Dacia Duster Laureate dCi 110 4×2

What is it?

The Dacia Duster is a classic ‘no frills’ SUV.

This Dacia Duster review car is a so called crossover, which has been around on mainland Europe for some while and arrived in the UK last summer

At a time when the CR-Vs and RAV4s of this world are moving progressively upmarket, adding ever more weight, cost, kit and ambition, the Romanian-built Duster goes back to the future by keeping things simple-sized and affordable.

Indeed, the Dacia Duster starts off at a scarcely believable £8995 and offers spectacular value for money which ever version you go for.

By using tried and tested Renault group parts and keeping the model range clear and focused, Dacia has managed to bring the Duster in below the big names, and make it a success.

The likeable Dacia Duster has already picked up a hatful of awards and while it’s not specifically aimed at business users, the business car manager of an SME firm would certainly be cheered by some of the numbers involved.

For a start, the Duster costs £1000s less than established players like the Nissan Qashqai. True, that headline £8995 model gets you a very basic olde worlde spec, lacking even a radio or power front windows.

But even if you upspec to the Dacia Duster review car here – the Laureate edition – with Renault’s proven 1.5 turbodiesel and two-wheel drive, you are still only talking about company car tax of £46 month (for a 20% tax) payer).

This particular Dacia Duster review car has CO2 emissions of 130g/km. Combined economy is an impressive 56.5 mpg and there’s £0 VED in the first year. Want 4WD? That’ll be just £2k extra.

Even the marketing, with Dacia billed as the “enemy of the unnecessary” has a certain quirkiness to it. But ultimately, the PR has to stop and the question of how the Duster actually stacks up on the road has to be answered…