DACIA DUSTER
Battle of the bargain basement hots up with another box-fresh Dacia
FEATURED THIS WEEK
DACIA DUSTER
LAND ROVER DEFENDER
LEXUS UX
McLAREN GT
POLESTAR 2
VOLKSWAGEN ID 3
CHANGEOVER REPORT
WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT
To see if the market’s best-value SUV, now refreshed, still embodies the Dacia ethos of functionality with affordability
It was one of those carswap moments when you can’t decide whether to be disappointed or elated.
On the positive side, the sun was shining, a handsome new £21,000 Dacia Duster DCi 115 4x4 Comfort had just turned up in our drive and would be sticking around for the next few months.
The downside, and it was sizeable, was that the Dacia Sandero Stepway TCe 90 Prestige I’d been running for the previous seven months (during which I’d amassed a practical, economical, always-busy 16,000 miles) was about to drive out of my life forever. We had bonded, and I knew it was going to be tough parting.
Still, the big consolation was that I’d remain plugged into the unique Dacia ethos, a straightforwardness I’ve come to value greatly. Others make the same ‘everything you need and nothing you don’t’ claim as Renault’s highly successful budget brand, but Dacia really achieves it, following through with prices no one else is inclined to match.