Dacia Duster – Engines, performance & drive

There are three engine options in the latest Dacia Duster, starting with a 99bhp 1.0-litre LPG-powered Bi-Fuel motor in entry-level Essential trim. Unless you live near a filling station with such fuel, you’ll probably be better off with the more potent 128bhp 1.2-litre petrol. There’s also an on-trend full-hybrid model with 138bhp that’s the most efficient Duster in the range. 

On the whole, the Duster is a comfortable and easy-to-drive small SUV. It can’t hold a candle to the Ford Puma and SEAT Arona when it comes to handling, but doesn’t mind being chucked around some bends – it’s surprisingly good on a twistier road actually. But where the Duster really stands apart from more expensive rivals is its off-road ability. 

Like most small SUVs, the Dacia Duster is front-wheel drive as standard, however a four-wheel drive system is available on the TCe 130 mild-hybrid petrol engine, which can handle more arduous terrain than your standard muddy farm track or boggy festival car park.

The Duster 4x4 also gets a slightly taller ride height, 217mm of ground clearance, drive modes for handling snow, mud/sand and general off-roading, plus hill descent control (which works in forward or reverse) which keeps the car moving at 5mph. 

Approach and departure angles have been improved, and the 4x4’s drive system can alter power between the axles for steep descents or precarious climbs. We tried the Duster 4x4 and were amazed at the obstacles it could conquer – even on normal all-season tyres. 

The infotainment screen readout showing the car’s slip angles and off-road settings is helpful, although we’d like the front camera (as with the rear) to have a higher resolution in order to spot obstacles better. We managed to get the Duster to a 25-degree side angle, although we were told that during the Duster’s testing, an angle of 40 degrees could be possible – five more than a Mercedes G-Class.

What is the Dacia Duster like to drive? 

In town

The Dacia Duster is still an urban-friendly SUV thanks to its light steering and a tight turning circle of just 10.86 metres. Visibility is also decent despite the shallow windscreen, although we would prefer a larger rear window, which would help when reversing.

The ride is sensibly set up for comfort (with one eye on having plenty of suspension travel for off-roading) rather than providing any driver-focused dynamism. That said, the suspension can come unstuck over larger bumps and holes in the road, occasionally making you feel disconnected from the road. 

The best choice for pottering around town is the Duster Hybrid, which always uses the e-motor to move away from a standstill, and with up to 205Nm of torque on tap, it makes the car feel surprisingly zippy. Dacia says this version can spend up to 80 per cent of the time driving in EV mode, and have no reason to question that based on our testing. 

On A- and B-roads

At 1,300kg, the Dacia Duster weighs the same as the old one, but on the move, you’ll notice that the Duster feels a little more substantial and grown-up behind the wheel.

There’s some noticeable body lean if you start throwing the Duster into some corners at higher speeds, but it does so in a progressive and predictable manner, while a decent amount of grip means you have the confidence to maintain your pace. The steering is accurate enough for a family SUV, but you’ll soon realise that scything along a B road is not where Dacia's talents lie.

On the motorway

On a motorway cruise, we found the Duster’s overall refinement to be pretty decent, though wind noise is more intrusive than we’d like and the ride struggles to settle down on uneven road surfaces, which at times can cause occupants to be jostled in their seats. 

0-62mph acceleration and top speed

The mild-hybrid 1.2-litre TCe 130 is our pick of the Dacia Duster engine range, and in front-wheel drive form, it manages the 0-62mph sprint in 9.9 seconds. We think it’s well-suited to the Duster, with its 128bhp output delivering just enough performance to avoid making the car feel sluggish. But while it’ll rev to over 6,000rpm, there’s very little reason to thrash it that much because there isn’t much top-end shove.  Adding four-wheel drive increases the 0-62mpg run to 11 seconds.

Despite the extra power, the hybrid is slightly slower from 0-62mph, taking 10.1 seconds. It uses a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine mated to an electric motor and a starter-generator for a total output of 138bhp. The full hybrid only comes with the automatic gearbox that takes a little longer than we’d like to shift up when we’re trying to accelerate hard. Other times, it kicks down several gears at the faintest touch of the throttle. Fortunately, the gear changes are smooth, as is the handover between the e-motor and petrol engine.

If you go for the entry-level Essential, you’ll get the 99bhp 1.0-litre TCe three-cylinder petrol. We’re yet to try it in the latest Duster, but the 14-second 0-62mph sprint suggests it might not be the version to get if you regularly tackle motorway journeys or have to take a car load of people up steep hills.