Dacia Duster SUV

1.3 TCe 130 Extreme 5dr [2023.5]

A few years ago, a Dacia TV advert featured the Queen hit ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ with the witty new lyric: ‘Another One Drives A Duster’. Given the apparent intended humour from the play on words, you'd assume Dacia included the lyric in jest. But no – and with good reason.

The Duster is Dacia’s best-selling UK model. It is also one of the top three SUVs sold across Europe, and over 200,000 new Dusters were bought worldwide last year. The automaker is making around 550 of them daily to keep up with demand. It is easy to see why, too.

Thirty-five years after its integration into the Renault Group, Dacia's projects have taken time to bear fruit, but in recent years, the Romanian marque has forged a reputation for bargain-budget cars that offer superb value.

Indeed, Dacia’s family hatchback, the Sandero, costs under £14,000, which means it’s very cheap to lease. You need to spend a bit more to get a Duster, but it still undercuts all its main foes without skimping on equipment levels.

The new version continues this theme – but now offers hybrid power for the first time.

The all-new Dacia is also based on a different platform called CMF-B, which, despite the Duster being the same length as before (at 4.34 metres), enables it to have a larger cabin and boot.