Dacia Duster VS the desert

Sean Carson

- Sean Carson

THIS year marks a decade since the Dacia brand launched in the UK, with the firm's now-stalwart Duster model leading the charge alongside the Sandero supermini. But while the Sandero has moved to an all-new generation compared with the car that originally went on sale here, the Duster has been updated but not renewed.

We know there's a new model coming in 2024 that'll evolve Dacia's design language one step further, along with the larger Bigster SUV, but to pigeonhole the Duster as a vehicle that's not had any significant changes during its 10-year life on sale in Britain would be wrong.

In fact, one of the most important tweaks to the car came last year with the arrival of Dacia's new corporate face a revised 'link' logo in the centre of the car's updated grille, with new 'DUSTER' badging on the tailgate, all finished in an off-white shade.

It's part of a push to cement Dacia as a more lifestyle-focused brand but - somewhat unusually in the automotive world these days - not to move it upmarket. Dacia will still wholeheartedly focus on value, it says. With the latest Duster priced from £15,795, despite rising costs on the new-car market and high inflation, it's hard to argue with the firm's claims. It says it will deliver customers all the kit they need at an affordable price, not superfluous equipment they won't use. Safety systems do fall into this, which goes some way to partly explain the brand's chequered results in relatively recent Euro NCAP testing.

We won't dwell on that, because to celebrate a decade on sale in Britain we're pitching a new Duster against the Moroccan desert. It's a fitting location for our trial, because the Duster was originally launched to the press in the same environment.

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