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Quote: Originally posted by bessie500 on 01/3/2013

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I have fond memories of the horror stories from the 70"s when they were imported from Romania by a local business.
I would put my faith in a horse and cart rather than one of these.
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40 years ago?
Things may have changed

yeah 40yrs ago skoda were crap , anyone remember the kia pride ..... look at kia now, Skoda's come on leaps and bounds as well.........Very nearly as good as a ford now

 

Bessie    

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We have a/c in our present cars and rarely use it.

The only time I have enjoyed the comfort of a/c was under my Kilt on a hot day.  

The one major problem I have against the model that includes a/c, is that it also comes with electric rear windows and as the only rear "passengers" in our cars are the two dogs, electric rear windows are an absolute no no.

So the Laureat is out.

I have taken onboard everything that you have said and, for us, it looks like the 4x4 Ambiance with a few optional extras.

Quote: Originally posted by snowy747 on 02/3/2013

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Do your dogs open them then?

Ali

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Yes Ali, they do.

At the moment we own two Scenics. One has manual rear windows and the other has electric rear windows.

Several times, when in the elecric windowed car, we have been driving along at speed and a rear window has opened by one of the dogs standing on the arm rest with a paw on the window button. Fortunately there has been nothing to particularily atract his attention other than the passing scenery, but we are concerned that he may see something worth his personal attention like cattle, other dogs etc and he would be out that window in a flash, unaware of the speed we were travelling at.

I suppose we could disable these switches etc, but that car also transports people too and we have already had to disable the interior alarm because the dogs set that off too.

It is crazy to spend money on up market add ons to then spend time going round disabling all their daft systems.

Quote: Originally posted by sunshinetours on 01/3/2013

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Hi Lobey

I would be careful with going with a 4x4 for permanent car as you will have to live with not only the extra initial cost but also the extra running cost (mpg is always worse on 4x4 )

The 2 wheel drive versions are cheaper and probably more relevant for 99% of driving time

Although the tow weights are highish the kerb weight of the cars is not that large so what they could actually tow comfortably in real life is probably somehwat less so you may not find it that much better than your current car which I believe has a similar engine?

The do seem to offer great value on paper especially the base models at under £9k BUT they are a budget car for sure in all ways including residuals as mentioned

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I knew I had read somewhere about the 4x4 of the Duster not being a permanent 4WD but I couldn't remember where and did not want to bring it up until I found it again, but it is in the Honest John Review of the Dacia Duster.

It says that although a 4x4, you can lock the drive in either 2WD or 4WD or leave it in Automatic so that it will drive in 2WD and automatically go into 4WD if it senses that the front wheel drive is slipping.

Apparently this system was developed by Nissan.

Yep its quite common now on smaller "pretend" 4x4s for want of a better word (I mean not Land Rover Defenders etc) and we had it on wife's CRV (not lockable but only kicked in when needed).

Regardless, the manufacturer official figures are about 3-4 mpg worse than the equivalent 2WD version probably because of extra weight I guess

Good luck with your search and test drives

We used to have a Land Rover Disco and whilst it was good for off roading, it was a heap of sh*t for rust and collecting mud in places that could not be cleaned out easily. Typical British Engineering. Great design but cut every corner possible in construction. If I could afford it, the only Land Rover I would buy is the 101. Now that is something to drive! But at 10mpg, a little thirsty.

A 3 or 4mpg difference would not make any difference considering the difference that towing is going to make anyway considering the extra power/weight ratio that we will have.

On the Honest John website there is an excellent review, by a British guy living in Romania, of the Duster and he waxes lyrically about it, even down to its superior paintwork.

In the meantime our local garage is not expecting delivery until the 17th of March. There appears to be a shortage of test drive vehicles and a 3 month waiting time on bought cars. Sounds as if people are not waiting for test drives before buying.

The Kia Sportage diesel 4wd is £275 a year road tax and 10mpg less than the £120 a year road tax Dacia Duster. Oh and new is £10,000 dearer.

Yes I know I could buy yet another secondhand car that somebody else wants rid of for some unknown reason that I will no doubt find out about only after I have paid my money and taken my chances with, but for the first time in my life (and probably the last time in my life) I can not only afford to buy a new car, but in the Dacia, buy something that will take us anywhere we want to go and quite a few places that I would think twice about towing the FC to with a normal family car.

The Dacia has been in use for a number of years now in Europe and has good reports. It is only uknown in the UK. However, by the way it is selling over here, I doubt if it will remain unknown for long.

But thanks for your contribution.

hi

Test drove a Duster diesal the other day mid range version with Renault road show press launch. Not bad for build but handling is a bit rolly while the engine needs kicking to get it up a hill so towing anythng heavier than a folder may be a chore. Dont forget resale will be poor and Renault quality isnt the best - cheap car ok if your going to keep it for some time otherwise look elsewhere

Andy