Customer reviews for Dacia DusterDacia Duster according to those who use it on a daily basis

I’m completely blown away with my Dacia Duster Journey Hybrid, the more I use it the bigger the smile on my face, It’s been a constant revelation since I purchased it. The Duster is comfortable, roomy and just a pleasant atmosphere to be in, I don’t feel the need to rush along when driving on M or A roads. The standard list of features on my Dacia puts my Volkswagen Polo, which I purchased new and subsequently part exchanged for my Dacia Duster to shame. The interior of the Dacia is very ergonomic and well laid out, with all the controls easy to hand. The design of the Duster is spot on with the only downside I can only truly appreciate its looks and design when I’m parked up.

The Duster looks good from every angle, pictures don’t do it justice. My Duster is finished in metallic Grey which looks amazing. With every new car there are its quirks and glitches especially with Apple CarPlay but that doesn’t do a disservice to the Duster as the tech inside the car does update without the need to make a trip to the dealership. If there was anything on my wish list it would be for the Dacia Duster Journey Hybrid to be available with 4x4, if this does become reality then I would definitely want to exchange my Duster in for the 4x4 option. To sum up my opinion, the Dacia Duster is outstanding in every conceivable way, unpretentious, relaxing and very economical to drive at an affordable price.

When I was on the hunt for a new car I wanted something that could comfortably handle my daily commute, i could join my friends for some off-road adventures in, and something that looked cool whilst doing it all. £30K was my budget.

I'll be honest I didn't initially look at Dusters as the body work and look of the vehicle prior to 2024 was... not to my taste.

But whilst doing my research I'd spotted that the new 2025 had a new look!

After watching some videos on YouTube of its capability off-road and taking one for a test drive... 4 months later I had my new pearl black Dacia Duster Extreme TCe 130 4x4!

I've had this car just over 2 months, so its early days but so far the fuel economy has been spot on for my commute and its put a couple of my mates pickup trucks to shame off-roading in Wales on some public by ways!

I've had multiple people tell me how cool it looks and they are always slightly shocked to learn its the new model of Duster. I think I might have made a few converts!

Big thanks to Adam Walker at Dacia Sutton Park Group Tamworth for not being pushy like other car dealerships I've encountered and understanding that I new what I wanted when I came in.

On the positive side the design is good, the driving position is comfortable and being a full hybrid is very economical.

I am happy with colour which is Cedar green, but the range of colours was limited and drab. This is the third Duster we have bought and have always gone for the orange colour.

There is a high levels of hard plastic used in the interior, which in itself is not a problem but there are a number of annoying rattles which our previous Dusters did not have and as yet have not been resolved by the retailer.

The lack of a handbook is a nuisance as having read and resolve issues via the iPad isn’t easy. There have been three glitches, one being the wing mirrors not closing, the second being the speed limiter coming on which was quite frightening while on a busy duel carriageway and the final one being all the cameras going off and the infotainment screen locking. This was resolved by my husband rebooting the system. While on the subject the sensor sounds while revering are too loud and difficult to reduce.

I am aware that this sounds all negative. It is a good car and excellent value for money, but the step up from the previous model has been testing.

I am impressed with most aspects of my Duster 1.2 TCe Journey. Best points are the comfortable seats, media system sound quality, smooth gearbox, great looks, it is fuel efficient with plenty of power. The ride is magnificent and it handles really well for an SUV. Small things I am not as keen on are the 1.2 while having plenty of power, is a little noisy and the gearing takes getting used to. The interior doesn't feel particularly well screwed together with some squeaks and rattles. The carpets are very very cheap feeling. The leg room behind the drivers seat is compromised because of the battery unit under the front seat. Dacia could also do with making the floor mats a better shape to cover more of the very cheap carpets. However, I would recommend it as it is lovely to drive, comfortable (for 3 people!) and easily achieves 50MPG on a run. And compared to the price of most cars, it does represent better value, but compromises have to be made somewhere to achieve this.

