We should all aim for utilitarianism. Especially in a world gone apparently mad with populism and tariffs, the picking something that’s simple and useful is going to be a whole lot better use of your cash than going for something that’s pointlessly gaudy. I often reckoned that if the disastrous disease of badge-snobbery were ever subject to a vaccine, the only cars anyone would ever need to buy would be a Citroen Berlingo or a Skoda Octavia.
To that abbreviated list, I reckon we can now add the Dacia Duster hybrid. I drove the updated Duster late last year, in four-wheel-drive 1.3-litre turbo petrol form. And I liked it, with some reservations, primarily to do with a driving position that felt a touch too awkward for anyone with long legs.
Well, the hybrid version fixes that, mostly because for now it’s the only Duster with an automatic gearbox, and so your left leg has more freedom to move and get comfortable.
The Duster’s styling, which evolved almost glacially across its first two generations, suddenly leapt forward with this third generation. The overall silhouette remains familiar, as does the surprisingly compact size, but the detailing is far grander, and more overt than ever it used to be.
Family fallouts: ‘I can’t describe the heartache of not having a relationship with my sister’
Zach Bryan in Dublin review: Gen Z’s Garth Brooks puts on a charming – and lengthy – show
How the death of an ‘old boy from Ireland’ in London-Irish suburb sparked a misguided viral appeal
As an Irish person in Australia there is one question I’m always asked
There are slim headlights and the bonnet so bulging with towers that appears to have been lifted from a castle wall (an effect heightened by the ‘sandstone’ beige paint of our test car, and a neatly finished boot lid with the rear lights that remain, cost-savingly so, on the rear pillars of the body and not on the boot itself. Certainly, this Duster looks more exciting than it used to, but I do somewhat mourn the loss of the cheery simplicity of old.
Inside, Dacia – as it has with the larger Bigster SUV, which arrives this summer – has built the Duster’s cabin out of plastics that would be alarmingly cheap if only they hadn’t been stamped with some neat little patterns and fine fingerprint-like lines. This definitely helps to lift the cabin ambience and makes the Duster appear a little less cheap than it is.
[ Dacia’s boss wants to move upmarket, but without a big shift in pricesOpens in new window ]
Mind you, perhaps cheap isn’t quite the right word any more. This Duster hybrid, in Journey specification (one down from the range-topping Extreme) costs €34,090, which no longer seems exceptionally cheap. You could have a Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid for less than this, but then a fairer space and practicality comparison might be the Corolla Cross, which is more expensive.
Good value, certainly, but you can definitely detect a faint drift upmarket, as Dacia wants to move somewhat away from its bargain-bucket roots and to become less of a cheap brand and more of an outdoorsy brand; a sort of better-value European alternative to Jeep.
That’s why the Duster comes with chunky bumpers and wheel arch extensions, made from a recycled plastic called starkle, which has a faint pale fleck in the material. It’s also why you can buy accessories such as a fold-out camping bed that clips into the boot, and a tent that attaches to the rear of the car. Well, it’s nicer than a caravan at any rate.
The hybrid engine performs pretty well. It’s the same 1.6-litre 140hp unit that’s found in the Renault Symbioz and Nissan Juke (although the Symbioz is soon to get the updated 1.8-litre hybrid from the Dacia Bigster), and it comes with a complicated four-speed automatic gearbox that also incorporates two electric motors.
These four cogs and two motors whirl around each other in a dance that’s inexplicable to anyone but a qualified engineer, but it all seems to work okay. Acceleration is leisurely at first, but it picks up quickly enough for most purposes. If you’re expecting GTI speed, prepare to be disappointed.
You won’t mind the fuel economy though. Dacia claims 5.1 litres per 100km, and I easily managed 5.5 litres per 100km, so this Duster may not be the cheapest to buy, but it’s certainly cheap to run. Carbon dioxide emissions of 114g/km mean that you’ll only have to pay €190 for a year’s tax.
[ Dacia Bigster may have a cheesy name but it could be the brand’s grand fromageOpens in new window ]
Dacia’s tilting at Jeep may or may not be a mere marketing puff, but there’s certainly a faint sense of kinship to Jeep in the way the Duster drives.
It’s not a particularly brilliant car to drive – the steering’s too light and at low speeds the suspension is too clonky – but there’s a sense of up-and-at-‘em enthusiasm, the same as you find in Jeep’s better cars. It’s a sensation that makes you feel as if you’re setting off on something of an adventure, even if you’re just popping out for milk. It’s extraordinarily likable.
The Duster is practical too. The boot can hold up to 517 litres, and the boot floor comes with multi-adjustable panels so that you can divide it up into sections, or have underfloor storage. Best of all, the solid luggage cover fits under the boot floor when you don’t need it – a trick which too many others still miss.
It’s not all good news. The back seats are tolerably roomy, but the shallow side glass makes the rear of the Duster feels more claustrophobic than it really is. That shallowness extends to the windscreen, so taller drivers may feel as if they’re ducking slightly to see out.
And while Dacia’s reputation for reliability is good, we noticed some annoying cabin rattles in our low-mileage test car, and the cruise control packed up and refused to come out and play. Small things, but irritating.
Even so, I just can’t help but like the Duster. It feels, as do most Dacia models, essential – a car that gives you the things you need, but none of the fripperies that you can live without. That sense of sensibility – that utilitarianism – just gives me warm and happy feelings. The Duster Hybrid may not be a car I couldn’t live without, but it’s very much a car I’d be happy living with.
Lowdown: Dacia Duster hybrid Journey
Power: 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 36kW motor and 1.2kWh lithium-ion battery producing 140hp and 148Nm (engine) + 205Nm (e-motor) of torque and powering the front wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission.
CO2 emissions (annual motor tax) 114g/km (€190).
Fuel consumption: 5.1l/100km (WLTP).
0-100km/h: 10.1 secs.
Price: €34,090 as tested, Duster starts from €25,990
Our rating 3/5.
Verdict: Engagingly simple, usefully utilitarian. Some quality glitches though and prices are creeping up.
