Price keeps pushing Duster higher

ROADTEST DACIA DUSTER 1.5 DCI ALTERNATIVE:THERE WILL be a recurring theme, lurking in the background of this road test, which is "but it only costs €14,990."

For whatever criticisms I may have of the Dacia Duster, and I do have a few, they have to be borne in the knowledge that here is a chunky, passably attractive, spacious compact SUV that you can pick up and carry home for the price of a supermini. In terms of its direct rivals, it’s a Nissan Qashqai for the same price as a Micra, a Skoda Yeti for the money you’d spend on a Fabia.

Needless to say, as with all deals that look too good to be true, it is, in some ways. But the essential fact of the price, and of Dacia Ireland’s introductory offer that will allow you to finance one for €149 a month (including a €4,000 deposit and a €6,000 final ‘bubble’ payment), is undoubtedly true.

So, how is Dacia able to do it for the money? A little history first. Dacia was for many years the Romanian national car company, producing vehicles under the rule of the much-reviled Communist leader Nicolae Ceaucescu. In that period, Dacia struck up a relationship with Renault, building a version of the old 12 saloon under licence – many of which can still be seen circulating the streets of Bucharest – a relationship that would eventually lead to Renault buying a majority stake in Dacia. The idea was, and is, that Dacia uses older Renault components whose investment has already been paid for, builds cars out of them in a low-cost environment and flog them to you and I at bargain prices, giving Renault a bulwark against the ever-encroaching Korean brands and the constant danger of the massed ranks of Chinese cheap car makers.

It’s a recipe that has worked rather wonderfully. Dacia and its various models have been well received in Europe and it’s currently the fourth best-selling brand in France. Its launch here has been somewhat delayed (the Duster itself has been on sale in Europe for two years already) but with that price tag, it could prove to be a canny move for Renault Ireland, catching buyers whose car purchasing power has been eroded by recession and cutbacks.

For your supermini money, you do genuinely get a large family car. Not so tall and wide as to be intimidating in tight car parks and urban manouvres, but large enough to allow one six-footer to sit comfortably behind another and with a spacious 475-litre boot (as long as you stick to the front-wheel-drive models).

Those expecting a poverty spec cabin will be surprised. The left-hand-drive version we tried had a perfectly pleasant interior, and the good news is that by the time Irish right-hand-drive production reaches these shores in January, the cabin will have been given an upgrade to make its touchy-feely quality even more appealing. You still get electric front windows, fingertip stereo controls (familiar for anyone who’s ever driven a mid-1990s Clio) and Bluetooth connection for your phone, with a socket for your iPod. All surprisingly sybaritic.

What you don’t get are electric side mirrors (you need to upgrade to the €16,990 Signature model for those), alloy wheels, seatbelt pre-tensioners, air conditioning, a trip computer, rear electric windows or map lights. More worryingly, electronic stability control (ESP) doesn’t even appear as an option, and is only fitted to the range-topping €18,990 Signature 4WD model. This comes with, obviously, all-wheel-drive, switchable from a simple rotary controller on the dash, and which gives the Duster a decent bit of rough ground, dirt track, and ploughed field ability.

Behind the bluff nose of the Duster sits Renault’s tried and tested 1.5 dCi diesel engine in 110bhp form. Fitted to a 2WD Duster, it returns a claimed 5.0-litres per 100km on the combined fuel economy cycle (better than 55mpg, which we got nowhere near on our brief test drive, but then it was in a car with barely-run-in mileage) and emits 130g/km, so will cost you just €225 to tax for the moment. Impressively, the 4WD model’s figures are only slightly poorer, and it’s still in Band B. It comes as standard with a three-year warranty, but you can upgrade to five-year cover.

Surprisingly, it won’t rattle your ears off. The first casualty of cheap car design is usually refinement, but the Duster idles quietly, is only mildly noisy on the motorway and shouts excessively only if you give it the beans in the rather short-geared first or second ratios. Off the main roads, the Duster does its best work shunting between third and fourth in the six-speed gearbox, although its rubbery shift mechanism will discourage you from getting too enthusiastic.

Dynamically, the Duster is hardly what you’d call sharp, but neither does it display the dreadful manners that its bargain-bucket price would have you suspect. The steering is light, over-assisted and entirely fake feeling, but the nose does follow its instructions with reasonable faithfulness. There’s lots of body roll, but the trade off for that is a pleasingly pliant ride, and the Duster is quite happy being hustled along country roads, as long as you don’t get too optimistic with the cornering speeds. Mind you, overcook things and the reassuringly firm brakes mean you pull up smart and straight in an emergency stop. Basically, the Duster is happiest when loping along, and it feels entirely pleasant in that role.

So, the ultimate question beckons. Should you buy one? Well, given the fact that it’s around €10,000 less than its direct competitors, you’d be a bit mad not to at least consider it, and it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s packing €10k less when it comes to quality, dynamics or practicality.

Yes, the likes of the Skoda Yeti and Nissan Qashqai have a much deeper varnish of sophistication, and come with things like air conditioning and electronic stability control as standard. If you’re happy doing without such things (or you’re equally happy to upgrade to a more expensive Duster that has them, which is still significantly cheaper than its rivals) then it’s a car well worth your consideration. It feels not cheap and cheerless but rather rugged and utilitarian, a significant distinction. It’s a simple, practical device, a car ideally suited to the rigours of family use and abuse (that lack of standard ESP notwithstanding) and you certainly won’t care if the kids spill, the dog sheds or the ice cream leaks.

Introducing the Duster at such a startling price is a remarkable calling card for Dacia’s debut. If the Duster proves popular, then Dacia’s more established rivals will have to do some serious pruning of their price lists.

Factfile

ENGINE1,461cc four-cylinder turbo diesel engine with 107bhp @ 4,000rpm and 240Nm of torque @ 1,750rpm

PERFORMANCE0-100km/h in 11.8 secs, 171km/h max speed

ECONOMY5.0 litres per 100km (56/4mpg)

EMISSIONS130g/km (€225 motor tax)

RIVALS

Skoda Yeti 1.6

TDI Active Greenline – €24,275 (€160 motor tax);

Nissan Qashqai 1.5 DCI XE €24,945 (€225 motor tax); Hyundai ix35 1.7 CRDI 2WD €25,995 (€225 motor tax); Suzuki SX4 2.0 DDIS GLX 4WD €21,365 (€225 motor tax)

PRICE €14,990 (Signature 2WD €16,990, Signature 4WD €18,990)

Our rating 5/10