looking for a cheap runaround. a new duster fits the bill.
I need something a bit higher and easier to get in, and it is.

are they ok, anyone got one?

As long as you don’t buy the 1st gen Indian manufactured ones you should be OK. QC on those is dreadful as I can attest to.

The 4wd has a very low 1st gear instead of a low ration box for hill descent. MPG is around 45mpg, engine is a bit meh and I don’t find it comfortable after 3 hours (fabric seats). Back seats don’t fold flat and the carpet throughout is very thin. Seat fabric isn’t very hard wearing – worth putting covers on.

Parking sensors or a towbar are worthwhile as it’s longer than it feels.

After 30k miles theres a few trim rattles but nothing has broken apart from the bonnet switch which made the alarm set off randomly – cheap fix.

Customer Service is a bit poo if you have a problem. Worth paying the deposit on a credit card in case you have any serious issues as without that protection they will keep trying to repair even when you should be able to reject it. (Mine was a rust issue).

If I was buying again I would look at nearly new as the depreciation is pretty bad. In fact I would probably look at a 2nd hand Forrester instead as it would be a nicer place to sit.

My sister in law has one and quite likes it (I’m not a fan).

It’s been pretty reliable over the three years she’s had it (last service was £400 as it needed a couple of bits sorting). It’s pretty basic but that’s why it’s cheap.

Why not look at something like a 2-3 year old Citreon Berlingo, comfortable for long miles, but fairly high seat position, plus really easy to fit bike in upright without taking wheels off?

Lot more of them about, so easier to source parts.

The 4wd has a very low 1st gear instead of a low ration box for hill descent. MPG is around 45mpg, engine is a bit meh and I don’t find it comfortable after 3 hours (fabric seats). Back seats don’t fold flat and the carpet throughout is very thin.

Hired one (4WD) in Iceland last year and those were my impressions. As a result (plus despite living in the back of beyond I’ve no need for a 4WD) I wouldn’t get one myself.

You get what you pay for (and everything else costs more!).

Lot more of them about, so easier to source parts.

Complete non-issue on a new (or new-ish) mainstream car still in production?

Avoid avoid

I don’t like them

One of my wife’s friends bought a Dacia, new. She’s had a leak that they haven’t been able to find, it literally pools in the back foot well. It’s been in for warranty repair multiple times, still can’t fix it. Shocking

I believe you subscribe to the buy cheap buy twice mentality? Buy something better (i.e. get a better car but a couple of years old)

Had one for two and a half years now, one problem with aircon/fan which was fixed on warranty ( Lots of Renaults have the same problem ). No other problems, 2wd 1.5 diesel averages 44 mpg commuting into Leeds at rush hour. Basic – yes but I’m happy enough with it. The intention being to run until it drops, so not so worried about depreciation. I would buy another based on ownership so far.

I had a Romanian built one for about 3 years. I bought it as the price was good for a 1 year old at the time.I had no major mechanical problems and was great in snow.
It was a bit bland to drive and the interior was cheap and plasticky but actually ok. It was a second car for us and was fine. You won’t win any style awards and coolness driving it but, if the price is right, get one.

Not a Duster, but my Dacia experience is to stay well away. They may be cheap, but cheap is not necessarily good value.

I had a Sandero as a courtesy car which:
Didn’t accelerate,
didn’t brake,
didn’t steer when you wanted,
alarmingly, did steer when you didn’t want,
was very noisy,
had virtually no adjustment options for driving position,
which combined with a comical bite point on the clutch lead to me banging knee on back of the steering wheel every gear change (I’m not even tall).

I didn’t actually think it was possible to make (and sell) a truly terrible car these days, but Dacia have managed it.

Seconded, we hired one in Corsica and it was ghastly. Too wide for Corsican roads as well.

just been reading a ‘what car’ write up. they don’t like them either.

thanks all.

I need something a bit higher and easier to get in, and it is.

Might not seem an obvious choice… but try sitting in a Kia Venga. They’re bigger than they look.

a Kia Venga. They’re bigger than they look.

