What is it?

To start with, it’s the outgoing model. Amusingly, halfway through my week-long loan, Dacia pulled the covers off the all-new Duster. Typical timing. Still, the new one doesn’t arrive until later this year, so this version remains very relevant — especially if you fancy grabbing a bargain before the shiny new thing lands in the dealerships.

Originally founded in 1968 and later revived by Renault Group in 2004, Dacia has built its reputation on offering honest, value-for-money motoring by raiding the Renault parts bin. Now, that might sound a bit sketchy at first, but in reality it works brilliantly. Think of it as getting proven mechanicals without paying for unnecessary fluff and fashionable nonsense.

The Duster itself has been a huge success story. In its 13-year career it’s picked up more than 40 awards, sold over 2.2 million units worldwide, and became Europe’s best-selling SUV in the retail market in 2022. Around 1,000 Dusters roll off the production line every single day at Dacia’s factory in Pitesti, Romania — roughly one every minute. That’s quicker than your mate making excuses after getting stuck on a green lane.

On the road

The 150bhp 1.3-litre petrol engine is surprisingly lively and gives the Duster a proper turn of pace. It feels confident when overtaking tractors, dawdling caravans, or someone doing 38mph in a national speed limit zone because “it’s a bit bendy.”

However, all that oomph does bring a healthy dose of torque steer. Put your foot down on a damp B-road and the steering wheel has a little wrestle with you. Worth remembering too, this is the front-wheel-drive model. The 4WD version, with its more sophisticated rear suspension setup, feels noticeably more composed.

The steering itself is very light. Around town that’s excellent, making parking and manoeuvring effortless, but when you start pressing on through corners there’s not a great deal of feel coming back through the wheel. Add in the torque steer and things can occasionally get a bit lively — and not always in the entertaining way.

Still, perspective is important here. This is a £22k SUV using older Renault underpinnings, not a BMW M car wearing hiking boots. Around town the Duster is genuinely comfortable, helped by its soft suspension, sensible 17-inch wheels and tyres with actual sidewalls — a refreshing change from modern SUVs riding around on rubber bands.

Motorway driving is pleasantly relaxed too. Stick the cruise control or speed limiter on and it settles into a comfortable rhythm with impressively low wind, tyre and road noise. Some surfaces do create a bit of cabin boom, but overall it’s a refined affair, helped by the acoustic windscreen.

This particular version turned out to be quite a laugh over the course of the week, and after mixed driving it returned a respectable 40.4mpg. Not bad at all for a petrol SUV that doesn’t weigh as much as a small moon.

Interior

As I’ve mentioned before, the Duster has pretty much everything most people actually need. Four electric windows, cruise control, speed limiter, air conditioning, decent passenger space and a generous boot. No, the cabin isn’t dripping in expensive materials and yes, much of it is made from hard plastic — but honestly, who sits at traffic lights stroking the dashboard wishing it was wrapped in hand-stitched leather? Exactly.

There are some nicer touches though. The front door armrests get fabric trim, while the steering wheel is finished in soft leather and feels surprisingly pleasant in your hands. Everything inside also feels designed to survive muddy dogs, wet coats and the sort of abuse family life throws at a car. Which, frankly, suits Mud Life readers down to the ground.

The seats are easy to wipe down too, although it took me an embarrassingly long time to find the heated seat switches, which are mounted low down on the seats themselves. Handy once you find them. Like discovering the TV remote down the side of the sofa.

From the driver’s seat, the layout is straightforward and refreshingly sensible. Proper physical heater controls are present and correct — praise be. You also get a 12v socket, two USB ports up front and another two in the rear.

The 8” infotainment screen is neatly integrated rather than looking like someone glued an iPad onto the dashboard five minutes before launch. It includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, DAB radio plus Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Even the entry-level Essential trim comes with rear parking sensors, while stepping up to Expression trim adds a reversing camera. Journey trim then throws in four multiview cameras, although the image quality won’t exactly have GoPro sweating.

The only real gripe during our time with the Duster involved the passenger-side windscreen wiper. Its sweep is too low, and because the passenger seat sits fairly high, visibility in heavy rain becomes surprisingly poor. Muddy Madam was less than impressed and spent much of one wet journey peering through a tiny clear patch like a submarine commander.

Boot space comes in at a useful 445 litres, although opting for the £300 full-size spare wheel does eat into that slightly. Personally though, a proper spare wheel is an absolute no-brainer — especially if you venture beyond supermarket car parks.

Conclusion

The Duster has built itself a loyal fanbase, and it’s easy to understand why. During a single 15-minute trip to the shops I counted eight of them, either driving about or parked proudly on people’s drives.

Its ride and handling lean heavily towards comfort rather than sharp dynamics, and yes, there’s a bit of body roll through tighter bends along with that enthusiastic torque steer. But none of it stops the Duster being genuinely enjoyable in its own slightly scruffy, loveable way.

Overall, the Duster massively overdelivers for the money. It may sit on an older Clio-based platform and use plenty of recycled Renault components, but if those bits still work properly, why reinvent the wheel? Sometimes simple, honest engineering is exactly what people want.

And in a world where many modern SUVs cost the same as a small semi-detached house in the North, there’s something rather refreshing about a car that just gets on with the job without trying to impress the neighbours.