Dacia Duster Journey Hybrid - long-term review

A Censuswide survey says Brits lose their sense of adventure by 36. I’m 31, which means I’ve got five years left before I officially become boring. But as a sleep-deprived parent, I can already see how it happens. Routine takes over. Your free time ends up being spent with your feet up on the sofa instead of doing anything remotely adventurous. Next thing you know, your idea of excitement is filling in surveys about losing your sense of adventure.

Cue Dacia’s Everyday Adventure Guide. Dacia reckons we should fight back by embracing small, local, affordable adventures. Nothing extreme, just little breaks from the norm. The guide suggests everything from ‘building a camp in your living room’, to the slightly curious, ‘visiting the worst-reviewed spot in your town’. Anyway, I decided to take up one of Dacia’s suggested adventures, which is why, on a cold winter’s day, I found myself eating cheese fondue out of a car boot.

Inspired by the Duster’s ruggedness and the fact that it’s quite nippy this time of year, I decided an Alpine-style picnic would be the perfect little adventure. The Duster was loaded up with cheese, a fresh baguette, some cornichons, and an assortment of pastries. Really sticking with the theme here. Finding the right spot was easy. This Duster may not be the 4x4 version, but it’s happy to embrace some mild off-roading. The raised ride height and multi-view camera make light work of sodden car parks and giant potholes. Even in hybrid form, it still feels like a car that wouldn’t mind being hosed down after a day out in the mud.

And speaking of mud, there was a lot of it. By the time I stepped out to set up, my boots were already caked. Thankfully, the Duster’s rubber floor mats meant I didn’t have to worry about the mess. I could just chuck everything back in at the end without stressing about ruining the carpets.

Once parked, I started unpacking while my daughter looked on from her car seat, probably just happy to be wrapped up warm while I faffed around with a pile of ingredients. Unlike her, my wife was under no illusions… This was clearly just an excuse for me to eat fondue in an impractical setting and take a photo of myself doing it. But as I began setting up, I realised I had a problem: molten cheese and an open flame in the boot of a Duster wasn’t the greatest idea without a proper surface to work on.

Dacia offers a few clever accessories, including a handy clip-on cup holder that can be mounted in the boot. Perfect for keeping my coffee steady while I set up. But the real lifesaver didn’t come from the Dacia accessory catalogue. It came from a small company in South Wales, the Car Bar by Nowhere Fast Gear. A simple, universal table that clips onto the boot latch. I hadn’t considered needing one before, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed to turn the Duster into an Alpine café. Nothing complex, just a clever little solution that made the whole thing far less chaotic. No awkward balancing of hot liquid cheese on the edge of the boot. 

No, I know you’re dying to find out how that fondue was. Well, turns out melting cheese under a small flame in cold weather takes ages. But eventually, it worked and honestly, who doesn’t like melted cheese? Rich, gooey, and exactly what you need on a chilly day.

Was this a life-changing adventure? No. But it was fun, and it turned an ordinary afternoon into something different. The Duster handled everything I threw at it without any fuss. It just got on with the job, which is exactly what you want from a car like this.

And if I ever do lose my sense of adventure, at least I’ll know – because I’ll be filling in a survey about it. Probably from the comfort of my sofa.