Summary
The Dacia Duster is a small SUV/crossover, priced at the budget end of the market. The current model is the second generation, which was launched in late 2017 before going on sale in the UK in the middle of 2018.
The Duster has received a broad range of scores and reviews from the UK media, ranging from outstanding to outright recommendations not to buy one. It has been praised for providing good value for money, but it is criticised for its driving dynamics and poor safety rating compared to other cars in its class.
In a 2020 What Car? survey of the 50 most reliable cars in the UK up to eight years old, the current Dacia Duster ranked an outstanding sixth place. In its 2021 survey, What Car? rated the Duster sixth in its list of the most reliable small cars.
The Dacia Duster received a mid-life update in Autumn 2021. This consisted of a number of incremental improvements to the current car, rather than an all-new model.
Key specifications
Body style: Small SUV/crossover
Engines: petrol, diesel
Price: From £17,295 on-road
Launched: Summer 2018
Last updated: Autumn 2021
Replacement due: TBA
Image gallery
Media reviews
Reviews, road test and comparisons from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.
The Car Expert
Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol/LPG Comfort Bi-Fuel
“Given Dacia is all about value and saving people money, the introduction of this factory-fitted LPG offering is a brilliant addition to the firm’s range. Considering the system adds a minimal £400 to the price, the fact it brings no setbacks and the potential to save £600 on petrol costs each year, the Dacia Duster Bi-Fuel is definitely worth considering.”
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Model reviewed: 1.6-litre petrol manual SCe 115 Comfort
“The Dacia Duster is a cheap car with a genuine breadth of ability and a modicum of personality, and that makes it an attractive proposition.”
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Auto Express
Model reviewed: 2021 facelift range
Score: 7 / 10
“The Dacia Duster remains true to its ethos, offering decent practicality and all the equipment you really need at a frankly astonishing price. There’s no escaping the age of some of its underpinnings, though.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“The Dacia Duster offers such excellent value for money, you have to wonder why you’d ever spend the extra on a more expensive model.”
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Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol/LPG manual Comfort 100 TCe Bi-Fuel
Score: 8 / 10
“Dacia’s new range of petrol-LPG models could spark a renaissance in bi-fuel cars. The Dacia Duster TCe 100 Bi-Fuel makes for an interesting and cost-effective alternative to diesel models for drivers covering more than average annual mileages.”
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Model reviewed: Comfort Blue dCi 115 4×4
Score: 6 / 10
“If you want the space, rugged styling and raised ride height of a 4×4, but without the luxuries and price premiums associated with more expensive crossover rivals, nothing comes close.”
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Autocar
Model reviewed: 1.3-litre petrol manual Comfort 4×2
Score: 8 / 10
“The Dacia Duster offers a very acceptable proposition to families on a budget – and an even more welcome antidote to the suffocating complexity of modernity. It’s a handsome SUV with a petrol engine, a manual gearbox, five seats, a spacious boot and a touchscreen for your music and phone, and that’s pretty much all. Far from that being an indictment, that’s something to treasure while we still can.”
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Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol/LPG manual Comfort 100 TCe Bi-Fuel
Score: 8 / 10
“If you were in the market for a 1.0-litre Dacia Duster already, there’s little reason not to opt for this instead. At only £400 more than the entry-level petrol, you could break even on the extra costs in little over a year of driving.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“By focusing on making only worthwhile improvements to this super-affordable family car, Dacia has also preserved what we liked so much about its predecessor: its rare, unaffected simplicity of character.”
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Car
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“The Dacia Duster is a handy, cheap and practical tool rather than a car to get excited about, and yet there’s a simplistic satisfaction you get from driving one. Like a mountain goat off road and just sophisticated enough on it to be something on your potential buy list.”
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Score: 8 / 10
“It’s fantastic value, whether you’re paying cash or exploring the PCP options. And the fact that it now looks and feels much smarter, slicker and more modern is a bonus.”
