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Hi there,

We are not aware of any issues with Dacia starter motors and after a little time searching the internet for them we conclude that there don't seem to be any widespread problems.

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Hi Kevin,

Not a lot is the unfortunate answer I'm afraid... A Hyundai Coupé of that age retails for between €2,500 and €3,500, and you can generally knock €1,000 to €1,500 off to find the trade-in value. On top of which, Dacia dealers are already operating on super-slim margins so as to keep the price of the cars down, so there's even less wiggle room for a decent trade-in than there might be with other dealers. Sorry about that...

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Hi David,

OK, a couple of points to deal with there. I can well remember my first drive in the Dacia Duster, which was a left-hand drive 4x4 model and I happened to drive it from Galway to Waterford and back on some of the wettest days of 2012. I can honestly not remember feeling that the wipers were inadequate to the task, and I'm generally pretty sensitive to things like that, so I'd say you might be crossing the car off your list somewhat unfairly. I can certainly remember thinking that the Duster felt unusually well-planted on the road and sure-footed in what were truly appalling conditions.

Incidentally, it's worth noting that we also take almost all of our test cars on week-long tests, and occasionally even longer ones. The full CompleteCar.ie team also endeavours to drive each car personally so that we can put together a fully rounded opinion on every model, and we always try to drive them in as many different conditions as the prevailing weather will allow.

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Hi John,

It's quite a likeable car at first and many will be sold on its looks alone, but we couldn't logically say it's worth the extra over the regular Dacia Sandero. Then again there aren't really many direct rivals at the price. Saying that, the price rises rapidly once you want a few niceties such as air conditioning...

For a full review of the Sandero Stepway on Irish roads click here.

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Hi Kellie.

Generally speaking, they should be OK. All the mechanical bits are old, proven Renault and Nissan parts, and thanks to the fact that Logans are pretty well shorn of equipment, there's not that much that can go wrong. Dacias also come with an optional five-year warranty, which should put your mind at rest.

However, it's worth pointing out that the Logan estate we tested recently had a wonky driver's door, putting some doubt over the quality of the assembly and the German TUV (the national safety and quality testing organisation) rates the Logan as having a 13 per cent fault rate. Now, that figure is only a guideline and it does encompass the old Logan (the one that was never sold here) as well, but just for comparisons, the TUV rates a Ford Fiesta at a 4.8 per cent fault rate.

In other words, they're probably fine, but try and make sure you buy one with lots of warranty left, just in case.

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Hi Chris,

We checked with Renault on this and here's the response we got:

"There is nothing technical to stop a customer carrying out an LPG conversion on the TCe 90 engine, but there is no manufacturer support to do it.  There is no such thing as 'an approved convertor'  for LPG on any Renault/Dacia so the customer would need to be satisfied themselves in the quality of work and warranty provided by whoever carries out the conversion.

"Additionally, carrying out a conversion does not necessarily invalidate the manufacturer warranty as a whole and is still valid for non LPG related parts. However, if an incident arises that is directly or indirectly found to have been caused by the conversion, that would not be our responsibility. In other words, normal warranty applies on anything that is not in any way connected to the conversion (e.g. an internal electrical defect with an alternator would not have been influenced by the conversion)."

Hope that helps

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Hi Patrick,

The Stepway gains some SUV-like styling and a 4cm higher ride height over the conventional Sandero, so it's a little bit more bouncy on rougher roads as a result, and it will roll a bit more in bends over its relation. That's a hyper critical road tester's view though, as the soft, comfort-biased suspension is fine at nornal speeds.

The SUV-look suits it, really smartens it up and makes it stand out, though the trade off for this - thanks largely to the addition of those roof bars - is an appreciable increase in wind noise at speed. That's fine unless you're doing lots of motorway miles in it.

Rear legroom isn't overly generous, while the trim and materials are all fairly uninspiring, though robust. The diesel isn't very refined, but should return excellent economy, the petrol three-cylinder engine is more willing and more refined, but less economical.

All in I rather liked it though, good honest transport.

You can read my colleague Neil's Irish road test of the Dacia Sandero Stepway here.

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Hi Brian,

OK, at that budget you have plenty of good options. How about a Hyundai i10? Crackingly good little car that - nice to drive, safe, economical and really reliable. Circa €9,000 should get you into a 2012 model, and that will still have around three years of its original warranty left to run. Want something a little cheaper than that? Try a Suzuki Swift. Budget around €6,000 to €7,000 to get a 2009 or 2010 model. Again, a cracking little car to drive and Suzukis are exceptionally well made and reliable. Finally, if you max out your budget, you could get into a brand new Dacia Sandero 1.2. Not the most sophisticated car out there but simple and solid and it comes with a full warranty.

Let us know which way you go

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Hi Shaun,

No. White is the only colour that comes as standard on a Duster. Black (and metallic ‘Pearl Black’ is the only available version) costs an extra €520.

Dacia Duster review

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Hi Martin,

You'd be surprised how many engines still make two with two valves per cylinder (i.e. eight valves in a four-cylinder engine) and actually, more valves are not always better. Generally speaking, an eight-valve engine has better low down torque, where as a 16-valve design allows freer flowing gas at higher engine speeds, releasing more power. However, the eight-valve engines are often more rugged and reliable and of course cheaper to produce.