Dacia Duster - driving, steering etc
Discussion
It's the cheapest new car in the UK and drives accordingly. If you drove cars from the 80s and 90s and thought they were fine then you'll be perfectly happy with it. The steering is vague and a bit rubbery by any standard, with no feel whatsoever of any sort and medium weighting, but the car goes where you point it with accuracy.
Compared to a modern supermini they're poor to drive in every single way, but you pay your money and take your choice. Of particular note is the poor damping I think, and how quickly it gets even worse with miles. I drove my friends reasonably well treated 90k miles one fairly recently and it felt absolutely f
ked. Oh and it's rusty. I think it's 5 years old, maybe 6?
You really need to drive one before you decide if it's a better choice than a 2nd hand something else, or scraping together another couple of grand.
Compared to a modern supermini they're poor to drive in every single way, but you pay your money and take your choice. Of particular note is the poor damping I think, and how quickly it gets even worse with miles. I drove my friends reasonably well treated 90k miles one fairly recently and it felt absolutely f
ked. Oh and it's rusty. I think it's 5 years old, maybe 6?You really need to drive one before you decide if it's a better choice than a 2nd hand something else, or scraping together another couple of grand.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 11th June 13:46
Check out the throbber thread, might be a good place to ask:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing//topic.asp?h=0...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing//topic.asp?h=0...
Truckosaurus said:
It is always interesting to see the EVO magazine long term Duster getting spoken about with seemingly more affection than any of the performance cars they also run.
I'm sure it drives perfectly well for the sort of car it is.
That's the central point - the sort of car it is.I'm sure it drives perfectly well for the sort of car it is.
Petrolheads and self-appointed Driving Gods are overflowing with contempt for that sort of car because noisily making derisory comments about basic utilitarian vehicles is also an opportunity to tacitly remind everybody within earshot they're driving something very superior and far more expensive than a budget Eurohatch with a shockingly low gadget count themselves because doing so reassures them over any doubts they may have about their own vehicle choice.
It's very much a minority view though. Travel round Europe and you'll find dozens of Dusters, Yetis, Roomsters, Berlingos and Partners in every town and village because they're genuinely better than anything else at being exactly the the sort of cars the vast majority of people want.
Had one for a few days last year as a hire car (so new shape)
Very little to say about the driving experience. Nothing wrong with it at all. Very safe feel, very neutral and very dull. I don’t think anyone would expect anything sporty and it isn’t.
Overall, I found it very comfortable and very easy to drive.
My wife didn’t like it (she doesn’t drive) and every day she went anywhere in it with me called it “the van”. I think this was a comment based on the cheap thin plastics and plain surfaces. She had no objections on comfort or anything else
Very little to say about the driving experience. Nothing wrong with it at all. Very safe feel, very neutral and very dull. I don’t think anyone would expect anything sporty and it isn’t.
Overall, I found it very comfortable and very easy to drive.
My wife didn’t like it (she doesn’t drive) and every day she went anywhere in it with me called it “the van”. I think this was a comment based on the cheap thin plastics and plain surfaces. She had no objections on comfort or anything else
I bought a new one a couple of months ago. It's the 999cc turbocharged one. It sits in the garage alongside some far more expensive stuff. I've done over 3k miles in it so far (that really isn't the longer term useage plan but I've done two 800 mile round trips in that time)I'm genuinely bemused as to how it can be criticized as being vague, rubbery and poor to drive. I get that you could be critical of the interior feel, but all the tech works fine and it's slightly cheaper than a Range Rover. It isn't sporty but isn't an under-powered lard ass either.
It's actually perfectly fine in pretty much every way. Whether "perfectly fine" is good enough depends on your expectations at that level of budget I guess.
It's actually perfectly fine in pretty much every way. Whether "perfectly fine" is good enough depends on your expectations at that level of budget I guess.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Funnily enough, one of the reasons I was happy enough to buy the Duster was because we also have a little Aygo and over the past 3 years and 24k miles of pottering around in that whenever it seemed a good idea has convinced us that small, "cheap" cars are fine and better than might be expected. Between the two the Duster has a far more grown up feel to it, looks far more substantial and wafts along in a less frenetic way than the little Aygo. I think they're pretty much the same weight tho which was surprising and having ordered a new Aygo yesterday I'm certainly not knocking the Toyota. I don't think I'd want either as an "only" car and would unhesitatingly chose the Dacia over the Aygo if forced to make that choice.
I have one too, new shape.
It's fine. Drives OK, chunky tyres, utilitarian but not too basic, everything works as it should, high seating position, comfortable, pleasant view, cheap and economical. We tend to wreck day to day cars, eventually it'll become a shed. Good ground clearance so decent over tracks and rough roads without needing to go full on 4x4
Just what we wanted, I even wash it so must like it a bit.
One downside, it's awkward getting an elderly relative in and out. Doors not very wide, sills deep and sits a bit high.
Overtaking takes some forward planning, and don't even think of trying to hustle it through the esses.
To answer your original q.
Light, accurate, unexciting.
It's cheap but I'm not left wishing I'd spent more.
It's fine. Drives OK, chunky tyres, utilitarian but not too basic, everything works as it should, high seating position, comfortable, pleasant view, cheap and economical. We tend to wreck day to day cars, eventually it'll become a shed. Good ground clearance so decent over tracks and rough roads without needing to go full on 4x4
Just what we wanted, I even wash it so must like it a bit.
One downside, it's awkward getting an elderly relative in and out. Doors not very wide, sills deep and sits a bit high.
Overtaking takes some forward planning, and don't even think of trying to hustle it through the esses.
To answer your original q.
Light, accurate, unexciting.
It's cheap but I'm not left wishing I'd spent more.
Edited by How u doing on Saturday 12th June 06:00
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff