Dacia has made a huge leap in the two decades it has been selling again in Europe. From the cheapest models on the market, it has reached a situation where it offers a very favorable price/use value ratio. A typical representative is, for example, the popular Duster model. This year it came to the markets in a new generation and we checked it in a test.
Brand new
While the previous generation of Duster stood on a significantly modified chassis platform of the first generation, the latest received a completely new platform from Renault. Its designation is CMF-B and it is used by almost all Renault models. It is interesting, however, that none of the Renaults has four-wheel drive, but the Dacia Duster does, and it is mechanically connected.
And it’s a revolution from the point of view of design, because the original and the new Duster have nothing in common, except for the appearance of the radiator grille, where there are white stripes with the “DC” logo. The car is significantly more angular, modern and robust. After all, look at the front hood, for example, which has several moldings that you can clearly see from the view from the front seats. In addition, there are distinctive protective plastics around the entire body, which are made of recycled materials (the name of this material is Starkle), which is why there are various white “dots” in them. No Duster will have them the same. Plus, the plastics aren’t painted, so if you were to scrape it, it wouldn’t show too much. It gets lost in its texture and color.
Even so, there are some features that equate to a lower price than comparable competition. It is, for example, the fact that the headlights are indeed LED lightsbut not completely. LEDs are used for indicators, daytime running lights and for the main headlights, but the high beams are still made up of a halogen bulb. But the rear lights are completely incandescent, here LEDs they are not Does it bother you? No, it works, and that’s exactly what Dacia is all about.
By the way, even though the Duster looks like a piece of car in the photos, its dimensions have not changed much between generations. The length has increased by only 2 mm to 4343 mm, the novelty is wider by 9 mm (now 1813 mm without exterior mirrors), but the height (without roof rails) has decreased. We now measure 1656 mm in height, i.e. 37 mm less. And the wheelbase is also shorter, from the original 2673 mm it is now 2657 mm. However, it did not affect the crew space in any way, and I had enough space in the back seats with my height of 180 cm.
He’s smarter
The cabin is also completely new. It got a completely different dashboard, but still kept the most important physical controls. Pleased that the multimedia display has moved to the top of the dashboard. Below it are the vents for air conditioning and heating, and below them are a number of controls. These are used to control the air conditioning, heating and ventilation. Other buttons are also to the left of the steering wheel. One of them deactivates the Start/Stop system, the other activates the “My Perso” mode. In this, the car remembers your driving assistant settings. After double-pressing it, you activate this mode and your assistants will be set as you previously saved them. In this way, you can simply deactivate, for example, the speeding warning (the new Duster also has this), or some other assistants that you do not want to use while driving.
Even the display in the instrument cluster is now only digital. In the basic equipment, there is only a 3.5-inch TFT display, in the higher ones there is a color 7-inch digital display. It has simple graphics and does not display too much information. Even in the case of the central display, the simple graphics and clarity are pleasing, as well as the fact that it has wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. And if you don’t want to project the phone onto the display, there is a handy holder right next to it, it’s just a shame that it sometimes rattles on bumps.
Hybrid powertrain
The new Dacia Duster can no longer be diesel, instead there is a tested hybrid version. However, the range of engines remained purely gasoline engines, but also a unit burning both gasoline and LPG. A manual transmission and front-wheel drive are standard, for the most powerful gasoline version, an automatic transmission or four-wheel drive is also available. Unfortunately, both cannot be combined.
The hybrid, which we know from smaller Renault models, has both front-wheel drive and an automatic transmission as standard. It is a multi-mode transmission that has two speeds for the electric drive and four speeds for the combustion engine. These are mixed in different ways while driving, so it is not possible to describe exactly when and in what situation this or that speed will be engaged. It depends not only on the current driving style of the driver, but also on the state of charge of the battery and the like. In addition, the transmission does not have synchronization, this is taken care of by the electric motor, which compares the revolutions of the gears during shifting.
