an MP3 CD-Player with eight speakers. Naturally, this doesn't exactly has the quality of Bang&Olufsen hi fi audio system, but for a car which costs under 15,000 euros, it's more than adequate.

Since we tested a black car during the scorching summer heat, the manual air-conditioning unit took a real beating and in some periods of the day proved to be a little inadequate as far as its response goes. On the other hand, for a low end, single zone manual AC unit, and given the conditions, we would say our expectations were well met.

The high seating position and the almost complete lack of interior ergonomics shouldn't help the Duster's "comfort marks" too much, but the suspension setup is almost perfect in this regard. Although it's obviously tuned for off-roading and/or rougher roads, on which it feels more than fabulous, it didn't turn the car into a bad handler on the twisties either.

Sure, there is a lot of body roll when cornering hard but there's nothing "unsafe" about it. Still, the best way to really appreciate the suspension comfort is by driving at medium to high speeds on rough pavement, on which the Dacia Duster feels simply marvelous.

A car fitted with an engine almost identical to the one found under the hood of a Renault Megane II – a car designed over a decade ago – couldn't exactly be called "technologically advanced", could it? Well, as it turns out, the Dacia Duster is actually an amalgam of old and modern tech, cramped together into a single all-wheel drive package.

The 1.6-liter four-banger offers only 105 horsepower and 148 Nm (109.2 lb ft) of torque, numbers which may point out that the car is underpowered by quite a large margin. On the other hand, the Duster's 1.6 16v 4x4 weight is only 1325 kilograms (2921 pounds), so this is not exactly a problem.

Compared to the eight-valve 1.6 we tested on the Sandero and on the Sandero Stepway, this 16-valve feels a little bit more potent, but not by much, since the power-to-weight ratio of the three cars is rather similar. Since the engine should breath more easily thanks to the four valves per cylinder, and on top of everything is fitted to a six-speed manual transmission instead of a five-speed one, we were expecting a better fuel economy.

It turns out this is not exactly the case, since we achieved a similar fuel consumption to the aforementioned lower-weight models, which were equipped with the less-potent version of this very same engine. So, if the overall performance figures and the fuel consumption are similar to almost any 1.6-liter 8-valve Dacia model, we kind of asked ourselves where the improvement was. Well, apparently the improvement is in the overall package, not the engine per se.

Speaking of old versus modern technologies, we've established the fact that the engine's conception happened somewhere in the last century, but what about the rest of the car? Well, for one thing, the car's platform has taken bits from both Renault and Nissan, which kind of makes the Duster feel like it got two good ends to the bargain.

Believe it or not, there are also a couple of world firsts on this car. For one thing, this is the first ever Dacia with four independent wheels, but it's also the first one with a six-speed transmission. An independent rear suspension is something to be desired on premium small cars like the Audi A1 or the Alfa Romeo MiTo, but a sub-15,000 euro Dacia crossover-SUV has that in standard, which we believe is saying something.

On top of that, it also has an intelligent all-wheel drive system, which can transform the car from 2WD to 4WD at the flick of a switch mounted on the center console. It's not exactly a pro-active system a la BMW xDrive, but it certainly gets the job done and it's probably the most hi-tech piece of technology on the car.


A Dacia Duster identical to the car we drove costs just a shade under 15,000 euros. For that amount of money and considering this is a compact crossover/SUV with intelligent all-wheel drive after all, we weren't expecting too many gadgets to comfort our senses. It turns out that after taking the first short stroll with our test car we weren't wrong with our pre-conceptions.

To sum it up, a Dacia Duster with all the options ticked is about as basic as you would expect by taking a look at its catalog price, but that doesn't mean you won't find a strictly sufficient amount of features on one. Our test car was fitted with (artificial) leather upholstery, a knob for electronically controlling the routing of the power to all four wheels, a manual single-zone air conditioning unit, a manually adjustable steering wheel and four electric windows.

Other than that, you shouldn't expect things like light and rain sensors, bi-xenon headlights or even automatic climate control, since these are what Dacia might call premium features. After all, this is a car costing a little more than a high performance braking system on a Porsche.

It's not an ox cart, but a real car which can give you all the strictly necessary gadgets and features and offer a bit more that basic transportation over rough terrain and not only. If you're not interested in all the bells and whistles some other cars are offering (at a price) but strictly want the cheapest modern SUV money can buy this is pretty much your only option.

The Duster hasn't yet been tested by any international crash testing organization, but we shall try to estimate its result based on the ones already achieved by its smaller brother, the Sandero, especially since they are sharing a modified platform. Considering that the Sandero fitted with four airbags (two frontal ones and two thorax and head side airbags for the front passengers) achieved four EuroNCAP stars, we might go as far as wait for a similar result for the Duster.

