When the Dacia range of cars were introduced to Ireland in 2012, the Duster was the first model that we tested. It was followed by the Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Logan MCV. Two years ago saw the arrival of the Jogger.
Thirteen years ago, Dacia were advertising the Duster as being ‘shockingly affordable’ with a starting price of €14,990 for the 1.2-litre petrol version.
It was good time to launch an inexpensive brand as our economy was struggling following the demise of the Celtic Tiger. The Irish economy has seen a few ups and downs since then, but now in 2025 the third generation of the Duster is still ‘shockingly affordable’ with prices starting at €25,990.
Dacia’s no-frills approach is still evident. The entry level Essential model, which starts at €25,990, has no infotainment screen and you will have to make do with a neat cradle on the dash where you can place your smart phone if you want to access Sat Nav.
YouClip is a new six-point attachment system from Dacia that allows you attach your phone, or various others small items to various spots in the cabin.
You have to move up to the Expression version, which starts at €28,390 to get a seven-inch display screen and ten-inch infotainment screen.
When I picked up the keys of the car, the first thing that struck me was it was a six-gear manual version. After driving electric cars for several weeks, it was strange to get back into a manual version. But I always think that manual gearboxes keep you more alert while driving.
I drove a 1.2-litre Cedar Green-coloured 4×4 Extreme version which will cost you €34,840. It had very loud reversing sensors and you certainly won’t touch any other cars when parking. I enjoyed the high driving position and the 4×4 version would work well in rugged terrain as it has very good ground clearance.
In the cabin, black is the dominant colour, except for a few touches of grey on the seats. There is a lot of plastic, including the floor mats, but the A/C controls are old style buttons and easy to use. It’s available in petrol, mild hybrid and LPG, which is unusual for Ireland, but no diesel.
In the back there is plenty of room for three well-built adults. Boot space is decent at 478 litres, but that drops to 414 litres in the 4×4 versions. And no spare wheel, for that rugged terrain!
Yes, the Duster is still ‘shockingly affordable,’ but you will have to spend a bit more than the entry level price to get any bit of luxury. But it ‘does what it says on the tin’ and you cannot expect much luxury for €26K these days.
The Duster has impressed jurors all over Europe and it was one of the seven finalists for European Car of the Year, which was won by parent company Renault for the second year in-a-row, with their Renault 5 EV. It has been said that with this new Duster, Dacia has successfully moved away from being a cheap carmaker while still being a maker of cheap cars.
Dacia has also launched the cheapest electric car on sale in Ireland right now. It’s called Spring, with a starting price of €16,990. I will have a review of the Dacia Spring later in the spring. Later this year, Dacia are bringing in their Bigster which as the name suggests, will be the biggest SUV in the Dacia range.
