► CAR’s review of the mk3 Dacia Duster
► We’ve driven it on and off road
► Prices still start at under £20,000
The Dacia Duster is now in its third-generation. And it remains a best SUV contender for those who prioritise no-nonsense performance and practicality – including the option of four-wheel drive – in combination with incredibly good value pricing. But this time around it’s much more than a barebones bargain-basement affair. This thing has proper appeal now.
Dacia has been on the warpath lately, with forays into hybrid tech and even the Dakar rally – punching well above the tough, basic transport brief of its earlier offerings. The mk3 Duster is a prime example of this, with improved off-road capability, an extra injection of technology inside and some clever yet pragmatic accessories and features.
While it’s now no longer the largest SUV Dacia makes – that honour goes to the newly minted Dacia Bigster – it’s still a large vehicle compared with the alternatives you’ll get for the same cost. More intriguing are the functional lifestyle add-ons that are now offered, including not only variable position roof bars but also blackout blinds and a tailgate-mounted tent targeting the more adventurous clientele Dacia is courting.
Should you buy a Dacia Duster?
There was always a good reason to justify buying a Duster, but prior to the arrival of this model it did feel like you did have to justify it – based on value above all other considerations. This latest version is just an all-round decent set of wheels, better to drive in every circumstance, nicer inside, more comprehensively equipped. Yes, you should buy one, it’s a sound choice.
Here’s why you should trust us.
At a glance
Pros: Interior is neatly designed and clever, Hybrid model delivers decent efficiency, handy off road and sweet on it
Cons: Wind and powertrain noise, boosty petrol, lumpy manual gearbox, limited space in the back
What’s new?
First launched in 2024, this is an all-new generation of Duster , with a complete exterior and interior rethink, deploying Dacia’s latest design language. This means more recycled materials, including 20 per cent of all of the car’s plastics now coming from recycled sources. The tough, scratch-resistant exterior plastics have a speckled colour effect to them that Dacia calls Starkle.
On top of that, the Duster moves from Renault-Nissan’s rather creaky B platform (which has been used since the likes of the K12 Nissan Micra and third-generation Renault Clio) onto the much newer CMF-B architecture. As well as much fresher dynamics, this brings new powertrain options – including a self-charging hybrid.
The latest Duster also benefits from the brand’s YouClip system, a kind of anchoring method for a selection of handy accessories that can be purchased as extras to customise the interior to your requirements. Examples include additional cupholders and phone holders. Elsewhere, the Dacia brand’s range of InNature add-ons include a properly tough roof rack and a specific version of the brand’s Sleep Pack that fits inside the Duster’s boot.
Shame our test of the Sleep Pack in a Jogger didn’t leave us enamoured by it.
What are the specs?
The UK market engine line-up has expanded slightly since the initial launch. Which is to say that despite Dacia’s senior vice president for marketing and sales, Xavier Martinet, worrying that the UK’s already-small LPG infrastructure was ‘busy being replaced by electric car chargers’ you can in fact get a Duster bi-fuel model here now.
Whether you should or not is a different matter, as this ambi-supping LPG and petrol model is powered by a 999cc three-cylinder, musters just 99bhp and is restricted to the entry-level Essentials specification (complete with bare steel wheels and no fancy digital screens on the inside). It takes 14.1sec to go 0-62mph using petrol, though this falls to 13.4sec if you’re on LPG. Bluntly, we haven’t driven one and we’re not sure we want to.
This leaves us with two other engines in the UK, which we most certainly have driven: a buzzy 1.2-litre three-cylinder TCe turbo petrol with mild-hybrid tech, or a 1.6-cylinder four-pot with full self-charging hybrid tech.
The 128bhp TCe model is comes as a six-speed manual-only but can be had with two- or four-wheel drive. The FWD version does 0-62mph in 9.9, the 4×4 takes 11.0; claimed WLTP fuel economy is 51mpg for the former, 46mpg for the latter.
The 138bhp Hybrid is front-wheel drive only, and comes with a complex ‘4+2’ multimode automatic transmission. It’s new to the Duster for this generation but is the same system used in many other Renault Group cars, often badged Renault E-Tech hybrid. Here it claims 55mpg WLTP. Hardly world-changing, but Dacia does reckon that you could be on electric-power for as much as 80 per cent of the time in urban driving.
How does it drive?
That TCe three cylinder is gargly as ever, but feels like more than enough for the Duster’s relatively lightweight construction. It does, however, remain very boosty in its power delivery – something other car makers’ three-cylinder engines have largely managed to evolve away from by now. The six-speed manual gearshift is a little lumpy and the gaps between first/third/fifth and second/fourth/sixth feel a smidge too close together for our tastes, but we found the clutch to be light and smooth.
The Duster Hybrid, meanwhile, benefits and suffers from the same great advantages and weird drawbacks that other cars using the same powertrain has. For example, we drove around 75 miles in the Hybrid model and set-off with a full tank of fuel. Despite a lot of hilly, twisty country roads and high-speed motorway driving, the fuel gauge hadn’t moved at all and the car’s predicted range of around 560 miles hadn’t changed much either.
It’s smooth and quiet at low speeds, with the system’s aim to keep the engine off through town as much as it can. But boy, oh boy, can it make itself known when the engine comes on, with a loud, persistent drone that seems to activate at random – regardless of where your throttle position is. It’s now your only option for getting an automatic Duster.
