Dacia Duster

[Jamie Copeland]

Hi all

My Renault Clio is up for renewal in six months time and I was considering getting a Dacia Duster.

My reasons for considering this type of vehicle is that, 1) I live at the bottom of a quite steep single lane which in the winter is often difficult to drive up in my current car 2) when fishing or shooting I find myself in all sorts of remote locations and often my car just isn't able to cope.

However, I commute three days a week to work which is a 68 mile round trip which narrows down the number of 4x4 vehicles which come with a reasonable mpg. The Dacia also doesn't have a huge price tag which makes it an even more attractive option.

The Dacia Duster I'm interested in would be 4x4 so would get me up the road in winter, would get me around my fishing/shooting haunts easier and wouldn't be too sore on fuel.

I was wondering if anyone has one of these or has had one and would be able to offer me your comments? I've read the usual online reviews, already. I've had a test drive in one recently and I was really impressed with it.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[dexter]

They are very popular here in rural, (and I mean very rural) France. I have a Nissan X Trail at the moment but would take a serious look at the Dacia when I need to change it.

 

[DiscoStu]

I'm very biased towards Land Rover and if you do want 4x4 capability then what about a Freelander 2? New they would cost more than a Dacia but you could get a second hand one for the same as a new Dacia. If that doesn't appeal then Suzuki Vitara is pretty capable and the Honda CRV is capable. You might also want to consider the Ford Kuga although I don't know what they are like in snow etc.



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[Myfordman]

I find the head room getting in and out very poor. I'm 6'2" so not that tall.

 

[woodpig]

Can't argue with the value of the Dacia. I particularly like the look of the new Suzuki's though and they aren't badly priced. The Honda is expensive but should be reliable. Range Rover don't have a particularly good reputation for reliability and can be expensive to repair. Personally I wouldn't touch a Range Rover. I love the look of the BMW X6 but way over my budget and the engines are rubbish requiring expensive repairs apparently.

 

[woodchip]

Although I have an awd car, my next car will be 2 wheel drive and I'll fit snow tyres. The difference is stunning, I can go just about anywhere in the snow and ice with impunity. The downhill and braking performance on snow are brilliant, and 4x4 doesn't make any difference to that.

 

[Alex H]

I was thinking of buying one, but they don't come in yellow. :-"

 

[DiscoStu]

Just to clarify woodchip - I assume you mean winter tyres and not snow tyres? Snow tyres would have studs. Winter tyres are called winter tyres because they are designed for cold use not just for snow. They have a greater amount of silica used in their production and therefore remain supple in cold conditions.

I have winter tyres on my Land Rover and as wood chip says the difference on snow and particularly ice is significant. I think the ideal vehicle for winter driving in the UK is probably the Range Rover Evoque or Discovery Sport. They have 4x4 (assume you buy that model) they are lighter than other models in the range and they have Land Rovers terrain response system which alters how the car drives depending on the conditions. So you tell the car you're driving on snow and ice and it adjusts accordingly. Having said that I towed a 40 ton articulated lorry up a hill in the snow with winter tyres on in my Discovery not sure an Evoque would have done that as it doesn't have a low ratio box.

Still this is probably more extreme than we're talking here. Winter tyres make a big difference especially on a FWD not sure they will help a RWD that much. I lost count of the number of BMW and Merc's I saw abandoned a few years ago when we had heavy snow.

I do remember popping into a Land Rover dealer for something and it was heaving. The customer parking was full of German rear wheel drive vehicles. I assume lots of people were changing their cars. Seems a bit extreme for the 2 days of snow we get down south.


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[DiscoStu]

The downhill and braking performance on snow are brilliant, and 4x4 doesn't make any difference to that.

I'd disagree with that 4x4 will make a big difference when going downhill. As long as it is driven correctly.


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[DiscoStu]

Oh and BMW 4x4 useless off road (which isn't what they are for anyway - so that's fair enough) also useless in snow. A mate of mine was towing ambulances up the hill to QA hospital in Portsmouth in the snow. A BMW X5 was blocking his way. He asked the driver to move it but the driver explained he couldn't and was stuck. So my mate had to toe that out of the way and then tow the ambulance into the hospital.


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[Phil Pascoe]

I have often read in the Sat. Telegraph motoring supplement that fitting winter tyres will give you have more of an advantage than having four wheel drive would. Both, obviously, are ideal.

 

[Harbo]

Yes 2WD with winter wheels better than 4WD without but 4WD with winter wheels even better.

Rod

 

[woodpig]

One of the funniest videos I've seen is a Toyota Land Cruiser pulling a Range Rover out of the mud! Not sure if it's still in vogue (pun intended) but they used to say "if you absolutely must get there then choose a Toyota Land Cruiser"

 

[loftyhermes]

Then there's the old saying, yes you can go into the desert in a Land Cruiser or a Range Rover but if you want to come back go in the Land Cruiser.

 

[woodpig]

Then there's the old saying, yes you can go into the desert in a Land Cruiser or a Range Rover but if you want to come back go in the Land Cruiser.

:lol:

 

[Setch]

I've been led to believe that the primaryvdifference with a 4X4 is it gets you twice as deep into the dung before you get stuck.

 

[DiscoStu]

Well there is certainly some truth to that.

I've seen lots of videos of all sorts of 4x4's being pulled out by others. They are often used to prove one brand is better than the other but the reality is that there are too many variables to prove that.


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[DiscoStu]

This video proves that the Range Rover is better than the Toyota!

https://youtu.be/BwSjWS7aO1U

Obviously it doesn't prove that at all. It's quite fun to watch though.


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[Harbo]

On the major construction sites I've been on, where's there's been both Land Rovers and Toyota Hilux's, the Toyota was the vehicle of choice.

Rod

 

[Jamie Copeland]

Thanks for all the comments.

However, does anyone have anything to add about the actual subject matter?!

Cheers

jamie