Y

OU get what you pay for, so the saying goes. And that, by and large, is true. But sometimes, just sometimes, you can bag a bargain - something that seems to be worth more than you paid for it.

The Dacia Duster is one such bargain.

Let’s be frank up front, though - this is not a luxury car, compromises have been made, and there is a reason the very base model in the Duster range costs less than £9,500 OTR.

And yet - there is no doubt that you are getting a lot of car for your cash.

That base model is the Access SCe 115, which sports a 1.6l petrol engine, a five-speed gear box, and all the good looks of a rugged SUV.

You can upgrade that to allwheel drive for an extra grandand-a-half.

Yes - that’s a 4x4 SUV for around eleven grand. I have read the Dacia price list several times and I am sure that price is correct.

So Dacia (it’s pronounced datcha, by the way, and meant ‘home’ in ancient Romanian, so they tell me) has achieved the seemingly impossible.