Ideal if you’re (WHOA-OH) going to Ibiza?

benp1 – Member
Avoid avoid

I don’t like them

One of my wife’s friends bought a Dacia, new. She’s had a leak that they haven’t been able to find, it literally pools in the back foot well. It’s been in for warranty repair multiple times, still can’t fix it. Shocking

My duster did this – if you have speakers in the rear doors get them to have a look at them – mine got fixed under warranty – wrong screws or something weird

My sister loves her diesel 4×4 one, which she’s had for a few years now. I’ve only driven it once but thought it seemed ok – better inside that I’d expected in fact.

Ideal if you’re (WHOA-OH) going to Ibiza?

You’re office earphones have arrived then 🙂

You’re office earphones have arrived then

Nah, The Vengaboys are part of the soundtrack to my internal narrative.

It’s a curse……but I do like to party.

I had a Sandero as a courtesy car which:
Didn’t accelerate,
didn’t brake,
didn’t steer when you wanted,
alarmingly, did steer when you didn’t want,
was very noisy,
had virtually no adjustment options for driving position,
which combined with a comical bite point on the clutch lead to me banging knee on back of the steering wheel every gear change (I’m not even tall).

The power to weight is quoted, the acceleration corresponds and is more than adequate.
The brakes feel just the same as just about every other small car I’ve driven.
It steers like just about every other skinny-tired hatch too. The ride quality isn’t as refined as Citroën or even Renault, and there’s a fair bit of roll but steering is precise enough.
The diesel is noisy I agree, the TCE less so.
I’m 1m74, it seems to be made for people who are 1m75 – the seat goes forward and back and reclines, do you expect more for 8000e?
The clutch was fine so the courtesy car perhaps had a very worn or badly adjusted clutch.

What do you normally drive, fifeandy?

I normally drive an i40 which itself is far from an inspiring drive, and before that a leon fr which was ace to drive and a civic which was fun but not special.

Admittedly none are small cheap cars, but i was literaly shocked at how bad that one was.

i was literaly shocked

😆

Well I hope you’re making a full recovery.

OP, I drive a new Logan with the TCe petrol engine, although I test drove a diesel (same engine as the diesel Duster). I’ve had none of the problems that Fifeandy quotes. The performance is fine. It overtakes, it winds up to motorway speed well, it stops when you need it to, etc etc.

It’s too new for me to comment on the reliability (8000 miles) but the performance and driving experience is absolutely fine. I have the use of my girlfriend’s Audi regularly, but I choose to take the Dacia. It’s a more comfortable ride 🙂

You see I find French cars “normally weighted” and Japanese controls on the light side. Seats (the brand) are at the “sporty” end of VAG group offerings, they do drive well for the money.

Some cars deteriorate faster than others and courtesy cars suffer more than most. I recently drove a 120 000km Nemo which was no better than the Sandero in any respect but had a dodgy clutch (clutch trust bearing or crank thrust bearings knackered) – I didn’t buy it. Maybe a 120 000 Sandero would have felt as tired heavy and woolly.

I own a TCE Lodgy which drives much like a Renault Scenic (except over speed bums) but lacks all the gadgets I would never use and makes do with black plastic everywhere. It doesn’t worry me, I spend nearly all the time driving it looking out through the windows and in the passenger seat I fall asleep.

I wouldn’t buy one (admit total car snobbery / prejudice) but the local (French) police use them. Make of that what you will but they have to stay in service.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/dacia-duster-what-are-they-like-as-an-everyday-family-car

Liked driving my dad’s more than I thought I would.

I’ve got one.

It starts OK.
It stops OK.
I can get my bike in the back without taking the wheels off (just about).
It was stupidly cheap (Indian rust box model 😀 ).
Service just cost me £149.
I’ll keep it until it falls apart (I like a gamble).

It’s just a car, I don’t love it like my bikes.

Doubt it was a mileage/wear thing, the one i had had <10k on the clock.
Could be some sort of bad quality control i guess and it was a dud.

They take a Renault and make it cheaper…..