We say this because the Duster also has front seatbelt reminders and will soon be available with electronic stability control, another first for a Dacia. Plus, it's also a bit heavier than the Sandero, although not by much. These features alone make us think the Dacia Duster is at least as safe as its smaller brothers, which can only be a good thing.

Taking the aforementioned features into account, and adding the availability of intelligent (and pretty responsive at the limit) all-wheel drive, the Duster doesn't appears as unsafe as a car costing this much should. Of course, our "Safety" mark might go up or down after an official international crash test is assessed. Until then, this is all the info we have about it.

If anyone's wondering why Dacia has started to have successes after successes lately, it's all probably because of the niche they've conquered. It's the "I don't care about gadgets, badges or horsepower" niche. It all goes down on how much you are willing to pay for it, and Dacia is a great, if not the best example to show what some car manufacturers can provide for a given price. At the next door dealer, the cheapest crossover/SUV with similar options and features found on our test car costs a good two-three thousand euros more because of badge alone. Add an automatic climate control system and some electric adjustable seats and you're already on the way to paying double. Why do that when you have a perfectly good small SUV, which looks OK, can provide a basic amount of comfort, safety and can really tackle some off-road terrain? This is what the Duster does best, delivering the most in its segment for the least money.

Keeping in mind that even though we're not talking about "money no object" people, the Duster may still be just a tiny bit too basic from some points of view. For example, the short-ratio gearbox is great for off-roading, but a longer sixth gear would have been great for both highway fuel economy and cabin sound levels. We're saying this because the Dacia Duster 1.6 16v 4x4 is a bit thirsty and loud at speeds above 100 km/h (62 mph). Quite a lot if you already have higher standards when getting into one.

As far as the ugly bit about the Dacia Duster we drove, the complete lack of interior ergonomics should get top marks in this area. For someone used to just about any normal modern car, to fiddle around the interior for the horn, the exterior rear view mirrors controls or for getting all four windows up or down can really become a pain. Sure, you get used to them as time passes, but the ergonomics are completely backwards and counter-intuitive.
THE END
12
55user rating 297 votes
Rate this car!
 
autoevolution Jun 2010
51
History
4
Exterior
5
Interior
5
In the city
7
Open road
6
Comfort
5
Tech facts
5
Gadgets
3
Safety
4
Conclusion
7
55user rating 297 votes
Rate this car!
 
Photo gallery (85)
Dacia Duster center consoleDacia Duster sound system steering wheel controlsDacia Duster all-wheel drive settingsDacia Duster all-wheel drive settingsDacia Duster 4WD stickerDacia Duster rear suspensionDacia Duster engine bayDacia Duster wheelDacia Duster rear windows control buttonsDacia Duster sound system steering wheel controlsDacia Duster air conditioning control panelDacia Duster rear benchDacia Duster front seatsDacia Duster panningDacia Duster panningDacia Duster panningDacia Duster panningDacia Duster panningDacia Duster exterior rear view mirrorDacia Duster rear ride heightDacia Duster middle ride heightDacia Duster front ride heightDacia Duster rear ground clearanceDacia Duster front ground clearanceDacia Duster panningDacia Duster nighttime shot in the cityDacia Duster nighttime shot in the cityDacia Duster panningDacia Duster rear middle seat beltDacia Duster door handle, exposed screwDacia Duster strange stickerDacia Duster crank storage spaceDacia Duster spare tireDacia Duster luggage compartment with the rear bench foldedDacia Duster luggage compartment with one seat foldedDacia Duster luggage compartmentDacia Duster rear windows control buttonsDacia Duster rear benchDacia Duster front passenger doorDacia Duster interior, upper viewDacia Duster front seats, upper viewDacia Duster gear stickDacia Duster gear stickDacia Duster handbrake with mirror adjustment knobDacia Duster center consoleDacia Duster all-wheel drive settingsDacia Duster center console detailDacia Duster air conditioning control panelDacia Duster center console, side viewDacia Duster Blaupunkt audio system Dacia Duster center consoleDacia Duster gauges Dacia Duster sound system steering wheel controlsDacia Duster wiper control leverDacia Duster headlight control and horn leverDacia Duster steering wheel badgeDacia Duster steering wheelDacia Duster front seatsDacia Duster dashboard, high angle viewDacia Duster dashboardDacia Duster dashboard at nightDacia Duster wheelDacia Duster rear badgeDacia Duster rear badgeDacia Duster 4WD stickerDacia Duster taillightDacia Duster taillightDacia Duster exterior rear view mirrorDacia Duster exterior rear view mirrorDacia Duster front badgeDacia Duster headlightDacia Duster headlightDacia Duster front grilleDacia Duster side viewDacia Duster side viewDacia Duster rear viewDacia Duster three quarters rear viewDacia Duster three quarters front viewDacia Duster front viewDacia Duster three quarters front viewDacia DusterDacia DusterDacia Duster ConceptDacia Duster ConceptAro 10/Dacia Duster