New Dacia Duster Review: The KING of Small SUVs?

This is the all-new Dacia Duster!

It’s one of the cheapest SUVs money can buy, with the price starting from just £18,000! The question is, even with such a low price tag, does it offer enough to compete with small SUV competitors like the Peugeot 2008?

Well, when it comes to the design, the Duster has been heavily updated compared to the previous edition - and it looks fantastic! At the front, it looks so much more modern than the previous car, helping it look more desirable compared to some key competitors. Along the side there’s cladding around the wheel arches to give it a rugged look, and the roof bars and blacked-out windows only help improve the looks further. In conclusion, it’s fair to say that the Duster looks much better than you would expect an £18,000 car to look!

Step inside and the interior is pretty well laid out. The infotainment screen display may not be the best, but it offers all the functionality you need, including the ability to use Apple CarPlay & Android Auto. There are physical buttons for the climate control, and everything is pretty well laid out throughout the cabin. Unfortunately, though, the visibility to the outside isn’t as good as the previous edition, although it’s still more than liveable.

One key difference when it comes to the engines is the removal of the diesel option. As a result, there are now two petrol options - a 1.2-litre turbo that produces 130hp, and a 1.6-litre self-charging hybrid that can produce 140hp.

So is the Duster still the best budget SUV around? Or should you look elsewhere instead? Stick with Mat to see for yourself!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:38 Price
01:15 Engine
01:51 0-60mph
02:28 Town Driving
05:14 Design
06:41 Interior
07:33 Motorway Driving
08:57 Back Seats
09:35 Country Road Driving
10:29 Cool Features
12:00 Boot & Storage
13:08 Annoying Features
15:53 Verdict

[somerandomfella]

I was about to order a Ferrari Purosangue but now I'm getting the Dacia Duster.

[zno]

Finally a review of a car I can actually afford

[kissgergo]

How is it that all these cheaper brands keep getting better and better while the more expensive brands keep getting worse

[nihalareu]

I'm Romanian and am looking to buy the car, so I decided to watch a video of Brit presenting it 😂

[OldWorldHandyman]

The previous Duster we abused it in Romania for patrolling the Northern border with Ukraine, it was 1.5 diesel, great car and great engine, but not for fast driving conditions, off road it was pretty impressive for the price.

[itzandrew]

Every other SUV: ‘Look how fancy I am!’ Duster: ‘Hold my practicality.

[VicolAlexandru]

Hopefully Dacia will keep staying cheap and not getting expensive like all the brands

[EconomicsMate]

"GOOD It's the new Dacia... Duster! On sale in the UK and taking the world by Stoooorm!"
- James May

[georgemiu]

I'm from Romania, and knowing how Dacia cars were looking 20-25 years ago and how they look now, the change is unbelievable. And the new Duster, still starting and under 20k, with that look and the rest of the things you get, that's amazing.

[marekmisztal]

Duster is actually suprisingly capable offroad. I drove a 23 Duster rental in Greece and the amount of abuse this thing can take is seriously impressive. Unlike regular cars it's able to go fast on unpaved roads and it takes on unexpected speed bumps like a champ. It's a very tough car for what it is

[KNRS]

As an American, I always wish these brands and cars could be sold in the U.S. I’ve seen Dusters whenever I go to Mexico or Europe and they’re so cool. Everyone in America craves that cheap, capable SUV and this fits that right on point, and would fly off lots probably. This one looks like a nice improvement over the last one.

[robmowe]

I bet people at that junction, where you always turn around, are saying 'it's that Matt Watson again'

[gordonnorris]

I wouldn't mind scratchy plastics if the car has a good reliability, good mpg and good price. I don't really care if some plastics are scratchy.

[JV-sldn]

Saw one irl today, although I’m not an SUV fan, it looks pretty good from the outside!

[unintentionallyfire]

Dacia having hood struts unlike VW is crazy

[trader]

£18K is the new £9K. I hope everyone is earning double what they did a few years ago...😂

[sibbinnn]

In little Iceland we have those by the thousands because they are cheap, economical and reliable and 95% of them are diesel so that´s a shame they dont´t have a diesel anymore but the new design is bang on

[jijenikkke]

This car looks amazing! it costs €26.000 up to €29.400 in the Netherlands. Which is a great price.
A lot of good cars came out this year, this one gets added to the collection for sure.

[alexhunter]

I bought the tce130 4x4 Extreme all in. Great car . Already drove 4000 kilometers

[SilvaaaaaAnuhass]

The new design is great, gonna make it even more popular