My in-laws are Serbian. Dacia are a very common car there, because they are cheap, and some of the bits are made in Serbia. From my experience of getting lifts in Dacias I would avoid like the plague. They just fall to bits. Maybe if were doing a short term PCP and weren’t planning on keeping the car. But definitely not for a long term purchase.

I had a Sandero as a courtesy car which:
Didn’t accelerate,
didn’t brake,
didn’t steer when you wanted,
alarmingly, did steer when you didn’t want,
was very noisy,
had virtually no adjustment options for driving position,
which combined with a comical bite point on the clutch lead to me banging knee on back of the steering wheel every gear change (I’m not even tall).

It wasn’t a re-badged Lada, was it? I had to drive one years ago, as a company car! Cheapskate boss bought a couple of them.
Terrifying little beast, I never knew if the brakes would actually slow me up, and it wasn’t fast in the first place!
The gearbox was like a wooden spoon stuck in a bowl of thick porridge, and the steering was as vague as a politician’s promises.
In its favour, the seats were more comfortable than a Vauxhall Vectra 1.8L.
You could do worse than have a look at a Qashqai, lots about, many are ex-Motability cars, so are low mileage, but have suffered a bit cosmetically: I’ve got one out front right now, a ’63, (October ’13) 34600-odd on the clock; interior is mucky but not actually damaged, lots of dog hair in the boot, and it’s got quite a few, relatively minor, scratches around the hatch area, on doors, etc.
Drove it back from Eastbourne, roughly 150 miles, and it drove fine, it’s a 1600 petrol auto, so no drag racer from the lights, but it cruises well, is comfy, and one like it I reckon would be just what you’re looking for, having Nissan back-up would be more reassuring than Dacia’s.

Not a Duster, but my Dacia experience is to stay well away. They may be cheap, but cheap is not necessarily good value.

I had a Sandero as a courtesy car which:
Didn’t accelerate,
didn’t brake,
didn’t steer when you wanted,
alarmingly, did steer when you didn’t want,
was very noisy,
had virtually no adjustment options for driving position,
which combined with a comical bite point on the clutch lead to me banging knee on back of the steering wheel every gear change (I’m not even tall).

I didn’t actually think it was possible to make (and sell) a truly terrible car these days, but Dacia have managed it.

Holy thread necro!

Well, unfortunately i have the misfortune to have another Sandero courtesy car for a couple of days, and it may as well be a completely different car to the first one I drove.

This one does accelerate (although with a strange random throttle lag).
It does stop (brake pedal has 4 positions, nothing, nothing, nothing, STOP!)
It does steer where you point it (as long as the tarmac is smoothish)
Importantly, it doesn’t steer all by itself like the last one.
Still has a silly clutch bite point, but no knee banging thanks to a more adjustable drivers seat.

Based on this, i’ve re-evaluated my opinion from – ‘utterly abysmal’ to ‘not very good’.
I can now however see how people might buy one based on the fact they are cheap.
I can only assume they have some seriously poor component tolerances and/or quality control to produce two cars that look identical but are in fact totally different to drive.

It’s all about expectations IMHO.
I got a 2wd diesel on a PCP (so extended warranty thrown in)and will chop it in when the term finishes( probably for a new logan stepway – huge boot!)
I’ve been happy with it, caveat –
Does it get a bit bouncy on rough roads – yes.
Does the steering kick back a bit – yes.
Does the interior look a bit cheap – yes.
However
It’s cheap.
When not in ECO mode it can get on a bit.
Steel wheels – state of the roads doesn’t have me worrying about alloys getting broken.
High enough ground clearence to ford the frequent local floods.
I bought a cheap car with (so far) turn key reliability, I’ve done my bangernomics and would like not to spent weekends fixing things.
Horses for courses, but I’m happy with my choice and could have gone for another mazda but didn’t.(It’s actually more relaxing to drive than the mazda 2 I had before it.)

An old Honda CRV? Subaru Forester? Lots of options out there.

We run about 8 of them for work and despite being worked hard by staff who have never taken great care of previous vehicles, they’re lasting better than the Peugeot Partners they replaced whilst using less fuel and going through fewer tyres.