New York Times Dubs Dacia "Europe's Hottest Car"

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Top Gear and TTAC have been at the forefront of giving you your dose of Dacia developments for some time now, propelled by my strange obsession with this obscure Romanian brand of budget car. Now, Dacia is getting its 15 minutes of North American coverage, with a New York Times feature touting Dacia as “Europe’s Hottest Car”.

The NYT article is more of a primer on Dacia and its origins than an in-depth examination. If you’ve been keeping up with our extensive coverage of Dacia (all three of you), you’ll be familiar with what’s covered.

I’ve long felt that the story of Dacia is one that is congruent with the “big tent” approach we take at TTAC in examining the social, political and economic implications of cars and the auto industry. The Dacia story goes beyond that, branching into the after-effects of colonialism, immigration, outsourcing and emerging economies. It’s symbolic of economic bifurcation of much of the West, where the high and the low ends are growing, while the middle is simultaneously being hollowed out.

And it’s also another notch on the scoreboard for simple, unpretentious transportation, an endangered species in a world of government-mandated active safety systems, “connected cars” and an overall epidemic of complexity. One Dacia buyer sums it up perfectly, telling the NYT

“I like the Dacia ethos, it fits in with my own mind-set. It’s simple, no-nonsense value for money. A niche the big manufacturers have failed to fill.”

I agree wholeheartedly.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • TonyJZX TonyJZX on Dec 20, 2013

    for some markets the Duster has no 'pidgeon hole' eg. we have the Nissan Qashkai and Kia Sportage and Hyundai ix35 Walking Dead edition for around $25k starting i'm sure these three leave the Duster for dead in just about every metric possible Nissan or Renault would have to sell the Duster at $20k and yet... why? surely if you can afford a $20k Duster you can afford a $25k Nissan Dualis/Qashkai? $20k is where the Chinese are playing the Japanese and Koreans like to have a lower bar where people need to be to afford their products i'm talking about certain western markets here where there's a high level of protectionism dont get me wrong, i like the Duster but it is clearly deficient in many areas but I think this Duster is due for a "Series 2" soon where they get updated Nissan engines and interior trims

    • Marcelo de Vasconcellos Marcelo de Vasconcellos on Dec 20, 2013

      Hey! In Brazil we already get all those cars, except the Nissan. The step up from an EcoSport or Duster is much steeper though, something like 15 to 20 k USD. Here, closer in value to the Renault and Ford would be a Mitsubishi TR4 and Hyundai Tucson (yes the old generation still built here). However, those two or don't have the mindshare of Renault and Ford and do scare some people away from them with worries over maintenance. At 25k USD, the Duster and EcoSport appeal to those moderately affluent and beyond. Those who are counting their pennies in this segment, wrongly or rightly, perceive them as doable. On the other hand, the Sportage and others here, appeal to those genuinely affluent.

  • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Dec 21, 2013

    The Dacia version of the 12 was awful. It had some serious design flaws engineered in by Dacia. Turning the wheel full lock would rub the tires hard against the wheel wells. This wasn't an original Renault 12 design issue. This Dacia was withdrawn from the UK market for this and other safety issues.

  • Stanczyk Stanczyk on Jan 08, 2014

    the reals Owners(yeah, the ones that suck all money from the $ystem[from suckers like you]) want to tell you that : "cheap is good" .. .. wait few years when banksters and "executive types" will suck it all.. .. and than they'll introduce you to the brand new, modern, cool "global" Mustang GT500(rebranded-dressed-up Tana Nano "Turbo"! :) ..

  • Telyabani Telyabani on Jan 09, 2014

    Had my Duster for just over one year with 10,000km on the clock. No issues whatsoever. 1.6L petrol needs to be revved into about 5,000 rpm to get that full amount of torque and when you do, it goes. Pity about the high revs, and it is a tad thirsty. I recommend the 1.5 dCi or the 1.2 TCe in the 2014 Duster. A very good car overall!

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