The drivetrain combines an atmospheric gasoline four-cylinder with a volume of 1.6 liters with 69 kW and an electric motor with an output of 36 kW. In addition, there is a starter-generator with 15 kW, which replaces both the starter and the alternator. It is a so-called full-hybrid drive that works completely independently and automatically, requiring no driver activity. And it also recharges itself while driving, no cable needs to be plugged into the car. The battery has a capacity of 1.2 kWh, which is enough even for higher hundreds of meters on pure electric drive. The total system output is 104 kW/140 hp. Technical data promises acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.1 seconds and a top speed of just 160 km/h.
The hybrid drive is most suitable for trips to the city, where it can also save the most fuel. The functioning of the system is successful, which we also remember from Renaults. Especially in the city, it uses pure electric drive really often, practically every column means that the car will run on electricity and it will also start from intersections on electricity. It gains energy by recuperation during deceleration and light braking. Connecting and disconnecting the internal combustion engine is surprisingly smooth.
Outside the city and on the highway, the advantages of the hybrid powertrain disappear, because the internal combustion engine is deactivated practically only when the gas is taken off, but the electric motor helps during acceleration. Due to this, Duster has quite quick reactions. But the problem arises in situations where you suddenly want to accelerate quickly. At that moment, the weaknesses of the multi-mode transmission, which is the slowest link at that moment, will be most apparent. Four “combustion” and two “electric” speeds have to be somehow combined at once, and that takes a while. It can easily happen to you that if you want to overtake a slower car, you end up missing the right moment and you may no longer be able to accelerate in time, safely and sufficiently. So you have to think about it in advance. And if you count on that, overtaking a slower car won’t be a problem. The dynamics of the car are not bad at all, but the Duster does not provoke a feeling of speed.
And it is mainly due to his overall mood. The chassis is rather comfortable, the car leans into corners and overall has a rather detached impression. Duster is not for enthusiastic drivers, Duster is for drivers who want to get somewhere without worries and any fun. You just have to take into account that if you hit the highway, there will be quite a lot of aerodynamic noise in the cabin, you will have to speak in a higher voice and if you want to listen to the radio or any sound from an external source, you will have to turn up the volume.
What about consumption? In the city, the hybrid Dacia Duster manages it just fine with up to five liters. Once you’re out of town, you’ll get slightly over five liters, and on the highway it can get close to six – if you stick to around one hundred and forty. The gas tank is 50 liters, so you can easily refuel even after almost a thousand kilometers.
Conclusion and price
Dacia Duster in the new generation is a completely different and really cool looking car, which also looks robust. Even with front-wheel drive only, thanks to body protection and a ground clearance of over 20 cm, you won’t have to worry about going off-road, although it won’t be ideal on mud or wet grass. In addition, the hybrid version has really decent dynamics and excellent consumption. And what will the price list reveal in the end? The lowest price is 429,900 crowns for the Essential version with a gasoline/LPG engine. The hybrid is more expensive, it is offered only from the second trim of the Expression and starts at 593 thousand crowns. The tested and richly equipped Extreme is the most expensive and costs at least 622,900 crowns.
Technical data:
Auto:
Dacia Duster Hybrid 140 Extreme
Motor:
gasoline four-cylinder + electric motor
Cylinder volume:
1598 ccm
Filling the engine:
atmospheric
Fuel:
gasoline + electricity
Tree:
front wheels
Performance:
69 kW/94 hp at 5600 rpm (combustion engine)
+ 36 kW/49 hp (electric motor)
+ 15 kW/20 hp (starter-generator)
= 104 kW/140 hp (total power of the drive system)
Torque:
148 Nm at 3600 rpm (combustion engine)
205 Nm (electric motor)
+ 50 Nm (starter-generator)
= 250 Nm (total drive system torque)
Acceleration 0-100 km/h:
10,1 s
Maximum speed:
160 km/h
Transmission:
multimode automatic
(2 stages for electric motor, 4 stages for internal combustion engine)
Fuel consumption (combined):
5,0 l/100 km
Emise CO2:
113 g/km
Tank volume:
50 liters
Length:
4343 mm
Width:
1813 mm (without mirrors)
2069 mm (with mirrors)
Height:
1661 mm
Wheelbase:
2657 mm
Operating weight:
1455 – 1497 kg
Volume of the luggage compartment:
430 / 1609 liters
Tags: dacia, Dacia Duster, Dacia Duster Hybrid, Dacia Duster Hybrid 140, duster, hybrid, test
