Is the Dacia Duster the UK's best value car? We tested it in Tayside

Way back in 2012 the original Dacia Duster won the Scottish Car of the Year Award.

Back then it cost from just £9,000, making it by far the cheapest SUV available in the UK. Millions were sold worldwide and they’ve become one of the most popular cars in Scotland.

A dozen years on, I was excited to find out what the third generation of the Duster was like.

The first thing I noticed when the Duster arrived at my home in Dundee is how stylish it is. Dacia’s designers have done an excellent job of creating a car that looks both rugged and modern. It doesn’t look downmarket or dowdy when parked next to other family SUVs such as the Seat Ateca and Skoda Karoq.

Launched late last year, the third-generation Dacia Duster is available with a 130hp, 1.2 litre three-cylinder petrol engine, or as a non-plugin hybrid that pairs a 1.6 litre petrol engine with an electric motor and battery.

Oddy, the pure petrol is the only Duster available with four-wheel drive and the hybrid is the only one available as an automatic.

The 4×4 Duster is surprisingly capable off-road but unless you need to hit the dirt often the hybrid is the one to go for. It’s more powerful, smoother, more economical and more modern. And two-wheel drive Dacia Dusters still have enough ground clearance to get you up a rutted farm track.

How much does the Dacia Duster cost?

Everything costs more in 2025 than it did in 2012 and you can no longer buy a Dacia Duster for nine grand. However, with prices starting at a little over £18,000 it is still astonishing value for money.

The Skoda Karoq starts at just under £30,000, with the Seat Ateca costing more than £28,000 and the Nissan Qashqai coming in at £30,000.

My hybrid version came in mid-spec Journey trim and cost a touch over £26,000. It had most of the creature comforts you could want, including keyless entry, a wireless phone charger, reversing camera, and plenty of USB ports for charging. It also came with a false floor in the boot that’s useful for stashing muddy gear.

We took the Dacia Duster to Carrbridge for the weekend. Setting off from Dundee, its light steering made the city’s streets easy to navigate. The hybrid system means that at low speeds the car often goes about its business in electric mode.

Driving the Duster in Highland Perthshire

On the A9 at 60mph it isn’t as quiet and refined as a Mazda CX-30 or a Hyundai Tucson, but then it is only about two-thirds of the price. There’s a modicum of wind and road noise but nothing particularly intrusive.

Ride quality is very impressive. As we got off the A9 and onto the backroads around Aviemore the Duster soaked up bumps and undulations very nicely.

The Dacia Duster can handle a bit of off roading.

The Duster has a 0-62mph time of around 10 seconds, giving it a decent enough turn of speed. It’s frugal too – official fuel economy is 55mpg and I averaged around 49mpg during my week with the car.

What is the Dacia Duster like inside?

The driving position is high up giving a good view of the road. Meanwhile, plenty of adjustment makes it easy to find a comfortable driving position.

Dacia earns a gold star for installing proper physical controls for the heating system instead of making you fiddle around with a touchscreen.

The infotainment system is used for what it should be – changing the radio and so on. It’s a bit slower and less responsive than the best rivals’ systems but you get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so most people will just mirror their phone’s controls.

Our four-month old daughter didn’t complain about legroom in the back and with good reason – she’s tiny and can’t talk. However, all but very tall adults will be fine back there, with ample levels of leg and head room on offer.

At 517 litres boot space is excellent and it can lug more gear around than some bigger cars.

Since the Duster came on the scene a couple of other budget options such as the MG ZS and KGM Tivoli have sprung up. And it’s true that a lot of people lease their cars nowadays and there are some great deals to be had.

But the Dacia Duster retains its title as the country’s best value SUV. In a world where everything seems to cost a fortune it’s great to know there’s a car that offers so much for so little.