Dacia Duster experiences / alternatives

Apologies for another What Car thread…

Our much loved Octavia Scout’s engine has gone pop at 123,000 miles due to oil pump failure. It’s worth under 5K and repair bill is looking to be roughly half that (refurb engine plus probably turbo and clutch) -so we’re looking to move on.

We live on Dartmoor, and my wife’s commute takes her on Devon lanes which are frequently more like streams so we need something tough, with decent clearance and fording ability with a decent warranty. Also needs to have a no fuss interior able to cope with dogs, muddy boots, kids, bikes, surfing stuff etc.

The Scout has been brilliant for this and apart from an ABS issue (fixed under goodwill by Skoda) really didn’t miss a beat up until the point it died. Looking for replacement either new or second hand up to about 15K.

Dacia Duster is looking like an interesting choice, but would be good to get some real like experiences from STW land. Particularly with regard to the rust issues which has been flagged by some owners. We’d be looking at the 1.5 DCI Laureate 4×4. Appreciate it won’t have the refinement and toys which we had on the Scout but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in my view (less to go wrong!).

S/H alternatives we are also looking at are a 2 year old Grand Vitara with very low mileage and a 3 year old Kia Sportage (with balance of 7 year warranty). Kia looks lovely with loads of kit but definitely in the soft-roader camp. Suzuki seems to be popular with people who have them locally (they’re pretty popular around here) and seems pretty rugged but bit concerned about running costs.

I also like the Yeti but wife is adverse to another Skoda after the experience with the Scout, and I think we’d struggle to find one with 4×4 which has reasonable mileage and is under warranty.

(and before anyone mentions it, I know we don’t “need” 4×4, but our experience in the Scout has been that it’s pretty useful around here)

Anything else we should be looking at?

EEK! We were given a Duster for hire in Corsica and we hated it; it’s got ridiculous wide wheel arches, which seemed like such a waste of space and took up too much room on the road. Having one of those on your drive would be as embarrassing as having a BMW.

What’s wrong with a Vitara? That’s a respected and rugged off-roader.

Thanks…Nothing wrong with the Vitara – as above it’s an option we’re considering.

Considering one of these myself. Reading up it seems the rusting problem only occurred on the earlier RHD versions manufactured in India. They are all now manufactured in Romania (where only the LHD versions used to be made) and the problem has gone away. For the price, I don’t think you will do any better on a new car, the 4×4 Laureate that you are considering is something like 15.5K, which is amazing value compared to everything else new on the road.

I know several people with a Duster. They only have good things to say about them…as long as you go in with your eyes open and don’t expect a BMW/Audi type vehicle, it seems you will be fine.

On my list for when the Berlingo goes to the scrapyard in the sky! Having said that, it is a 51 plate , >140k on the clock and apart from a dead battery, and a servo belt going hasn’t missed a beat since day one. At £7.2k new that was a bargain!

I’ve got a test drive booked on Saturday. Anyone know what the current lead time is on them though? That may be a deciding factor as to whether we buy new or not.

I did a lot of reading up on them last week as they’re silly cheap….

I ended up with a Kia Soul with 14,000 miles on for £3000 less.

I didn’t like the rusting issues which seemed quite common along with other potential issues.

As a vehicle it appealed… but the reality left something to be desired.

Test drive it

If you can put up with the cheap interior go for it.

Im no car snob but it just felt nasty , didnt think it would age well.

But id have one over a vitara anyday..

We seriously considered one, but you’re obviously paying a premium for the 4×4 look, and given we don’t need 4×4 performance we ended up going for a Scenic which is much bigger inside with more creature comforts. It did seem a bit cheap, but then at that price it would be.

A mate got a Duster, by the time he’d specc’d it to a level that made it remotely comfortable it didn’t work out particularly cheap. I’m not aware of their prices or spec so it may just be his perspective. He is “happy” with it apparently, although is under no illusions; it wasn’t a bargain.

Even speccing it to the hilt its less than 18k.

Ill buy one at 6 years old or something when thye are cheap and got a propper second hand value.

Atm the residuala look great as your local dacia deler pretty much buys them back for good money to keep the prices up.

Sounds like a Berlingo with a snorkle to me!

