Dacia Duster review

The Dacia Duster is a back-to-basics small SUV that doesn’t try to wow you with gimmicks. If all you want is fuss-free family transport and a bit of off-road ability, it’s brilliantly fit-for-purpose.

It’s a bit like buying your kids’ clothes from Primark: yes, there are more fashionable and higher quality alternatives, but if you aren’t bothered about the name on the label and your kids will just make a mess of their clothes anyway, why pay more?

The Duster has been given a handful updates for 2021. Not much has changed on the outside but there are some tweaks; namely new headlights, wheel designs and a lightly altered grille, while minor changes to improve fuel economy also feature. It’s a little more drastic inside however, where there is a redesigned centre console and improved infotainment.

In its entry-level form, the Duster is basically the fork and knife of the automotive world – it’s pretty easy to get your head around. It’s much cheaper than any comparable SUV alternative, and while you do now get air-con, a DAB radio and cruise control,  it’s not exactly laden with tech.  The model you actually want is the Comfort, and then you get a reasonably-equipped Duster for at a well-valued price.

Sure, there are still plenty of hard, scratchy plastics dotted about the cabin, but at least you get some flashier chrome trims, more supportive front seats and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with built-in sat nav, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Not bad for such an affordable SUV.

Also winning the Dacia Duster some brownie points is its fairly spacious cabin. There’s more than enough space for tall adults to get comfy in the front and you get driver’s seat height and lumbar adjustment in all but the most basic Essential models.

Space in the back is pretty generous, too – there’s enough room for three adults to sit side-by-side and the Dacia Duster’s large side windows mean it feels less claustrophobic in the back than more style-led models such as the Nissan Juke.

The Duster’s boxy body means you also get quite a good-sized boot. There’s room for plenty of suitcases with the back seats up and a bike will fit with room to spare if you fold them down. Unfortunately, there’s an awkward step in the boot floor that makes it a pain to load very heavy boxes.

Cheap and cheerful – that pretty much sums up the Dacia Duster. It's an honest, sensible and likeable car, although the high-spec models cost almost as much as more sophisticated rivals.

If you plan to pack your Dacia Duster’s boot to the brim on a regular basis – or do lots of long journeys – go for the 1.5-litre diesel engine. It’ll return more than 50mpg in normal driving conditions and feels perky even at motorway speeds, but it’s a bit noisy at times.

There are also three turbo petrols that are great around town with the pick being the 130hp one, giving you decent acceleration with low running costs. If you plan on frequently going off road, the only 4×4 model is the 115hp diesel, which is a shame.

Dacia also offers a bi-fuel model that mixes petrol with LPG (basically natural gas that’s about a quarter of the price of petrol). This is based on the 1.0-litre, but it gets more power and (as of 2021) a 50-litre second tank, which is 50% larger than the old bi-fuel Duster. It’s still pretty slow, but when running on LPG it delivers more low-down urge and feels a bit perkier than the base engine.

If traipsing from school to supermarket sounds more like your thing, fear not. The Duster’s a doddle to drive thanks to its light controls, fairly comfortable suspension and the good visibility afforded by the large windows and raised driving position. Mid-range Comfort models even come with cruise control to help make long motorway journeys as relaxing as possible.

But even top-spec cars don’t come with as much safety kit as many other small family SUVs. For example, automatic emergency braking to help prevent avoidable collisions is noticeably absent from the Dacia Duster’s equipment list. As a result, it scored a poor three stars out of five when it was crash-tested by Euro NCAP in 2017. The 2021 update doesn’t change that.

So, the Dacia Duster makes a good budget buy if you’re after something practical and relatively cheap to run, but if safety and upmarket features are high on your list of priorities then you might want to look elsewhere. The Renault Captur, for example, costs just a few thousand pounds more (or less with a significant carwow saving) but comes with significantly more equipment across the range.

Still, check out the latest offers and head over to our Dacia Duster deals section.