The Dacia Duster has been among the most successful cars of recent times. The Compact SUV from the Romanian car maker is also sold under Renault moniker in a few countries and has been bringing in quite a few customers to the European auto brand.
The Renault Duster/Dacia Duster has won a lot of accolades from media and the recent addition to heap of awards is that of the Car of the Year 2013 award from CarBuyer.co.uk.
The website is mighty impressed with the value for money proposition that the Compact SUV offers. It said that the Dacia Duster has the style, space and comfort of cars that generally retail for almost twice as much. The Dacia Duster overcame stiff competition from the new Skoda Octavia and SEAT Leon.
The flagship variant of the SUV, the Duster Laureate, also bagged the Best 4×4 award. The Duster flagship impressed the jury with its high equipment levels, good off-road manners and a price tag of just £14,995. Yet another award that Dacia took home is the Buyer’s Award. Dacia scored highly because of its transparent pricing and no-haggling policy.
CarBuyer rated all new cars that were launched in UK in 2012 on the basis of value for money, reliability, practicality, comfort and how well they drive. Other winners include the new Skoda Octavia (Best Family Car), Mazda 6 (Best Large Family Car and Best Estate Car) and the Ford Fiesta (Best Small Car).
Full list of winners
Car of the Year – Dacia Duster
Best Executive Car – BMW 3 Series
Best 4×4 – Dacia Duster Laureate
Best City Car – Skoda Citigo
Best Family Car – Skoda Octavia
Best Estate Car – Mazda 6 Tourer
Best MPV – SEAT Alhambra
Best Hot Hatchback – Suzuki Swift Sport
Best Small Car – Ford Fiesta
Best Coupe – Toyota GT 86
Best Large Executive Car – BMW 5 Series
Best Large Family Car – Mazda 6
Best Convertible – Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet
Best Luxury Car – Range Rover
Best Hybrid/Electric Car – Vauxhall Ampera
Buyer’s Award – Dacia