To remember
SUV familial
100 hp petrol / LPG engine
From € 12 490
No penalty
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Years go by, and the success of Duster cannot be denied. The Franco-Romanian SUV remains constantly in the top 20 of sales in France, with the main assets of a successful style and a very competitive price / performance ratio. In its market segment, it sells better than its “cousin” the Renault Kadjar and is only ahead, from a commercial point of view, by Peugeot (3008/5008) and Citroën (C5 Aircross) productions.
Always concerned to preserve the purchasing power of its customers, Dacia has long been a follower of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, or LPG, fuel whose economic interest is no longer to be demonstrated with an average price, at the time we publish this test, of € 0.83 per liter, i.e. € 0.42 less than for SP 95.
Until last year, the “gas” Duster was powered by an atmospheric 1.6 115hp 4-cylinder block that did not stand out for its performance or its sobriety. This now gives way to a very modern 999 cc turbocharged three-cylinder unit, and this version has the advantage of being displayed at the same price as the 1.0 TCe which, with the same engine, is afflicted with a varying penalty from 50 to 190 € depending on the level of finish.
The Duster GPL escapes this surcharge, and adds to that a total or partial exemption from registration fees depending on the region. Another strong point is a “factory” installation, which provides the same 3-year / 100,000 km warranty as the other models in the Dacia range.
Under the hood, the 1.0 TCe block gains 10 Nm of torque by “LPG-ising”. Unfortunately, these Nm vanish instantly upon acceleration. The LPG version returns 1.9 seconds to the petrol version in the exercise of the 1000 meters standing start (i.e. 36.2 s against 34.3), after having conceded 7 tenths in the first 400 meters (19.5 s against 18.8s).
You will object to us with reason that one does not buy a Duster to make the zouave between two red lights, and that the level of overall performance remains entirely acceptable within the framework of the peaceful use to which the doomed contraption.
The fact remains that this family-oriented vehicle will often have to evolve with children, weapons and luggage on board. It will thus be necessary to regularly play the gear lever to restart the mechanics in the climbs. And in the straight lines, where the needle of the tachometer points to 3,400 rpm when moving at 130 km / h regulatory, we would appreciate having a sixth report to lower noise level and consumption.
Consumptions which amounted to 7.2 l / 100km of unleaded and 8.9 l of LPG at the end of our test (the energy efficiency of the gas is lower), reasonable values which allow us to hope for a range of action total greater than 1000 km. We regret in passing that the transplant of the dual-fuel system is accompanied by the removal of the “average consumption” function on the on-board computer.
On the road, we find the qualities of the Duster: the steering offers good consistency, the braking is biting and the suspensions, perfectly calibrated for a Romanian road network of uncertain quality (as the editorial team had seen during ‘a great road trip dedicated to the brand), offer good comfort by erasing the pavement connections very effectively. So much the better, because the seats lack softness.
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