Dacia’s made an effort to inject some extra 4×4 toughness into the, er… 4×4 model, which is limited to a variant of the TCe powertrain. As well as new drive modes via a dial on the centre console (mud/sand, snow and off-road that locks power deliver to 50/50 front/rear), 4×4 models are slightly taller and benefit from impressive approach and departure angles.
Dacia has also blessed its higher-grade Dusters with more tech to keep you safe when navigating precarious off-road environments. Top-end models now feature a front-facing camera to see over steep hill crests, while a new hill descent mode will allow the car to crawl down slopes in neutral, though limited to 3mph.
We experienced a trickier-than-expected off-road course during our time with the Duster and, while we were guided by a professional scenery smasher in the passenger seat, the Duster handled it all easily.
Despite those efforts, on the road is still where most Duster buyers will spend most of their time – and it’s where the Duster behaves rather neatly. The steering – communicated to you via an almost hexagonal wheel design – isn’t brimming with feel but it’s direct enough and weights up in the right way and at the right time the quicker you go. What’s more, the ride comfort is plump and nicely damped – even over the whopping potholes of less-than-perfect Lake District B-roads.
What about the interior?
The Duster is still chunky and utilitarian inside but this time it’s also quite stylish. It still feels built to a price, but in less obvious ways, making the interior experience a much easier pill to swallow. In the front, cubbies of all shapes and sizes are scattered about the place – there’s even a pen holder in the centre console – and all but the entry-level model get a digital instrument cluster. This is very clear and easy to read with a few minor details and graphics you can tweak to your liking.
It’s also interesting that Dacia’s gone its own way with infotainment on the central screen on Expression and above. Instead of using Renault’s Google-based OpenR system, the technology is all its own with very clear and simple graphics, reasonably quick responses and easy-to-read mapping from HERE. The Duster also has a one-button-press ‘Perso’ mode for tweaking the safety aids (including a deeply irritating speed warning system) on or off in an instant.
The boot is bigger than before, but also varies with every single model. The Hybrid’s is the smallest at 430 litres up to the parcel shelf – barely more than a 422-litre Nissan Juke; the bi-fuel crams in 453 litres despite having two fuel tanks, the 4×4 trumps that with 456 litres (the same as a Ford Puma), while the FWD TCe smashes the lot with 517 litres. That’s just slightly less than an Audi Q5’s 520 litres, and one of those will cost you at least 2.5x as much as this Dacia.
Sadly, the Duster’s the rear passenger space isn’t anything special. There’s a good amount of headroom in the second row, but tall adult passengers will feel tight of legroom – particularly behind taller drivers, and there’s not exactly a buffet of storage spaces or useful points in the second row aside for a pair of USB-C ports.
But at launch in 2024 this was the first Dacia we’ve ever driven that had a good amount of adjustment for the driver. Previous Dacias have either lacked thigh support or good back support in the seats, had sub-optimal places to put your feet or offset steering wheels and pedals. Not here – hurrah.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
There are four specs to choose from with the Duster: entry-level Essential, mid-tier Expression and two equal-top trims: Journey and Extreme.
Essential Dusters feature all the basics (including a lot of mandated safety kit) as well as roof rails, rear parking sensors and a holder in place of a central infotainment screen for your phone. Expression adds 17-inch alloys, a digital instrument cluster, a 10.1-inch central infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a rear parking camera.
Then we get to what Dacia considers its top two trims. Dacia’s realised that around 80 per cent of its Duster buyers go for a top model, so has decided to offer two that have similar tech but different designs. Extreme is the more familiar of high-end Dusters, featuring chunky 18-inch alloys, rubber mats, automatic air-con, an infotainment upgrade that throws in live navigation and flashes of copper around the car. Journey is the new offer, which goes less hard on the tough stuff and adds more technology beyond Extreme, such as an electric parking brake, wireless phone charger and a 3D sound system.
Key players in the compact and relatively low-cost SUV space include the Skoda Kamiq and Ford Puma. Both are considerably smaller, more expensive and less capable in the rough-stuff than this Dacia. At the time of writing, the Duster is priced from £19,380, a Kamiq costs from £24,975 and the Puma start at £26,580.
The Duster 1.2 TCe will be enough for most, and you can get one for those for £21,820 in Expression trim. But the draw of the Duster Hybrid’s efficiency will be strong enough to pull plenty of people its way, and this is available from £24,830 – also in Expression spec. We’re not surprised that so many buy a top-end trim, because they feel like better value than a base-spec car from another brand.
Verdict: Dacia Duster
As with previous generations, the new Duster is a car you feel like you’ve spent money on wisely, with the added bonus that it now comes packaged with a design that has presence. The interior is neat, the powertrains are modern and efficient, it handles deftly on the road and manages to be impressively good off it. The boot is bigger than before, and the base tech it offers is useful and unobtrusive.
None of the engines are perfect. The TCe petrol’s power delivery and manual gearbox are lumpy, while the Hybrid’s engine noise can be intrusive and unpredictable. Wind noise isn’t great either and, for a family SUV, rear space isn’t anything special.
But the Duster still does a lot so well, and manages to be charming, too. Older Dusters have been desirable because they’ve been great value for money. But this one is desirable full stop.
Specs below are for a Duster Hybrid 140 Extreme 4×2