Hello everybody! I'm in Provence, France, to test Dacia Duster - Romania’s national pride - now in a restyled
and a better than ever version. This car has had a lot of attention from the media
and from you, the public, so you know for sure the changes that were made,
but let's see how they are really felt and how the new 1.2-liter TCe engine feels
and whether the ergonomics changes that were made ​​are indeed welcomed.
For start, let's see how the 1.2 TCe accelerates. It reaches 100 km/h in 10.4 seconds.
This engine is turbocharged and has four cylinders. It develops 125 PS/HP and a maximum torque of 205 Nm
from 2,000 RPM. It has a chain distribution, 16v,
and it feels great on Duster. Firstly, it is very quiet and is able to transmit a proper dynamic to this SUV.
1.2 TCe is now available with only 4x2 WD, and starting with 2015 the 4x4 WD will be also available.
There are few details that you immediately notice once you get in the car, close the door,
and get ready to start. First, it is the soundproofing. The car is now better
soundproofed and the annoying noises, including the aerodynamic and the rolling ones
were significantly reduced. The Dacia officials say that they put new seals and the toneau cover
is no longer made of fabric, but of a rigid panel that keeps the noise out there in the trunk
so it does not come out as easily as before, here, in the cabin.
There is good news that all Dacia fans and owners have been waiting for a long time.
Now, the buttons for opening and closing the windows are placed here on the door and each of doors
has such a button. For the driver it now even have an impulse command for up and down.
Another detail would be the seats. They somehow have been redesigned. Now they are more comfortable,
provide a better lateral support, and it seems to me that they are a bit softer than before.
The leather upholstery, which is optional, as the one in the car that I am in right now,
has been redesigned – it now looks of a slightly better quality
and inclusively on the doors you can observe a new type of upholstery.
Also, Duster can now be equipped with rear parking sensors and it also has an indicator
for the outside temperature on the top version, Laureate.
Of course, the most waited news is regarding the multimedia. Now Duster is equipped with
Media Nav, which is a very, very good thing. Priced at 300 Euros as an endowment,
plus 100 euro for the map of Europe, it is clearly the most affordable integrated navigation system
that you can buy for any new car, but I have some comments about it cause the position
On Duster is very low and when you want to look on the map
you have to take your eyes completely off the road and you no longer have the road in the visual field,
so it's very, very easy to get into an unforeseen or limit situation.
I asked the Dacia guys why they set so low the Media Nav - it could easily be positioned at least 5-7 cm higher -
but they say that is because of the piping from air vents
that don’t allow the screen to be installed in a proper position. There are no plans to change it.
All of us who came here in France to test the car reported this issue, this lack of visual ergonomics,
but until the next generation of Duster you should not expect any changes.
The off road performances are as good as before. The attack angle is 29.3 degrees, the clearance angle is 34.9 degrees
and ground clearance is 210 mm (21 cm).
Along with this facelift I observed a repositioning of the exhaust at the 4x4 diesel versions.
Before, the final silencer was under the rear bumper, less likely to be hit, but now it is
unfortunately placed right under the car, in a rather exposed position.
Altogether, Duster has visibly evolved and it is probably the best Dacia car that you can buy as we speak.