Bad news! We in Britain will never be able to buy the Dacia Sandero, and that's official. By the time this revived and revered Romanian marque is introduced to a nation panting with desire for an unpretentious low-priced hatchback, the Sandero will have been replaced by something else.
Still, at least we can remember it at its most beautiful and radiant, when it shone briefly in the firmament like a guiding star, and perhaps be thankful that it was snatched from us at the apex of fame's arc. It's a bit like Princess Diana.
What is the Duster? It is not to be confused in any way with the former Dacia catastrophe bearing the same name. This is a chunky, high-riding five-seater with exaggerated ground clearance, good approach and departure angles (which is off-roader speak for ‘difficult to clout on the ground at the front and back'), proven Renault engines and austerity spec.
In its basic form, it comes as a 1.6-litre petrol front-wheel driver, but can also be had with a 1.5-litre diesel and four-wheel drive. The latter Dacia Duster has a clever central diff that can be set to distribute drive automatically from front to back depending on conditions, or can be locked to give permanent all-wheel traction. But there is no low-range, hill descent or fatuous knobbery to set it up for different surfaces. It's what used to be known as a ‘grass and gravel' off-roader.
