WHILE on an early morning drive across the country recently, Marty Whelan was broadcasting from the bottom of a steel barrel. At least, that’s what it sounded like from the sound system in the Dacia Duster I was driving.
BY BRIAN BYRNE
The Duster is, of course, an SUV from the budget brand owned by Renault. I suppose they have to leave in a few budget features when much else in the model is as good as anything else from the parent group, including the style.
It’s the third generation of a model that was introduced in 2010. And the fact that it was the fourth-best-selling car across Europe in January suggests that the model has found big favour (just for interest, the Dacia Sandero was the biggest seller, and not for the first time).
That style I mentioned is no small part of that January success, I think.
The previously curvy version has been edged into a smarter and more purposeful look.
The latest grille and logo design adopted by Dacia is strong but not aggressive and that, I also think, suits the potential buyer cohort well.
My review car in the Extreme specification included 18-inch alloys with a stylish cut to them that definitely contributed to the car’s standing presence.
The copper-coloured detailing outside and inside also come with this grade and are small things that make a surprisingly big difference — the actual copper tone is chosen well as to not be garish and cheap.
The roof rails are chunky and add to the ruggedness which is across the exterior and embellished by protective mouldings.
The same rails are cleverly designed to be converted to cross-rails without the need for any tools.
Inside the Duster, there’s a good feel of roominess. Size-wise it fits between the Honda HR-V and Toyota’s C-HR.
Plenty of headroom for me, and room for two adults or three teens in the back.
There is significantly more luggage space than in those two competitor models.
Seats and cabin trim all seem to be designed for tough use.
I’ve also come to appreciate seat heaters in my older age, and the review car had them.
The instrumentation included a two-colour central touchscreen and a digital driving information cluster, both of which were steps above what you get in the entry-level Duster.
There is an integrated navigation system called ‘Here’ but after trying out what is clearly a budget implementation for a while.
I preferred my Apple CarPlay version’s, Google Maps.
There are three powertrain options with the latest Duster, a mild-hybrid 130hp petrol which claims a 10pc saving in fuel over petrol alone, a 140hp full hybrid, and a bi-fuel petrol-LPG version.
My review car was the mild hybrid, but with the 4WD system that is an option only with that engine, and which provides an off-road capability that surprises many.
As a road car it performed very pleasantly for me on one of my long 400km day-trips, with a fairly frugal 5.7L/100km consumption on a mix of motorway, regional and local roads.
And in fairness, I wasn’t driving to try and achieve a high eco-score.
If you don’t need 4WD, I’d recommend the full hybrid if for no other reason than its automatic DCT transmission makes overall driving more pleasant than rowing through the 6-speed manual when in slow traffic.
That there are some two million owners of Dusters since the model was introduced is testament to the car’s ethos of offering basic but competent SUV motoring from an affordable price compared to its competitors.
But even if you plump for the top grade, getting most of the facilities that you expect in higher-priced other cars, Duster still offers value.
Though not if you’re a Marty Whelan listener.
