Polished performance Dacia

POLISHED PERFORMANCE

The Dacia Duster leads the SUV field, now the Dacia Duster 4X4 Commercial has been named the best 4X4 van for the third year running at the 2108 ‘What Van?’ publication awards. Dacia’s Logan MCV is also taking the market by storm in what is probably the most difficult year to date for the automotive industry, as Philip Yorke reports.

Dacia is Romania’s largest and most successful auto manufacturer. In 1968 the first Dacia1100 car was produced under licence from Renault. Following privatisation, its remarkable success resulted in Renault purchasing 51 per cent of the company’s share capital. Today Renault holds 99.43 per cent of Dacia’s equity.

Since 2004, Dacia has introduced eight new vehicles to the market including the Sandero, Sandero Stepway, Logan MCV 4X4 Commercial and the Duster. The Dacia Duster remains the number one selling car for Renault worldwide.

At Mioveni, Romania, located 80 miles north-west of Bucharest, Dacia operates one of Europe’s biggest vehicle manufacturing plants for Renault. To date the total investments made by Renault in Automobile Dacia exceed €2.5 billion. This has resulted in it gaining the position of the biggest single contributor to the Romanian economy. Today Automobile Dacia also has the highest turnover of any company in Romania. Its mission is to produce an exciting range of robust, reliable and accessible vehicles for the domestic and overseas markets, in keeping with Renault’s highest quality standards.

Dacia’s on-going success is due to its unsurpassed ratio of innovation, price, quality, modern facilities and reliability. More than 93 per cent of the output of Dacia’s Mioveni Vehicle plant in Romania is destined for export markets worldwide.

Firm grip on the market

The new Dacia Duster Commercial 4X4 has retained its firm grip on the 4X4 van market, by winning the honour of being the best 4X4 available, according to the 2018 ‘What Van?’ publication awards. Based upon the renowned technology of the Dacia Duster, the most affordable new SUV in the UK, the vehicle took the title again after impressing the judges with its rugged, go-anywhere capability and its unrivalled value. The new Duster 4X4 Commercial is priced from just £11,795 excluding VAT.

The latest Dacia Duster 4X4 Commercial combines the driveability and comfort of an award-winning SUV with a 1604-litre maximum load capacity with low P11D cost, as well as many other financial benefits thanks to its LCV status. Louise O’Sullivan, head of Dacia UK, said, “It’s fantastic to see the Duster Commercial retain its crown, especially when competing against much more expensive rivals. The win underlines how Dacia is not only out in front when it comes to providing passenger car buyers with an award-winning, ‘no-nonsense’ product, but is also doing the same for cost-conscious LCV customers who need a vehicle that is dependable and highly capable on and off road.”

The Dacia Duster Commercial 4X4 has a flat load area in lieu of rear seats and a payload of 550kg. Available in two different trim levels, Ambiance and Laureate, the Duster Commercial 4X4 also receives blue tooth connectivity, electric front windows and a heated rear screen. These features apply even on entry-level models. The Laureate version adds special features such as cruise control, leather steering wheel, alloy wheels, air-conditioning, and electric heated door mirrors.

Small is beautiful

The Dacia Sandero has been voted the ‘Best Small Car’ in the UK for less than £12,000, for the fifth consecutive year running at an awards ceremony held by UK’s leading automotive publication, ‘What Car?’ in London earlier this year.

Having undergone a series of updates for the 2018 model, the successful ‘Supermini’ has taken the honours yet again. The Sandero’s ability to provide a class-leading mix of practicality, comfort and low running costs is enhanced by its remarkably affordable price-tag of just £5995, which is just half the amount of the category in which it competes.

Steve Huntingford, Editor, ‘What Car?’ said: “You won’t find this much space for so little in any other new car. A recent facelift brought an updated, higher-quality interior. The Sandero also feels better to drive. The handling is tidy and the ride is surprisingly comfy for such a cheap car. You can buy a new Sondero for less

than £6000, however we recommend spending a little more to get the mid-range ambience trim. This adds niceties such as air-conditioning, central locking, electric front windows, a DAB radio and Bluetooth. It also replaces the standard black plastic bumpers with body-coloured ones that look a lot smarter.”

The new Dacia Sandero is a five-door hatchback, available in three trim levels with a choice of two petrol and one diesel engine. The Dacia brand continues to go from strength to strength with more than 27,000 new Dacia vehicles sold in the UK alone last year.

one step ahead

In March this year, Dacia unveiled its new Logan MCV Stepway at the Geneva Motor Show. The distinctively rugged version of the new Logan MCV Stepway follows in the footsteps of the new Sandero Stepway. This is the fifth member of the Dacia UK range, and is available at just £11,495.

The new Logan Stepway boasts a muscular style finish with flared wheel arches, roof-rails, and a ground clearance of 174mm. It maintains the same impressive boot space of 573 litres (VDA), which is one of the largest amongst this market segment. The new Logan MCV Stepway is available in ‘Laureate’ trim, which offers a high specification as standard.

At the front end of the new model, there is a distinctive two-tone bumper as well as a satin-effect chrome skid plate, plus the fitment of special fog lights. This model also incorporates Dacia’s new lighting signature that was unveiled at last year’s Paris motor Show, with headlights that incorporate LED daytime running Lights (DRL) in the form of stacked rectangles. This modern design results in a visibly wider, more purposeful look for the front end of the new Logan MCV Stepway. n

For further details of Dacia’s latest range of innovative passenger and commercial vehicles visit: www.daciagroup.com