With a 150 hp engine, a double-clutch gearbox and a price that flirts with € 23,000, the Duster 1.3 TCe 150 explores new frontiers, increasingly distant from the “low cost” concept. Good idea ?
Test car: Dacia Duster 1.3 TCe 150 EDC Prestige
|
From€ 22,700
€ 240 penalty
|
If the Dacia Duster remains a symbol of the “low cost” automobile with its prices starting at € 14,990, it has since its origins played a more statutory role than the other models of the Romanian brand. First because of its nature as an SUV, then thanks to its more rewarding style than that of the Logan and Sandero. Moreover, it has always sold mainly in its best equipped finishes.
The second-generation Duster, launched in 2018 and restyled in 2021, has strengthened its status by adopting mechanics as modern as those of Renault, like the excellent 1.3 TCe petrol engine available in 130 and 150 hp . The most powerful version that interests us here is associated as standard with the EDC dual-clutch gearbox, a transmission that only made a brief appearance on the Duster (in 2017 on the Duster 1 dCi 110). It remains to be seen whether the most powerful of Duster with its modern EDC gearbox, it is able to successfully explore these new territories at the frontiers of a certain automotive “luxury”.
Dacia Duster price
If the Duster TCe 150 EDC is entering a new niche, it is not the most expensive of the Duster, this “privilege” remaining with the dCi 115 4X4 version offered at € 500 more expensive. Note that although all-wheel drive does exist on the TCe 150 (with manual gearbox), it is not available in France except through peripheral distribution channels. The additional cost of the automatic system is difficult to calculate since the TCe 150 is not offered in a manual gearbox, unlike the TCe 130. However, the difference compared to the latter amounts to € 2,300, a very attractive price. given the small performance gap between the two versions but we will come back to this. Available only in the two best-equipped finishes (Comfort at € 21,150 and Prestige at € 22,700), the Duster TCe 150 must be equipped with air conditioning, fog lights and a touch screen. Note that the ecological penalty is there, but remains moderate at 240 € in 2022.
Driving
If the Duster uses Renault technologies, it has many specificities, starting with the 150 hp version of the 1.3 TCe and especially the six-speed version of the EDC, while the Losange has gone to seven reports on all its models. automated. The Romanian SUV is also not equipped with micro-hybridization like the Arkana 1.3 TCe. This results in very different driving sensations, marked by the length of the final transmission ratio. Those who hoped that the light Duster turns into a GTI thanks to its 150 hp will be at their expense. In all circumstances, it favors the upper gear in order to lower consumption, which sometimes leads to jerks, especially at low speed in traffic jams. Its performance figures confirm this: the difference is only two tenths of a second with the TCe 130 hp at 1000 m from standing start. The transmission also reinforces the turbo effect of the 1.3 TCe, quite marked around 2000 rpm.
You can sometimes be surprised by the surge of power and make the wheels wax without really having wanted to. Too bad because flexibility and progressiveness are usually the qualities of this four-cylinder engine. This Duster therefore rather appreciates a peaceful driving, but it must be recognized that these settings promote consumption: it seems difficult to exceed 8 l / 100 km even in active driving, while it is perfectly possible to drop to 5.2 l / 100 km on the expressway between 90 and 110 km / h. A truly excellent score for what remains a gasoline SUV with automatic transmission. Note, however, that our model totaled 6,000 km, a rare mileage for a test car.
For the rest, the Duster remains true to itself by offering rather comfortable suspensions and a very satisfactory road behavior, even in the wet. The noise level of the 1.3 TCe is higher than on the equivalent Renault, but remains very bearable: in short, this Dacia is cut to line up the kilometers and really competes with the diesel version.
Inside the Duster Prestige
Competetion
At € 22,700, the tarof of the Duster 1.3 TCe 150 ch EDC Prestige is similar to general manufacturers. We find, for example, at Citroën a rival billed 23,950 €: it is the C3 Aircross Puretech 130 EAT6 in Feel Pack endowment with equipment comparable to that of the Dacia. Although smaller, the Citroën however benefits from a much more advanced modularity, more comfortable damping and more careful soundproofing which clearly leave room for hesitation. We should also mention the Suzuki Vitara 1.4 Boosterjet Privilège, billed at € 26,590. It is, however, a smaller and less livable SUV, but much better equipped than the Romanian. Once is not customary, the Duster therefore faces competitors!
Find the test report, the technical sheet and the equipment on the next page.
