The passenger compartment of the Duster remained stable in the frontal offset test. Dummy numbers showed good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger. Dacia demonstrated that a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sitting in different positions.  The driver’s chest protection was rated as weak, based on dummy readings of compression during the test. Analysis of the deceleration of the impact trolley during the test, and analysis of the deformable barrier after the test, revealed that the Duster would be a benign impact partner in a frontal collision. In the full-width rigid barrier test, protection was rated as marginal for the chest of the driver and rear passenger, based on dummy readings of compression. In both the side barrier test and the more severe side pole impact, protection of all critical body areas was good and the Duster scored maximum points in this part of the assessment. Dacia did not provide evidence to demonstrate the degree to which the Duster would control excursion (the extent to which a body is thrown to the other side of the vehicle when it is hit from the far side). In addition, the Duster has no countermeasure to mitigate head to head contact between the front seat occupants, so far-side protection was rated as poor. Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injuries in the event of a rear-end collision.  A geometric analysis of the rear seats also indicated good whiplash protection.   The Duster has an advanced eCall system which alerts the emergency services in the event of a crash.  Dacia demonstrated that the doors could be opened in the event of power being lost due to vehicle submergence.  The Duster has a system to prevent secondary impacts after the car has been in a collision.

Apart from the neck of the 10 year dummy in the frontal test, protection of which was adequate, the Duster provided good protection of all critical body areas for both child dummies in the frontal offset and side barrier impacts.  The front passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward-facing child restraint to be used in that seating position. Clear information is provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag and the system was rewarded.  The Duster has no child presence detection system.  All of the child restraint types for which the Duster is designed could be properly installed and accommodated in the car.

Protection of the head of a struck pedestrian or cyclist was predominantly good or adequate, with poor results recorded on the stiff windscreen pillars and along the base of the screen.  Protection of the pelvis was poor at all test locations, and the Duster scored no points.  However, protection of the femur was good at all test points while that of the knee and tibia was mixed.  The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system of the Dacia can respond to vulnerable road users as well as to other vehicles.  Overall, the system’s response to pedestrians was adequate while its response to cyclists was good.  However, the Duster offers no protection against ‘dooring’, where a car door is suddenly opened in the path of a cyclist approaching from behind.  Overall, the AEB system performed adequately in tests of its response to motorcyclists.

Overall, the performance of the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system was adequate in tests of its reaction to other vehicles.  A seatbelt reminder system is fitted as standard to the front and rear seats.  However, the Duster has no occupant detection system in the rear seats, a prerequisite for scoring, so no points were awarded for the seatbelt reminder.  The car has an indirect driver status monitoring system as standard, detecting driver fatigue.  The lane support system gently corrects the vehicle’s path if it is drifting out of lane and also intervenes in some more critical situations.  The speed assistance system uses a camera and digital map to identify the local speed limit.  The information is presented to the driver, and the driver can choose to allow the system to adjust the speed limiter automatically, although this feature is not switched on by default.