What is it?

The Dacia Duster is one of those cars that doesn’t need to make a statement. Instead, it’s known for being a plucky, no-nonsense and sensible family car that focuses on practicality and affordability.

Since the first-generation car hit our shores in 2013, the Duster has always been the cheap and cheerful alternative to more expensive SUVs. But, it proves that you don’t need to fork out lots of money to get go-anywhere capability, four-wheel-drive and lots of storage.

The latest model is bigger, better equipped and is available with a new hybrid powertrain to make those running costs even lower than before. But, is it just as capable of offering great value for money while maintaining its practical nature? We’ve been finding out.

What’s new?

Price is where most Dacia’s score over their competition and this latest Duster, thankfully still represents amazing value. The entry-level car is priced at £18,850, and you can get the option of an LPG option that Dacia calls its ‘Bi-fuel’. That makes this new Duster one of the cheapest new cars on sale today here in the UK.

This new model now sits on a completely different platform compared to the outgoing car, with this Duster utilising the firm’s CMF-B setup, which should help with better driving dynamics and characteristics – while allowing the car to feature a hybrid powertrain, too.

What’s under the bonnet?

With a choice of mild-hybrid, LPG and full hybrid powertrains, we’re testing the new hybrid setup.

It combines a 1.6-litre petrol engine with a very small electric motor and battery. The car comes with front-wheel-drive, but there is the option of four-wheel-drive in the 130 mild-hybrid powertrain if you need to do a bit of off-roading.

Even though performance won’t be the Duster’s forte with our hybrid test car producing a total of 139bhp and 148Nm, it’ll still manage 0-60mph in 9.9 seconds and a top speed of 106mph.

Where this new powertrain really starts to excel is with its economy as it can achieve up to 55mpg and has CO2 emissions as low as 114g/km.

What’s it like to drive?

Don’t go thinking that the Dacia Duster will be on par with sportscars when it comes to its driving experience. Instead, the Duster aims towards being a more relaxing and comfortable car. The petrol-electric setup is quiet around town, but stamp on that accelerator and the engine soon screams into life. At slower speeds in urban environments, the car will do its best to stay in electric mode to make sure fuel is being saved and emissions are not being produced.

In terms of visibility, with the exception of the rather narrow back window, all the glass area offers a great view when manoeuvring and the raised driving position gives you a more commanding view of the road ahead – which a lot of drivers like about SUVs. As this is a cheaper car, you’d think that the Duster would make a meal of its ride comfort, but that’s simply not the case, with the car floating effortlessly over bumps to make this a rather comfortable and capable car on longer journeys.

How does it look?

The one word that springs to mind with the new Duster is ‘chunky’. From lots of different angles, the Duster has a bold and angular look to it, plus the front features the firm’s new logo along with rather square-shaped wheel arches with large plastic cladding to protect against car park scrapes.

Dacia has made sure this latest Duster focuses more on sustainability, with the car using a lot of the material the firm calls ‘Starkle’. It’s made from 20 per cent recycled materials and is more environmentally friendly than plastic, with the wheel arches, front bumper and underbody shields all areas where it’s applied.

What’s it like inside?

The Dacia Duster will never be on par with some premium German manufacturers when it comes to quality or even design, but over the years, the firm has done its best to make sure that for the money, the interior of the Duster is the best it can be – and you can see that with this latest model.

There are a few hard, brittle plastics here and there, but the whole cabin feels sturdy and built to last.

Step in the back and there is sufficient room for average-sized occupants – although the rear bench is positioned a bit too upright. The boot offers a total of 430 litres in this hybrid test car, but the mild-hybrid petrol versions do offer even more boot space at 517 litres.

What’s the spec like?

As mentioned previously, this new Duster starts from a very low £18,850 for the basic Essential trim – making it the most affordable SUV in the UK today.

But, just because it’s cheap doesn't mean you have to sacrifice going without any equipment as even the basic trim features rear parking sensors and air conditioning.

We’re driving the Journey trim level which is above mid-spec but just below the flagship model and it does come with a few more toys such as 18-inch alloy wheels, a rear-view camera, climate control and a media navigation touchscreen system.

If you add up all the options of our test car, it comes to £26,595, which still isn’t bad value for money, but we think the best blend of equipment and price would be the Expression trim level as it offers £21,350 and still comes with a rear-view camera, a media touchscreen and a seven-inch driver information display.

Verdict

Thankfully, this new Duster still represents exceptional value for money, just like its predecessors.

The new hybrid powertrain brings lower running costs and a more relaxing driving experience, and as long as you don’t go mad with options, the prices can still remain low. Even if this petrol-electric unit isn’t for you, there are still plenty of other options available to suit a wide variety of different customers.