A few years back, we found ourselves behind the wheel of a Dacia Duster at a Renault Press event, and the experience can only be likened to navigating through a disaster zone. The Duster proved to be a dog to drive and a dog to sit in, offering discomfort akin to sitting on a porcupine. This not only cast a gloom over the Duster brand but also left an unfavourable mark on Renault as a whole.

Renowned for their prowess in cost-cutting, Renault seemed to have dropped an atomic bomb of penny-pinching strategies on the Dacia brand. The haunting memory of that terrifying experience behind the wheel has lingered with us ever since.

Yet, strangely, this underwhelming dog of a car manages to stay afloat, inexplicably prolonging the existence of a brand that many believed should have met its demise years ago. We won’t dedicate any more time to the Duster because we do not want to inadvertently boost Dacia’s sales and marketing efforts.

We recommend visiting your nearest Dacia dealership, taking a brief glimpse through the windows, and then swiftly turning around and run, run away as fast as you can.