Dacia

[Deleted]

Bloke I know was seriously asking about the £6k Dacia. Told him it was near top of the German JD Power survey. Anyone know anything more ? Driven one ? Work at a franchise ?

Trouble with anything that doesn't have big numbers is parts prices, new and used bits are often crippling.

Personally I'd be looking for a main dealer proper swapper 58 reg 5 dr Fiesta mk4 1.25 Zetec in bright red, with that sort of budget it'd be top quality low miles. Probably have half a chance of nicking one for peanuts from Mrs Pretend-posh down the road........Dacia, they'll probably sell plenty but I'm just not ready for them.

[natedog]

don't they share parts with renault /nissan?

[stevenward]

While the Dacias are a run away success on the continent, what we get here in UK is an altogether different proposition. The RHD stuff is built in India, which doesn't have a good reputation. See current Micra for more details.

[Rhubarb]

They were cheap and nasty shite back in the 80's and 90's...Remember the Dacia Duster?

They won't be any different now methinks.

[Joepublic]

Apr 22, 2013 9:13:38 GMT 1 Rhubarb said:

[glow=red,2,300]They were cheap and nasty shite back in the 80's and 90's[/glow]...Remember the Dacia Duster?

They won't be any different now methinks.

You could say the same about skoda?

I was parked next to a new rapid a couple of weeks ago, looks a nice car?

www.skoda.co.uk/models/Rapid/default

[grimep]

Only 3 star ncap rating, lacking electronic stability controls, so might not appeal to family buyers who put safety near the top of their requirements. I can see it selling well as a cheap farm workhorse but doubt it'll tempt many of the Qashqai/CX-5/Sportage crowd.

[Welshy]

Apr 22, 2013 9:13:38 GMT 1 Rhubarb said:

They were cheap and nasty shite back in the 80's and 90's...[glow=red,2,300]Remember the Dacia Duster[/glow]?

They won't be any different now methinks.

I remember we had one of those in part-ex in the late 90's. It took us a while to prep it for sale as parts we required to get it through the workshop were very hard to get hold of

Despite it being cheap and cheerful, I remember it as being not too bad to drive and could imagine it as being a good smash-it-round-the-farm vehicle

[Joepublic]

I've had various conversations with many people at work of all ages and not once has anyone ever mentioned NCAP testing.

Its purely a salesmans gimmick IMO, so when a salesman states "your current car is zero NCAP rated" he actually is saying you don't love your family / kids enough!

[Welshy]

Apr 22, 2013 12:07:00 GMT 1 Joepublic said:

I've had various conversations with many people at work of all ages and not once has anyone ever mentioned NCAP testing.

Its purely a salesmans gimmick IMO, so when a salesman states "your current car is zero NCAP rated" he actually is saying you don't love your family / kids enough!

;D ;D ;D

[Karl]

We sell the Dacia 's but there too new to report what there really like yet

Think sales aren't brilliant yet?

But I don't work on them or know anything about them.


They use old renault stock parts ie 03 Clio switch gear etc.....


I can see the idea mind some people just need a simple car

Dab what? Bluetooth? USB ?

older customers complain about over complex radios


I think other manufactures will watch closely how the sales go

Why not a billy basic ford fiesta L

With no radio,electric windows,heated screen etc ....

Could easily be built alongside the regular spec models if demand is high there

[oli]

NCAP is a bit of a joke. I'll consider it if I'm planning on running into a deformable block at a regulation height in the near future, but until then I'll take more notice of how a vehicle does when run into another vehicle. A while ago I read about one vehicle being given an extra star because it had a beeper to tell you to put on your seatbelt. Assuming you are wearing one already - as required by law (and common sense) - it will make no difference at all to your survivability.

Compare NCAP to the data the police collect about vehicle make and fatalities in RTCs - the two are completely different...

Rant over.

[natedog]

i don't know what the ncap rating for my car is. i don't even know if it's new enough to be rated. it's got lots of splatbags, so i presume someone put a bit of thought into saftey when they built it.

[Noberator]

Apr 22, 2013 23:15:07 GMT 1 oli said:

NCAP is a bit of a joke. I'll consider it if I'm planning on running into a deformable block at a regulation height in the near future, but until then I'll take more notice of how a vehicle does when run into another vehicle. A while ago I read about one vehicle being given an extra star because it had a beeper to tell you to put on your seatbelt. Assuming you are wearing one already - as required by law (and common sense) - it will make no difference at all to your survivability.

Compare NCAP to the data the police collect about vehicle make and fatalities in RTCs - the two are completely different...

Rant over.

They are yes but ask any serving Police Officer which cars they would drive and which they wouldn't.

It would be impossible to test a car for every circumstance in which a crash may occur so instead the tests simulate a wide range of common accidents as well as accidents which result in high fatality rates. A good performance in the Euro NCAP tests is an accurate indication of which cars offer best protection in a collision.

That's not fiction but fact if you know how the points system works for Euro NCAP and Crash Test Ratings of New Vehicles
.

www.euroncap.com/home.aspx

[oli]

I'd probably better re-prase that. I think the idea of NCAP is a good one, but as you say, there are so many variables that you can't take into account and people need to understand that. NCAP themselves state that you can't use it to compare vehicles of different sizes:

"Are large cars safer than small cars?
In frontal impacts between cars, the occupants of the heavier car or the one with higher structures tend to fare better than those travelling in lighter, lower cars. As it is not possible to simulate the influence of mass in a test against a fixed barrier, Euro NCAP recommends comparison only between cars which are of a similar mass (+/- 150kg) and in the same category. Such comparisons allow the relative safety performance of cars to be judged accurately."


"Can results be compared between groups?
Accurate comparisons can only be made between cars in the same group. The frontal test mirrors a crash between two cars of similar size. A heavier car or one with a higher structure will tend to have an advantage if it impacts a smaller car. The Euro NCAP results cannot be used to predict the outcome of such crashes."

So you can only camp are stars with another vehicle that weighs within 150kg of the other - most people don't know this, which makes the tests potentially misleading.

Also do you take human behaviour into account or test the vehicle as it is e.g they have previously awarded points for things like seatbelt warning lights - which encourage safe behaviour yet any insurance company will tell you you are more likely to have an accident in a higher performance vehicle. Despite this there is no consideration of engine size in the ratings. I'm not saying there should be BUT you need to be consistent and either include all behaviour modifying agents or leave them out completely.

I'm not bashing NCAP completely, but I think a lot of less informed members of the public give more weight to it than it really has, sometimes comparing apples with oranges.

I remember treating two people in A&E who'd been in an RTC. One in a very old 7 series who was just rather shaken and one in a brand new clio who had much more significant injuries. I remember the Clio driver's mum telling me they'd bought the car for her as it had a really good NCAP rating and she just couldn't understand how someone in "an old banger" had been so much better protected.

Oli

[chippie]

Apr 22, 2013 9:13:38 GMT 1 Rhubarb said:

They were cheap and nasty shite back in the 80's and 90's...Remember the Dacia Duster?

They won't be any different now methinks.

I thought the Dacia was a re-incarnation of the Renault 12?...Looked very similar methinks..