Dacia Duster review - Reliability & safety

Dacia doesn’t perform particularly impressively in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey – in 2023 it came in 26th place out of 32 manufacturers, but it’s worth noting that it performed better than parent company Renault, which came in 29th place. Across the board, Dacia’s reliability ratings were slightly worse than average, with 26% of Dacia owners reporting an issue with their car in the first year.

It’s a very different story for the previous-generation Dacia Duster, however, because that car specifically came in an impressive fourth place out of the top 75 cars in the survey. Unsurprisingly, it came in first place in ratings for value for money, and it was also praised for its infotainment system, a category in which it placed second. A second-place finish for fuel economy and running costs was also impressive. While this may be an all-new generation, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it builds on that previous model’s accomplishments and more.
 

How safe is the Dacia Duster?

A Dacia sticking point has often been its lack of standard safety kit, both to keep costs down and ensure simplicity. The latest Duster does get notably more safety kit than before, including autonomous emergency braking, traffic-sign recognition (which we found worked brilliantly), a speed-limit alert, lane departure warning, lane keep assist and a driver attention alert. If you prefer to drive without these systems, each can be individually turned off.

The Dacia Duster is yet to be tested by Euro NCAP, and the previous model’s poor one-star result may be worrying for many buyers, but there’s a chance the aforementioned safety kit will improve that score this time around.
 

What are the Dacia Duster service intervals?

Dacia says service intervals vary depending on the model and engine, and these are yet to be confirmed for the latest Duster. The 1.0-litre engine used on other models is recommended to be serviced every 12 months or 10,000 miles, however, while the hybrid drivetrain also used in the Jogger is recommended one service within the same time period, but with an 18,000-mile cap. We recommend checking this directly with Dacia for specific confirmed information relating to your model and engine, however.

What is the warranty on the Dacia Duster?

In the second quarter of 2024, Dacia announced an impressive and competitive new ‘Zen’ warranty that covers its models for up to seven years or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first. While that’s a very strong warranty, beating the industry standard of around three years’ cover, it’s not quite as strong as Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, or Toyota’s warranty of up to ten years or 100,000 miles, so long as you keep servicing it with authorised dealers. Hyundai’s five-year warranty is also impressive, and there’s no mileage limit.