Dacia's small SUV still hits its value marks, even if it has become of late rather more expensive than it used to be. A starting price of €17,890 is higher than that for the original generation Duster, but then again it's also about the same price that Ford or VW asks for a middle-ranking supermini, so the Dacia is still in relative terms an utter bargain.
Thankfully this second-generation model is a little more sophisticated than the original, with a higher-quality cabin and - at last - an infotainment system that isn’t mounted somewhere down by your ankles. A shame that Dacia hasn’t made the lumpy seats any better than before, but I guess your €17,000 only goes so far
. Now that diesel power is a pariah (especially in town) it’s probably best to go for the turbo petrol engine, which now stretches up to 130hp with the new 1.3-litre engine (and you can boast that your Dacia has, basically, a Mercedes engine). Still essentially a utilitarian thing, but that’s not actually a criticism. We like the Duster’s continuing adherence to no-nonsense values. And value.
Best model: Duster TCe 130 Comfort for €20,990
Price range: €17,890 to €25,200. Finance from €249 per month.
Co2 emissions: 117 to 139g/km
Sum up: Not sensual, but sensible.