Dacia Duster Review 2024

There’s a significant number of car buyers who, despite cars becoming evermore technically advanced, prefer the notion of rugged simplicity, wrapped in small SUV convenience that champions practicality over premium features. Its predecessors have successfully sated those customers’ needs — find out how good the latest generation of Dacia Duster is with our comprehensive review.

Introduced in 2024, the latest generation of Dacia Duster represents a further refinement of an already impressive and popular car. It’s now more efficient and smarter looking but still maintains its budget appeal.

Because it seems almost every manufacturer is clambering to grab a slice of the compact SUV pie, the Dacia Duster has a greater number of rivals than before, which means it also has to appeal to buyers considering one of those alternatives as well as its loyal fanbase.

It’s a nod to how far its come as a brand that one of those rivals, the Skoda Kamiq feels more like an upmarket choice these days and certainly in terms of pricing, it doesn’t offer anything to trouble the Duster which can be bought for under £19,000.

It’s a similar story with the Suzuki Vitara — another car that’s historically attracted value-conscious customers. It’s close in size to the Dacia as well as price, particularly in Full Hybrid form.

Sharing much of its under-the-skin hardware with the Skoda is the SEAT Arona — while it’s closer to the Dacia in terms of cost, it’s a smaller, less practical alternative. The same could be said for the Kia Stonic, although its lengthy warranty will appeal to customers intending to keep hold of their car for a long time.

The addition of a Dacia Duster hybrid SUV option brings it up to date in market barrelling towards electrification, in addition to the mild hybrid petrol and petrol-LPG Bi-Fuel alternatives. Four-wheel drive remains  available with the petrol engine although diesels won’t feature this time around.

Sat inside the Dacia Duster, it’s clear that technology’s march continues at pace given the fully digital instrument panel and the 10-inch multimedia touchscreen fitted to all barring the base model versions.

Sure, some of its tech and materials feel sub-par compared with higher-price rivals, such as the Volkswagen T-Roc but the Duster remains true to its roots as a non-nonsense, practical SUV that appeals to those valuing function over form with plenty of room for passengers and their luggage. Plus the all-wheel drive 4x4 models are surprisingly capable off-road.

The latest Dacia Duster is a sound small family SUV choice, made even more appealing by its low price and improved tech. And if you’re thinking that for your growing family you now need something larger, you can in the form of the Dacia Bigster — Big Duster, geddit?

The Duster’s ride quality is very reasonable, especially for a car at this price point. It’s not particularly sophisticated and can struggle with larger potholes but it absorbs most bumps and imperfections well enough around town and in the countryside. It’s soft enough to be comfortable, but not so floaty that it feels disconnected from the road.

The handling is also fine — not great, not terrible, but fine. It’s an improvement on the previous-generation Dacia Duster and while there’s body roll in the corners and a lack of feedback through the steering, it’s entirely acceptable for everyday driving. You won’t feel the urge to press on down a country road but getting from A to B will cause no issues.

As well as front-wheel-drive models, the Dacia Duster can be specced in 4x4 form, which gives you an all-wheel-drive system that engages the rear wheels when the fronts become overwhelmed. There’s also the option to switch between different off-road modes depending upon the surface underneath the car.

We tested one on an off-road course and it was evidently capable of handling far tougher terrain. While it’s no bargain-priced Land Rover Defender alternative it’ll easily cope with muddy fields and farm tracks.

The Dacia Duster offers a range of engines of three engines although none of them are diesels for this generation.

Kicking the range off is a three-cylinder, 1.0-litre petrol and LPG engine in the Duster TCe 100 Bi-Fuel. It produces 100hp regardless of the fuel although torque output drops to 160Nm from 170Nm when running on petrol.

This has a knock-on effect performance-wise as its 14.1-second 0-62mph time can be trimmed to 13.2 seconds when running on LPG. Only available in entry-level Essential trim, the TCe 100 BiFuel is hard to recommend with LPG pumps rapidly disappearing from UK filling stations.

Our pick is the three-cylinder, 1.2-litre mild hybrid-equipped Duster TCe 130, with enough grunt to make reasonable progress, a more affordable purchase price than the full hybrid yet still with reasonable fuel economy.

It develops 130PS and 230Nm of torque, which gives a 0-62mph time of 9.9 seconds for the front-wheel drive version and 11.0 seconds for the 4x4. Just be aware that it’s rather noisy and the six-speed manual gearbox is nothing to write home about but it does the job.

New for the this generation is the four-cylinder 1.6-litre Duster Hybrid 140, which has slightly more power at 140PS and is noticeably smoother. However, it’s more expensive and the fuel economy benefits are minimal. Its six-speed automatic gearbox isn’t brilliant either and has a tendency to hang in a high gear for too long when left to its own devices.

Somewhat controversially, the Dacia Duster’s been designed to deliberately avoid some of the key benchmarks set out by independent safety organisation Euro NCAP, saying that customers don’t want to pay over the odds for unnecessary safety systems.

As a result, the Duster scored only three out of five stars in the Euro NCAP tests, mainly because of a lack of advanced driver assistance technologies. Only those required by law are present, such as automatic emergency braking.

If you do prioritise active safety systems, then rivals such as the Skoda Kamiq may offer better peace of mind but there’s a strong argument to be made that the Duster’s safety equipment is adequate for most day-to-day driving scenarios.

If you’re planning on using your Dacia Duster as a towing vehicle, you may wish to reconsider, especially with no diesel version — the go-to choice for owners of earlier models with caravans.

Braked towing capacity for the TCe 100 Bi-Fuel is 1200kg, improving up to 1500kg with the TCe 130 engine, regardless of how many driven wheels it has. And the Hybrid 140? A disappointing 750kg maximum.