I’ve just got a 2011 Ford Kuga AWD. Not a “true” off-roader like a Landy, but 4WD when needed.
Haven’t had any snow since I got it, but due some today/tomorrow & I’m due to go to Queensbury tonight so if I make it there & back I’ll let you know how it gets on
Boot isn’t huge but the cabin is a decent size so if I drop the rear seats I should have something reasonably van-like

Titanium spec, 34k on the clock for £13k (average price for this age/spec/mileage is £15k)

£18k fully spec’d when prices start at £9.5k. It must come pretty naked as standard. £18k would get you a lot of second hand Jap/German 4×4 and a new bike for the roof.

I’ve got a Duster in Vienna. Romanian made so no rust problems.
Brilliant piece of kit.
Ok, it’s cheap and plasticky inside but for it’s price it’s perfect.
I got mine 3 years old.
It’s been all over Austria in all kind of weather and hasn’t skipped a beat.
Get one, you won’t regret it (as long as it’s not made in India)

Can’t comment on a Duster (or a Vitara, actually), but I can on the other car you mention, the Sportage.

On our second here, and I’m a convert. It’s perfectly capable in terms of what you describe your needs, we get regular floods of over a foot deep and the 4wd is competent enough in “normal” snow and mud. You’re right insofaras I wouldn’t want to climb a mountain in it, but for normal South Wales winters, it’s great.

Importantly, it’s also a very nice place to be the other 95% or the time – it goes, stops and handles nicely, it’s reasonably well screwed together and has decent stereo/seats/electrickery.

Over 100,000 miles between 2 cars, and not a missed beat…

£18k fully spec’d when prices start at £9.5k. It must come pretty naked as standard. £18k would get you a lot of second hand Jap/German 4×4 and a new bike for the roof.

It does – there isn’t even a radio in the base model. The variant we are looking at would come in at 16.5K with the options we want and 4×4. That’s with the extra £850 for a 7 year warranty too.

We’ve looked at this quite closely. For similar money you’re looking at 3 years plus (out of warranty) or high mileage in small 4x4s from other manufacturers other than the ones I mentioned in the OP. You can pick up bigger 4x4s for less but they’re £££s to run.

Iolo – from what I understand, current stock is now from the Romanian plant, but that is something I’ll be checking.

John Drummer – also considered the Kuga. We had one on hire last time we were in Scotland and liked it but the boot is a bit on the small side for us.

Thanks for advice all – will report back from the test drive.

@Fadda – also hopefully road testing a Sportage KX3 on Saturday!

Can buy an middle age range rover for 18k….. Doesnt make it a better car than the duster though l the duster has good cheap 4x4s market covered ,

You know your 9k basic gets you a 2 wheel drive 1.6 petrol right ?

2 year old Duster here, the model you’re looking at, we’ve done 20k since new. No rust problems, no problems at all actually. We’re very happy with ours, it’s obviously built to a price but I recently did 5000 miles in a Kia Sportage that was £10k more expensive, didn’t drive as well and wasn’t as practical. Had more toys though. I don’t like modern cars so the Duster was perfect for me, and it’s done really well in snow, water and some light off road. I’d say it’s wearing very well inside and out too.

Our transfer taxi last week was one, don’t know what it was like to drive but it reminded me of an American car inside – lot’s of kit, awful design, low quality materials.

We had one on hire last time we were in Scotland and liked it but the boot is a bit on the small side for us.

the new shape Kuga has a bigger boot than the old one if that makes any difference. Cheapest I’ve seen are around £16k for the new shape, at about 1yr old. Check out http://www.trustfordonline.co.uk for an up to date used car list

We had one for 10 days in Iceland last summer. Thrashed it through the interior on some wild roads, fords and real 4×4 roads. Was perfect. And this comes from a Defender driver. The inside was good but of course it was no Audi. For the money I’d get one in a heartbeat. Their name is what Skoda was 15 years ago – everyone would laugh when you mentioned them but now they’re well respected.

4×4 diesel Ambience spec indian built Duster owner here. I have a 1st gen one affected by the rust issue. It has been repainted under warranty and after 3 months rust has yet to reappear. Still not happy with a new car rusting though so make sure dealer doesn’t try and fob you off with a touched up rusty one.

The 4×4 version has a stupidly low 1st gear which should only ever be needed off-road. I find it uncomfortable after a couple of hours on the motorway and I’ve never managed more than 45mpg. Tank is only 40 litres too so range is quite poor.

Boots nice and big but still needs front wheel off to fit an mtb in as back seat doesn’t fold flat. Road bike goes in complete no problem.

Interior quality is similar to a Renault traffic van, scratchy plastic but functional. Try and avoid having the central armrest as it gets in the way of the handbrake and seat recliner knobs.