Dacia Duster Laureate Prime: A special edition that’s not very special – but my goodness, it’s cheap

An SUV with sat-nav, climate control, cruise control, electric windows and a leather steering wheel for £13,395 is frankly outrageous

Cult following: the new Dacia Duster Laureate Prime

Car manufacturers love special-edition models. They are either a way to celebrate the success of a much-loved model or boost sales of flagging one. In the case of the new Dacia Duster Laureate Prime it’s the former, as sales of Romania’s once unheard of budget brand are booming in the UK. The firm sold nearly 15,000 cars here in the first half of this year, and has established itself as one of the fastest-growing car-makers around.

The new Laureate Prime range of special editions, which is designed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Renault-owned firm’s European relaunch, are, wait for it, a whole £500 more expensive than the previous range-topping models.

That’s right, Dacia does things cheap. Very cheap. In the case of the Duster special edition that means an SUV with sat-nav, climate control, cruise control, electric windows and a leather steering wheel for £13,395, which, compared to anything Ford or Vauxhall can offer, is frankly outrageous. For an extra £2,000, the firm will even chuck in four-wheel-drive.

The Sandero hatchback is still the more popular Dacia model here, after it was made famous as Top Gear’s choice of a reasonably priced car, but it’s the Duster that has captured the Britain’s imagination as an affordable but capable rural runaround.

Its owners won’t care that the Laureate Prime edition sounds like a cheap cava brand, or that’s it’s not an exciting car to drive. It’s enough for them that the engine works smoothly (though isn’t really powerful enough for towing), the steering wheel turns the wheels effectively and the suspension soaks up the bumps on a back road out of the village. It’s a bonus that the Duster is a competent driver’s car, and it comes with the same sense of smugness as getting too much change at the bar or noticing a restaurant hasn’t charged you for pudding.

The only real problem is its appearance, which frankly is rather boxy. But that doesn’t seem to bother Duster drivers. Pull up at any Lidl and you’ll see couples loading its roomy boot with discount foodstuffs and cut-price cava. Special-edition badge or not, this car’s cult following is set to grow and grow.

Dacia Duster Laureate Prime

Price: £13,995

ENGINE Capacity 1.5-litre diesel

POWER OUTPUT (BHP @ RPM) 109 @ 4,000

TOP SPEED (MPH) 105

FUEL ECONOMY (MPG) 64.2

CO2 EMISSIONS (G/KM) 115