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Carbuyer
Score: 7 / 10
“The great-value Dacia Duster will have you asking why other SUV models are so pricey.”
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Carwow
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 6 / 10
“The Dacia Duster is an exceptionally affordable SUV that’s more spacious than most alternatives but entry-level models come with barely any equipment at all.”
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Daily Mail
Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol/LPG manual TCe 100 Bi-Fuel Comfort
“Dacia claims ‘superior torque’ in LPG mode though I struggled to tell the difference, which frankly I saw as an advantage. I don’t really want to feel a difference. I want the drive to be smooth and event-free, which in fact it was.”
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Model reviewed: 1.6-litre petrol manual Comfort
Score: 8 / 10
“Everyone should own a Duster at least once in their lives, and if Dacia can come up with a touch more oomph, while keeping the price of this fully loaded Comfort SCe version sub-£15k, I can’t imagine why anyone with half a brain cell wouldn’t do just that.” (Chris Evans)
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“If you’re looking for a practical everyday family value-for-money SUV that won’t break the bank, or a reasonably priced ‘station car’ to get you to your daily train commute, it’s got to be a contender.”
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Eurekar
Model reviewed:
“As Dacia goes about overhauling its corporate image within the Renault group, the Duster is joining the smaller Sandero hatchback and Sandero Stepway with upmarket tweaks and styling changes including new-look Y-design light clusters and a chromed radiator grille – all changes that keep it at the top of the tree when it comes to value for money motoring.”
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Heycar
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 6 / 10
“The Dacia Duster is so cheap, it’s guaranteed to grab your attention. And it’s not a bad car. It’s comfortable, practical and won’t cost you a fortune to run. Unfortunately, it’s easy to see where costs have been cut, and you’ll need at least a mid-spec model to avoid giving the kids a harsh lesson in austerity.”
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Honest John
Score: 8 / 10
“If it’s bells and whistles you want, you’ll be disappointed. What you do get is an honest and unpretentious SUV that’s great value.”
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Motoring Research
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“Whichever way you look at it, less than £12,000 is ridiculously cheap for a brand new SUV. A lowly three-star safety rating is a black mark, but the Duster scores highly for its honesty and practicality.”
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Motors.co.uk
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 4 / 10
“Britain’s cheapest SUV can be yours for less than £12,000 on-the-road. It might have one of the silliest names on the market, but the Dacia Duster is not a car to be sniffed at.”
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Parkers
Model reviewed: Range review
Score: 9.4 / 10
“Incredibly affordable small SUV offers style and substance”
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The Sun
Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol manual Essential
“Budget motoring is in safe hands with Dacia. If you can hack the Duster in base spec, you’ll be properly quids in.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
“Powerful SUV from Dacia is well-equipped, roomy and yours for under ten grand.”
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The Sunday Times
Model reviewed: Duster Comfort
Score: 6 / 10
“Dacia isn’t the brand to go for if you’re after sophisticated, satisfying handling, powerful engines and silky-smooth transmission, but the new Duster does offer improved looks, more sophisticated LED lighting, better economy and some surprising bits of kit, such as heated front seats and wireless Apple Carplay/ Android Auto.”
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Model reviewed: SCe 115 Comfort 1.6-litre petrol manual
Score: 4 / 10
“A painfully slow, difficult to drive and not especially attractive elderly Renault in an Ilie Nastase suit.” (Jeremy Clarkson)
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The Telegraph
Model reviewed: 1.5-litre diesel manual 4WD Comfort
Score: 6 / 10
“In many ways, the Dacia Duster is at its most convincing in this form. With four-wheel drive and a diesel engine, it slots neatly into the role of an affordable off-road workhorse. If you want a Duster for road use, you’ll still want the perkier, more refined and less compromised petrol-engined car.”
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Model reviewed: 1.6-litre petrol manual 2WD Comfort
Score: 8 / 10
“It might still be cheap to buy, but the Duster now looks and feels like a much more complete SUV. If you can live with the disappointing safety rating it’s well worth a look.”
