More than 1,000 Dacia Dusters pre-ordered

29 Oct, 2012 1:17pm Tom Phillips

Dacia reveals that a sixth of buyers are opting for the base-spec Duster

Dacia has announced that it has received more than 1,000 pre-orders for its new Duster, three months before it officially goes on sale in the UK.

A sixth of pre-orders have been for the entry-level Duster Access model, which starts from just £8,995 and comes with 16-inch steel wheels, power steering, electric front windows and central locking.

However, more than two-thirds of buyers have ticked at least one item on the options list, and more than half of Dacia’s total pre-orders have been for the top-spec Duster Laureate, which starts from £12,995 for the two-wheel-drive model.

The high number of pre-orders - which involves paying a £100 refundable deposit - is particularly impressive considering there are currently no right-hand-drive models in the UK available to test drive.

The Duster’s success is likely to be bolstered by the arrival of the Sandero supermini, which will become the UK’s cheapest new car when it arrives in the UK in January, starting from just £5,995.

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Submitted by standard_2 on Mon, 2012-10-29 19:27.

My condolences to the buyers, dire build quality, poor safety and disgusting unpainted bumpers plus the abysmal depreciation......list goes on...

Submitted by Lagoya on Mon, 2012-10-29 20:26.

Wow, I can't believe there really are that many idiots willing to throw their money at this pile of junk. I wouldn't even take one for free lol.

Submitted by another one bites the duster on Mon, 2012-10-29 21:44.

hey lads, don't be very tough with people who buy a Duster. They understand that a car should carry you from point A to point B. The rest is just money paid for nothing. So who's smart here? I don't think the two smart as-ses who posted before.

Submitted by Paul Hitchcock on Tue, 2012-10-30 00:00.

Quite agree with "another one..........." This vehicle may be all the bad things other posters say or it may not. The point is that, at this stage, no-one can possibly know. Buyers of this vehicle are at least getting something genuinely cheap.

Submitted by Freddy the Frog on Tue, 2012-10-30 00:14.

I have had cars in the past with unpainted bumpers - and very practical they were as well. How do people KNOW the Dacia has poor safety and build quality, because journalists who have driven them don't seem to think there are any problems.

I don't see depreciation being that much of a problem either because if a Duster lost ALL its value in a year it would still only have lost as much as a new BMW 320d.

Dacia may just be able to break the UK's car snobbery where owning anything that isn't German is looked upon as something to be pitied.
A large proportion of the car buying public want something to get them around cheaply and in decent comfort.

Submitted by ionutz3d on Tue, 2012-10-30 00:28.

who's gonna offer you one? Some people need some brain. If it's cheap it doesn't mean that it's bad. Do some research and you'll find out that Dacia is known for sturdy and reliable cars. Trolls...

Submitted by Lagoya on Tue, 2012-10-30 01:24.

Thanks for the info, but I'd rather be in a wheelchair...

Submitted by Gigel Braicovici on Tue, 2012-10-30 08:27.

a good part of the entry level models in romania ditch used by farmers with hundreds of acres of land, and Romanian agricultural areas do not benefit from access roads to parcels of land, as in Germany, the country where I live .. Paths of mud ground often proves to service the car are not a problem. Duster pass 100,000 km without major damage .. Safety, who runs like crazy, with family, especially as the car is a 4x4??Dacia Duster in most of its exports to Germany Austria France is sold in full option version. Dacia Sandero sold more in germany, france, how to romania,

Submitted by flamer999 on Tue, 2012-10-30 10:42.

Ha ha, I really wonder who the dafties are, those that are slating a vehicle
that no doubt most have never even seen other then a picture / video on a
website seen let alone driven one or those people that have an open mind and are
willing to except the vehicle for what it is - a cheap reliable and believe it
or not well made and solid vehicle that will give them all they require from a
vehicle without any of the attached snobbery.

To all the trolls on here it really is simple if you don't want one don't buy
one and don't slate those that do.

Submitted by fortynproud on Tue, 2012-10-30 11:14.

I agree. Go back 23 years when the Skoda Favorit was launched. A great car, had all you needed, plus a lot of nice touches like alloys, rear spoiler, sunroof, stereo etc (all British items too), but still badge snobbery was rife. The amount of times people said to me in the supermarket carpark - 'thats a lovely looking car, what is it?', and I told them a Skoda Favorit LS, they thought I was joking and said why did I buy a Skoda, they're crap! How little they knew....

I was 17 then, and a new Favorit was my first car. It was reliable, quick, didn't rattle or shake, was comfortable etc etc. Everything the 'so-called' pub bore experts said against it was false. I loved it, and have had many more Skodas since.

Try the Dacia, you may well be surprised. Don't knock it until you've tried it, as they say! Or is the UK still the only country to worry about the badge on the front of their car!

Submitted by Dr Graham Coates Gibson on Tue, 2012-10-30 12:13.

and if you came here to where I live, Czech republic, you will still see thousands of Favorits running around in superb condition. An example in excellent condition will cost you about £150, and spare parts are everywhere and cheap. So those who slate the Duster are making the same mistake people made over Skoda, which is in the top three best car to buy in the UK, and has been for several years. Many people here have the Duster 4x4, and they say they are very satisfied and worth the money paid. It does the job, deals with our atrocious winter weather, serviced by Renault, and doesn't look too bad, either.

Submitted by J B on Tue, 2012-10-30 16:16.

each to their own, respect its your opinion, i personally wouldn't mind, Dacia is a brand that's hardly being pretentious.

Submitted by Delboy on Tue, 2012-11-20 16:28.

I have driven a left hand top of the range one at Goodwood and it seemed pretty good to me! Very good value for money Only thing is that the left hookers are made in Romania and the right hookers are coming from India (or so I am told) so until I've driven a right hander its difficult to say what its going to be like. the ones in the showrooms are top of the range European spec with leather the UK ones will not have leather! Not an option either which is a shame !
And yes I am seriously considering one!

Submitted by wrcrally on Tue, 2012-11-20 23:01.

Wonder if the poor sods know they have bought a Lada - just google Lada Granta, Sandero by a different name. Oh dear!

Submitted by nea caisa on Thu, 2012-11-22 06:54.

Yes, Delboy, the Dusters for UK will be produced in India. Hoping the Indians will have a good quality of work. But the Sanderos for UK will be produced in Romania, where the quality is already tested and very good.

Submitted by nea caisa on Thu, 2012-11-22 09:25.

ionutz, some people do not understand that, blaming a car, they are blaming, in fact, the customers and owners of that car. Duster is already a tested car, facelifted now, the only one ask in this moment being if the quality of the work in the Indian factory will be the same as the quality of the work in the Mioveni (Romanian) factory. Normally, a car meaning a Japanese (Nissan) platform and 4x4 system, a French (Renault) mechanics and the Romanian long experience in 4x4, in bad roads, and in not expensive solutions has to be a good result (and it is!). Of corse, if our fiend Lagoya are thinking that 1000 of his co-nationals were stupid ordering Duster, then he can be smart and buy an expensive car, like a BMW M5, to work in his farm, to go to fish and to go to shopping and to run that car with 20Km/h in the hard traffic in the city.