The Dacia Duster offers reasonable space in both the front and rear, with comfortable seats and decent visibility. Access is easy thanks to the high ride height and the rear doors open easily wide enough to get child seats in and out or to load larger items. Headroom in the back is very generous, although three adults side-by-side will feel squeezed.

The boot space is generous, although it varies by model. If you want the maximum cargo capacity, go for the front-wheel drive TCe 130 model without a spare wheel, as that gives you 517 litres. Adding a spare wheel drops that to 464 litres, while the additional mechanical components of the 4x4 version limit it to a 456-litre capacity.

Opt for the TCe 100 Bi-Fuel model and space taken away by its extra fuel tank drops capacity to 453 litres. The Hybrid 140 has even less space — 430 litres with no spare wheel or just 400 litres with one.

Fold down the back seats — which are split 60:40 but don’t quite lie completely flat — and the boot space opens up to between 1545 litres and 1609 litres, depending on the model.

Dacia is very keen to stress the Duster’s outdoorsiness meaning you can even order a bed accessory that’s designed to go over the folded back seats for camping.

The quality of the Dacia Duster won’t blow anyone’s socks off but any criticism has to be tempered by remembering how affordable it is. There are no issues with how everything is bolted together — the cabin feels solid and largely rattle-free — but soft-touch materials are conspicuous by their absence and all the plastics feel rather hard and utilitarian.

In fairness, the tough, no-nonsense feel is part of the Duster’s vibe, so it’s difficult to be too harsh on it but it’s not as plush as something like a Skoda Kamiq.

There are, it should be said, some nice design elements especially in the higher trims, such as the Y-shaped patterns in the headlights that are mirrored on the interior air vents.

Opt for the entry level Dacia Duster Essential and the infotainment system is… Well, it’s your smartphone. Literally.

There’s a holder mounted into the dash into which you pop your phone and use its screen for navigation and entertainment needs. A small 3.5-inch display in the otherwise analogue instrument panel is its only real concession to modernity.

With all other trims, however, you get a much more up-to-date 10-inch multimedia touchscreen that features Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and, for Journey and Extreme versions, integrated navigation.

The system is user-friendly enough with simple menus, although it’s not the fastest in terms of response and lacks the wireless connectivity that some rivals can offer. There’s a six-speaker Arkamys sound system on higher-spec models, which sounds pretty good.

The Dacia Duster starts at just £18,745 for the entry-level Essential TCe 100 Bi-Fuel yet even the top-spec Extreme Hybrid 140 model costs only £8000 more at £26,745.

That makes it one of the most affordable SUVs you can buy, offering practical features without the relatively hefty price tag of more premium rivals. If you want something affordable that can do what it needs to do with minimal fuss, the Duster is very hard to beat in terms of value.

For context, a Suzuki Vitara Mild Hybrid can be had for just shy of £22,500, with Full Hybrid versions starting at a smidge over £24,000. The smaller, non-hybrid SEAT Arona costs from a fiver under £20,000, with the mechanically similar Skoda Kamiq being available from a shade over £24,000.

Also a little smaller than the Duster is the Kia Stonic, although it more than makes up for it in terms of warranty peace of mind and specification. One of those could be parked outside your house for less than £21,300.

The straightforward engine range should ensure that the Dacia Duster remains affordable to run. In front-wheel drive form, the TCe 130 petrol engine returns up to 51.3mpg according to official figures, while the Hybrid 140 version promises up to 55.3mpg — better, although not by loads, considering its higher price tag.

All-wheel drive trims the TCe 130’s efficiency down to around 46mpg but it’s the cheapest TCe 100 Bi-Fuel that’s the thirstiest of all — around 43mpg running on petrol isn’t dazzling yet 35mpg while using LPG us underwhelming.

Insurance groups range from 17 to 25 (of 50), which should ensure that premiums are reasonable.

The latest Dacia Duster comes with four levels of specification — Essential, Expression, Journey and Extreme. Those top two are split, with one being more comfort and on-road focused with the other’s geared more at rough, tough off-roading.

The range starts with the bare-bones Dacia Duster Essential which has 16-inch steel wheels, body coloured bumpers and cloth seats. It’s the most affordable model but there are a few creature comforts thrown in, including manual air conditioning, roof bars, cruise control and rear parking sensors.

Its infotainment system is your smartphone — it comes with a space to keep your phone and an app connects it to the car. There’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, mainly because there’s no built-in central screen.

Next up is the Dacia Duster Expression trim which rides on 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. Inside there’s denim upholstery and a proper infotainment system with a 10-inch touchscreen and four speakers, as well as five of Dacia’s YouClip attachment points, which let you attach things like cup holders, hooks and smartphone cradles around the car. A rear-view camera is included and on the 4x4 versions there’s hill descent control.

Upgrade to a top-spec model and you have two choices. The more on-road-focused model is the Dacia Duster Journey which has 18-inch alloy wheels and front fog lights, as well as automatic air conditioning, keyless entry and a wireless phone charger.

There’s an electric parking brake in place of a manual one and the full-spec infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also get front and rear parking sensors, a multiview camera system for manoeuvring and a blind-spot warning system. 

The Dacia Duster Extreme model meanwhile, is more off-road oriented and has all-season tyres, copper-coloured door mirror shells and modular roof bars that let you add all manner of optional accessories.

Inside there are rubber mats for passengers and in the boot, a centre console with an armrest and extra storage and washable inserts in the door. The upholstery is plastic coated to help protect it from mud and other gunge. There are also heated seats and steering wheel and a wireless phone charger.