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Top Gear
Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 9 / 10
“The Dacia Duster isn’t trying to kid anyone. It’s not cheap in a way that insults your intelligence or makes you feel mean. It’s a far better car than it needs to be at the price, and we love it for that.”
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What Car?
Score: 6 / 10
“The Dacia Duster is cheaper than any rival you wish to name. It has some obvious shortcomings as a result of its low price, but if you want cheap, no-frills motoring with a big boot and more than enough everyday practicality, it’s unrivalled.”
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Which?
Model reviewed: Range overview
“Cheap and practical it may be, but the Dacia Duster doesn’t shine in any particular area. Indeed, in terms of safety, it’s way off the pace, making this a small SUV to avoid.” Rated DON’T BUY.
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Safety rating
Independent crash test and safety ratings from Euro NCAP
Overall score: 3 stars
Date tested: December 2017
Read the full Euro NCAP review
Adult protection: 71%
Child protection: 66%
Vulnerable road users: 56%
Safety assist: 37%
Eco rating
No Green NCAP data available for this model.
Independent economy and emissions ratings from Green NCAP
Model tested: 1.5-litre diesel manual 115hp
Overall score: 2 stars
Date tested: November 2020
Read the full Green NCAP review
Energy Efficiency Index: 5.1 / 10
Greenhouse Gas Index: 2.8 / 10
The Dacia Duster 115hp 1.5-litre diesel manual received a 2.5 star rating from Green NCAP in November 2020.
Green NCAP said: “A 1.5-litre in-line four-cylinder diesel engine powers the car tested here, delivering 85 kW and a very hefty 260 Nm of torque. The exhaust after-treatment system includes selective catalyst reduction and a diesel particulate filter, and the car is approved as Euro 6d-Temp.
“Overall, the vehicle offers reasonable fuel consumption values and CO2 emissions. The exhaust aftertreatment fulfils the legislative requirements and provides very good particle emissions control. Some improvement may help to reach better robustness also with regard to the NOx emissions, which are in general well handled by the abatement systems. Better control of ‘laughing gas’ emissions (N2O) would lead to a higher greenhouse gas index.
“As it is, this index is the car’s weak point, at just 2.8 out of 10, and leading to a 2½ star rating.”
This rating only applies to the 1.5-litre diesel manual version of the Duster, and does not imply similar ratings for other engine and gearbox combinations in the range.
Reliability rating
As of May 2023, we don’t have enough reliability data on the Dacia Duster to generate a reliability rating.
The Car Expert’s reliability information is provided exclusively to us using extended warranty data from our partner, MotorEasy. As soon as MotorEasy has sufficient data on the Duster, we’ll publish the score here.
Awards
Trophies, prizes and awards that the Dacia Duster has received
2022
- Auto Trader New Car Awards – Best Value New Car
- What Car? Awards – Best Family SUV for Value
2021
- What Car? Awards – Best Family SUV for Value
2020
- Auto Trader Awards – Best Value New Car
- Business Car Awards – Best Value Car
- What Car? Awards – Best Family SUV under £20K
2019
- Auto Trader New Car Awards – Best Value New Car
- What Car? Awards – Best Family SUV under £18K
2018
- Parkers New Car Awards – Best Off-Roader
- The Sun Motor Awards – Best Value Car
2017
- Parkers New Car Awards – Best Off-Roader
Similar cars
If you’re looking at the Dacia Duster, you might also be interested in these alternatives
Citroën C3 Aircross | Fiat 500X | Ford EcoSport | Ford Puma | Honda HR-V | Hyundai Bayon | Hyundai Kona | Jeep Renegade | Kia Stonic | Mazda CX-3 | MG ZS | Mitsubishi ASX | Nissan Juke | Peugeot 2008 | Renault Captur | SEAT Arona | Skoda Kamiq | SsangYong Tivoli | Suzuki Vitara | Toyota Yaris Cross | Vauxhall Crossland X | Volkswagen T-Cross | Volkswagen T-Roc
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