Good car at a good price. Seems to be doing 60+ mpg (according to the dashboard display) on mostly local journeys. Love the saved 'personal safety settings' button. Gradually getting used to all the gizmos and driving a computer! However, I would say that the salesman at Dacia Portsmouth was excellent at explaining the system to me.

What would I change? 1. Very annoying that the manual is only available online. I REALLY would have liked a paper copy 2. Front fixed central storage box/arm rest is in the way. Keep knocking my arm on it and makes it tricky to connect seat belt. 3. Seatbelt shoulder anchor point is not adjustable - cuts across my neck (5'6" tall). 4. Although I have now got used to it, who came up with gear selector paddle - push forwards to go backwards and backwards to go forward! 5. The one audible alarm that I would like is to tell you that you have left your key in the car, when the engine is off and you close all the doors and walk away.

Had our Duster for three months now it does everything we want it to do so very happy. Road sign recognition a bit hit and miss could end up with a speeding fine if I was to take notice of it. I also tow a trailer, eg. on an A road with no trailer = 60mph, with a trailer= 50mph the dashboard is telling me I can still do 60mph with the trailer plugged in. Make it easier to fit a space saver spare wheel and tyre in the boot floor out of sight where it belongs, expression model. Just a couple of things I noticed a few days after collecting our new Duster 1. Small dent in the o/s/f wing needs to be in the right to be able to see it. 2. Foam rubber n/s bonnet hinge completely out of place. 3. Dacia emblem on drivers seat wonky (down hill when you look through the windscreen from outside of the car). 4. The most worrying thing was the brake fluid reservoir, brake fluid leaking out around the lid because the lid was very loose.

Very smooth and quiet in higher gears. Off road capabilities have been good so far (some challenging forest tracks). Wasn't very impressed with getting a 'road hero' space saver wheel- had expected a purpose built Dacia spare). Not so great in First and second gear and I'm struggling to make smooth gear changes between those gears. (would prefer more acceleration for moving out into flowing traffic from second gear.

The RHS position of the electronic parking brake is not intuitive- I would prefer it to be on the same side as the manual gear change so that it is a smoother 'one handed' operation. One month in and I have a very annoying 'rattle' somewhere in the front passenger area of the cockpit - one of the interior plastic panels?

Generally very happy with my new car - just a few minor points that prevents a 5 star review.

I upgraded from a 2016 stepway to a hybrid duster beginning of this year. It was an incredible change. I love this car! The interior is a lovely soft denim, its got the protection and has proven its worth, spills don't get absorbed and stained. Food doesn't get stuck or stained either. The updated multimedia is spot on, connection never fails and is always responsive. I love the boot, it has a shelf on the bottom that can be removed to and extra depth to the capacity! Back seats fold down completely flat as well which is an improvement on previous models. Externally it is a beauty and always get compliments.

The one thing that could be done better is the wireless charging pad. Its not always quite as reactive and the phone can move on it. So it ends up draining the battery trying to connect and disconnect.

Although the car is comfortable and powerful enough, with excellent fuel economy, there is definitely room for improvement. After fitting my own dashcam, I realised that, as it already has cameras on board, these could easily have been connected to a memory card to have an inbuilt dashcam. Also, as I don't want Lane Assistance, nor a Beep every time I exceed the speed limit by 1mph, I have turned them off on my personal settings, but I need to do this every time I start the car. Same with the Eco settings. I cannot understand why Dacia didn't set the Default to my Personal Settings 😒

I also found that the Auto Main Beam on the headlights can be annoying, and should have an easier override, but requires me to turn the auto lights off, rather than just manually dipping them.

Very good size and looks but having now used the car for 3 months I find the car operational functions extremely difficult to navigate. The internal car condition control bar is far to small and very difficult to identify which switch to push to alter conditions. The instruction writing is very faint and difficult to read. I think it is dangerous because you have to take eyes off the road to read the correct button to push. I very often operate the Hazard warning lights without knowing. Needs revamping.

Far to much computerised information and screens to operate.Also any radio information on the screen is virtually impossible to read as it is very faint.

Sorry, but this is my personal observation.

The above is spoiling what otherwise is a good vehicle.

Graham Bird.