Of course, the beginning of the road was not easy, but the market welcomed the product – as soon as the first model was introduced in 2004, created after this Romanian brand was acquired by the Renault concern, the manufacturer’s cars became extremely popular. Of course, obviously because of the lowest price on the market.
And when the first generation SUV “Dacia Duster” appeared in 2010, interest in this brand grew even more – a fashionable car with increased ground clearance at the lowest price on the market made even those who never planned (or had the opportunity) to buy a new car smelling of paint from the showroom think. .
Of course, the first “Duster” was most pleasing when leaving the asphalt – since it did not have subtle handling characteristics, it made up for itself where the normal road ended. Light, with high ground clearance and available with a 4×4 drive, it became a great transport for those who drive not only in the city, but also where an undemanding machine was needed. Of course, you could not expect great subtleties or effective design here – the priorities were elsewhere.
After the debut of the second generation in 2017, “Duster” became noticeably more attractive, frequent updates made it possible to look at this SUV not only as a workhorse, but also as an everyday car (we drove this car from Vilnius to Portugal and Corsica with Sardinia) – with the last of the previous you can find the model update here. No wonder it quickly became the most popular SUV for private buyers in Europe.
And so, in 2024, the third generation was introduced – today the manufacturer has already clearly chosen the direction that even the cheapest car on the market should be not only practical, but also good-looking, with modern technologies and clever solutions – this could be seen in the presentation of the seven-seater Dacia Jogger.
And from now on, you can even say that “Duster” looks impressive – both when talking about the front and rear lights, and also about the convex engine cover. And even the rear door handles on the A-pillars have some style appeal – they may not be very practical, but they look a lot better than the old-fashioned gelding-shaped handles of the past.
Practicality has not disappeared either – the ground clearance reaches as much as 22 cm, the trunk in the 4.34 m long car has been increased from 430 to 594 l (the small trunk was one of the biggest complaints about this car), versions with all-wheel drive are still offered, which is increasingly common in this segment. less often.
The panel looks as interesting as the exterior – of course, if you don’t expect to find soft plastic here. However, the seats are covered with a practical washable fabric – travelers with small children will definitely appreciate that. Just as clever solutions appeared, similar to those offered by the Czech company Škoda – phone and cup holders, flashlights, as well as additional equipment for trips to nature are fixed in different places. In short, Dacia continues to strengthen the image of a leisure, travel and adventure machine.
The new model also offers a more advanced multimedia system – now a digital instrument panel is available, even a 10.1-inch diagonal multimedia screen with wireless phone interfaces, a wireless phone charging point and an electronic gear lever in hybrid versions.
There are no more diesel engines in the drivetrain department, but there are three-cylinder 1 l 100 hp Eco-G engines with factory gas equipment (the price of a new Dacia Duster starts at 17,690 euros, Sixt Leasing operating leases from 334 euros) and 1 .2 l (three-cylinder and available with “4×4” drive) 130 hp “TCe” engines, as well as efficient (for WLTP data average gasoline consumption is 4.9 l/100 km) 1.6 l 141 hp hybrid versions.
Of course, they are both the most expensive and the only ones with automatic transmissions – all other versions, at least for now, are only offered with manual gearboxes, so this is probably the biggest drawback of this model today.
When testing the car and driving off-highway with the hybrid engine, it was easy to achieve consumption of less than 5L/100km – of course, it rose to 6L on the highway, and the engine became noisy, especially if you pressed the accelerator harder. Therefore, such a drive is more intended for quiet driving, especially since the steering system does not encourage dynamic maneuvers – this car is not intended for that.
See more about the new third generation Dacia Duster in the video.
