Dacia duster

[SimpleSimon]

Any opinions on the above from those who have owned and used them? I may next year be looking for a work "truck" for carrying tools, etc. It will need to have some off road capability, achieve good mpg on the road and fit my gear in. It won't need to double as a family car, so I would probably fold the seats permanently and line the floor with ply or stable mat, etc. I like the idea of the commercial model, but used examples are non existent at the moment and new will be out of my range...
Are there any decent AT tyres available, does the 4wd system work well enough, are they capable towing up to their max 1.5 ton weight?
Any info appreciated...

 

[SDC7x57]

Did a spell as a consultant for Petrom in Romania. We had thousands of Dusters working in the oilfields all over the country. We had both 2WD and 4WD versions, almost all with the 1500cc Renault diesel. They are tough little trucks. In the winter over there,(and the winters are SERIOUS) they do very well. It's standard practice to change to snow tyres immediately after the first week where the temperature never gets to 10degC. With suitable tyres, it's amazing where they'll go, and like the old Subarus, they're light enough to do extremely well in the snow (if we get another Beast from the East!) or the mud. Sorry, I don't have any info about towing - we never used them for pulling any gear.

I do remember driving one from Bucharest to Constanta on the Black Sea coast.......it tooled along exceptionally quietly at 120 - 140kph with no rattles or squeaks. My jaw must have dropped when I looked at the odometer - it had 462,000km on it. Hope that helps a bit!

 

[JTO]

I had a few lifts in a Duster a long time ago and thought they were horrible, but now that Renault own them, it might be different. I think there might be 4x4 versions of small vans available in France. Peugeot do the Partner van with a sort of limited slip diff on the front, but just 2WD. The Skoda Yeti is no longer made/imported, I had the last one.

 

[DamDama]

Can’t comment on the 4x4 but my wife has the 2x4 version she gets around 48 mpg with the 1500 diesel. There is plenty of space in the boot and it is quite nippy. It came with 2 years free servicing. I believe they have just brought out a new model. For a small SUV it seems to have good ground clearance. Not sure if my response helps, but hope it does.
DD

 

[SimpleSimon]

Did a spell as a consultant for Petrom in Romania. We had thousands of Dusters working in the oilfields all over the country. We had both 2WD and 4WD versions, almost all with the 1500cc Renault diesel. They are tough little trucks. In the winter over there,(and the winters are SERIOUS) they do very well. It's standard practice to change to snow tyres immediately after the first week where the temperature never gets to 10degC. With suitable tyres, it's amazing where they'll go, and like the old Subarus, they're light enough to do extremely well in the snow (if we get another Beast from the East!) or the mud. Sorry, I don't have any info about towing - we never used them for pulling any gear.

I do remember driving one from Bucharest to Constanta on the Black Sea coast.......it tooled along exceptionally quietly at 120 - 140kph with no rattles or squeaks. My jaw must have dropped when I looked at the odometer - it had 462,000km on it. Hope that helps a bit!

That's encouraging, thank you.

 

[SDC7x57]

Renault have had a presence in Dacia since the 60s - the first Dacias were built in Piteste using Renault 12 tooling and dies. There are a few Dacias which have pure Romanian design, but almost everywhere, you will find Renault DNA. Renault have owned Dacia since 1999. The Duster first came out in 2010, and I agree with JTO that the early ones were not wonderful... The later ones (2014 onwards) are much better.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Renault have had a presence in Dacia since the 60s - the first Dacias were built in Piteste using Renault 12 tooling and dies. There are a few Dacias which have pure Romanian design, but almost everywhere, you will find Renault DNA. Renault have owned Dacia since 1999. The Duster first came out in 2010, and I agree with JTO that the early ones were not wonderful... The later ones (2014 onwards) are much better.

I assume they share some tech with the small Renault SUVs, and by association with Nissan, too? My Xtrail has a Renault engine and the 4wd system seems to work the same as the Renaults which are all more recent to market than the Xtrail.
I'll look for age before mileage based on what you've said

 

[Gunner223]

Ive just returned from mexico, and the place was over run with Dacia duster pick ups , so they cant be that bad.

 

[McKenzie]

Earlier this year I was having work done on my car & rented a Duster. I did 1400 miles in 4 days in the UK & I was so impressed I've already started looking for one. The suspension was great over some very rough roads & the mileage (diesel) seemed good. The only issue I could see was the flared-out wheel arches which I'd have to keep a careful eye on as I have some very tight reverses.

I'm just back from NZ where I rented a Toyota Highlander for 5 weeks & I wouldn't have kept it if they'd given it to me for nothing.

 

[adrian0100]

Hello fella I own one and rate it massively to the point my wife now has one and so dose one of my mates I use it as a shooting truck a tow car and a family car they really a good value for money and apart from the odd littl thing like adding a front light bar and two rear working lights in 40000 miles it’s had nothing but it’s services ow and a K&n air filter

 

[SimpleSimon]

Hello fella I own one and rate it massively to the point my wife now has one and so dose one of my mates I use it as a shooting truck a tow car and a family car they really a good value for money and apart from the odd littl thing like adding a front light bar and two rear working lights in 40000 miles it’s had nothing but it’s services ow and a K&n air filter

Sounds good. What do you tow with it?

 

[adrian0100]

Bouncy castle business for the wife and mother in law for my sins I have seen a fair few towing caravans aswell

 

[slider]

I had one for 2 years and was very impressed. Only reason sold was my wife needed an auto. Otherwise I would have another tomorrow.

Tough 4x4 for the price of a Fiesta. Bit of a no brainer.

 

[1kevb]

I bought a new commercial in feb16 and has now done close to 40000 never had a problem with it and if driven steady will give 50 plus mpg. Waiting for the double cab pickup to be a UK option then will change.

 

[Apthorpe]

Haven't used a Duster but even their small saloons are pretty good off road and Dacias tend to be very reliable in a tough climate. The 1.5 diesel dci engine has been used in huge numbers in nissans and renaults - nothing wrong with that engine at all.

 

[potshotpat]

Sounds good. What do you tow with it?

The wife's