Practical experience Dacia Duster: this is what owners think of their SUV

Second generation ‘budget SUV’ rated by users

Dacia Duster

“It’s so not us!” It’s the phrase a posh madam utters in horror when she hears how cheap the Dacia Duster is. Of course she does this in a TV commercial for the first generation of the model, but the message is clear. This Dacia is a real SUV, but for the people. The current, second-generation Duster will appear in 2018 and is still relatively affordable, but also a lot more mature. How do you like the car in practice? Owners answer themselves.

It’s a versatile thing, that Dacia Duster. The car is available with front and four-wheel drive and petrol and Bi-Fuel models in which you can fill up with LPG. In the first year, this Bi-Fuel had an atmospheric 1.6 four-cylinder with 115 hp under the hood, later this was replaced by a 100 hp 0.9-liter three-cylinder. The petrol engines were also changed over the years. It was first there with the well-known 1.2 TCe from Renault, which was later replaced by the more refined 1.3 TCe. Indeed, the engine that is also supplied in the Mercedes A-Class. Perhaps that fact could convince the chic advertising lady.

Dacia Duster

Dacia Duster: space and comfort

The Duster is not always someone’s first Dacia, but for this owner it is even the third Duster. “We really liked the previous 2014 Duster TCe 125 over the past four years, but in mid-July 2018 we exchanged it for the latest Duster II TCE 125 4×2 Prestige Gris Platine. The reasons include the good experiences of the previous two Dusters and the complete new one with many extras.” The purchase is bearing fruit: “The slanted windscreen and better insulation have made it even quieter in the car. The steering wheel is now also adjustable in depth and is now speed-dependent, so that you can park very easily.”

Dacia Duster

The seating furniture seems reasonable at most, many owners have comments on the chairs to a greater or lesser extent. It ranges from “the seats are still not quite optimal, but even a long journey can be sustained” to “after a year, the seats are still disappointing on longer journeys.” Also: “My wife and I are very comfortable in the car, while people of the same height find the car cramped.” As it turns out, nothing is as personal as the quality experience of a car seat.

“The car is comfortable, drives well, has good suspension and has everything you need,” says an owner who concludes with good advice. “If you remove the back seat (1 minute of work) you will have a completely flat floor. This is also a tip (also for the sellers), because other Dacia drivers often do not know this.

Dacia Duster

It can be even quieter

You could read above that the new Duster is quieter than the previous model, but that doesn’t go far enough according to the owner of a 2019 SCE 115 Bi-Fuel Prestige. “I took out the whole interior. Roof, seats, upholstery, floor, door panels, everything was dismantled.” Why you would? “I have fitted everything with an anti-drumming plate. Floor, roof, wheel arches are 100 percent covered. The other cans 25 percent. The roof and wheel arches are 100 percent covered with self-adhesive insulation foam and all plastic panels are weighted with an anti-drumming plate. The hollow spaces behind the upholstery in the interior are filled with acoustic convoluted foam.” The result: “At 120 km/h you can hear each other in a whisper.” For those who have a profound interest in the build quality of a Duster, this review is recommended.

Dacia Duster

How does the Duster drive?

Okay, enough about seating and sound comfort. How does the people’s SUV drive? The owner who insulated the interior: “The Duster drives over thresholds so nicely! The long suspension travel is quietly damped so the car does not become floaty. You will notice that it is not made for sporty driving. Ground clearance and suspension in light terrain are very comfortable and the power steering is very light and nice at low speeds. The steering itself is restless on the highway. Then you are correcting a lot.”

Comfort predominates, as other drivers also experience. “You really notice that the car is built for comfort, dynamic driving is foreign to it. Incidentally, I didn’t buy it for that, we love that ‘French’ feeling,” said the owner of a 150 hp Dacia Duster TCe 4×2 Tech Road from 2019.

So far, only front-wheel drivers have been mentioned, this lease driver deliberately opted for a four-wheel drive TCe 125 and uses it as intended. “The 4×4 works great, plows through the loose sand of Les Landes with 5 people in it, always grippy and when things get really crazy you can use the sper. You won’t be short of power, just pull through a bit and you’ll come along just fine.”

And the quality of such a Duster?

Does such a budget car also come with budget ailments? In the case of the Dacia Duster, that seems to be not too bad. Still, the car is not flawless. For example, the 4×4 driver writes: “The upholstery on the seat of the driver’s seat is peeling off. Not well stitched I suspect.” His MediaNav system also regularly fails. “In short: I navigate via my iPhone with an old-fashioned holder on the window and if I’m lucky I can use Spotify…”

The owner who knows his Duster like the back of his hand after dismantling it himself will have to deal with a problem he says he knows: “There is water in the trunk of the Duster. Upon inspection, the mastic gutter at the tailgate appears not to be properly sealed, causing the sealant to come loose. This is a known problem and has been fixed immediately under warranty. Well received by the dealer!

The SCE 115 version on LPG suffers from a peculiarity, several drivers say. Their complaints are largely the same: “The problem with this new LPG Duster is that if we used the clutch and let off the throttle a bit, the revs didn’t go down, but instead went up between 1000 and 2000 rpm. The RPM then stalled for a few seconds.” Finally, after a software update and a few months of patience, this problem disappeared.

So not Dacia?

Judging by practical experiences of users, the current generation Duster is a nice companion. It drives ‘French’ comfortably and is quiet enough, although the seating furniture can be improved. Apart from the rising revs in LPG models, which should have been resolved by now, the car does not seem to suffer from any serious problems.

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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl

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