A Dacia made in Heaven: Outdoor Licence takes the new Duster Hybrid 150 4×4 for a spin
As someone more used to exploring nature via their own two feet whilst clad head to toe in Goretex, when the offer to drive a brand new Dacia Duster around the Moroccan desert came I jumped at the chance. Though I’m relatively well travelled and spent a fair amount of my twenties driving around Europe in a Renault Master van, I had to admit that 4x4s and deserts were a new one for me. Challenge accepted, a short while later I found myself totally out of my comfort zone and somewhat sleep deprived, sitting behind the wheel of an impressively futuristic vehicle looking out at the lunar-esque landscape of the Agafay desert. With the imposing Atlas mountains looking at me in the distance, it suddenly dawned on me that the only thing now standing between me and a massive new adventure was my foot. Prompting my mind to engage my size 13 plate into putting pedal to metal and sending me and my Dacia Duster Hybrid 150 off into another world. A world where the trials and tribulations of life in 2025 disappeared in a trail of camel coloured cloud behind us as we negotiated a tessellated trail that presented itself like a natural rollercoaster ride. The desert’s steep peaks, winding hillsides, dried out river beds and high sided wadis provided more than enough navigational challenges to keep my mind firmly in the moment whilst my body remained anything but as I was joyfully jiggled around by the ever changing features of the rocky terrain.
Prior to setting off, I’d been briefed by the Dacia team on the new Duster Hybrid 150’s capabilities. There was a lot to take in but for me the key features were all centred around a dial that could be turned to various settings depending on the type of conditions you were driving in, which helpfully (for me) included a sand and gravel option as well as a full 4×4 lock. Whilst in the middle of the dial you could press a button marked HDC (Hill Descent Control) which essentially puts the Duster into a very slow cruise control for those times when you have a tricky hill to descend and need to forget all about the brake/accelerator to focus purely on the wheel work. A feature I initially considered to be a little gimmicky until I found myself traversing down a crater heavy hill that involved several sections where I found myself see-sawing off the ground. A feat which once I’d successfully achieved, triggered a marvellous explosion of endorphins forcing me to realise that the joy I usually only achieve from hiking up and down mountains can also be obtained on four (and sometimes two) wheels.
The dopamine hits and newfound admiration for this robust and eco-friendly vehicle both continued to grow as we travelled further and further into the arid beauty of the Moroccan desert. Where we found ourselves frequently stopping purely to take in the jaw dropping vistas or nod our heads to the occasional passing camel herder which also provided a chance to admire the sleek modernist design of this incredible new 4×4 from the outside too. I say ‘we’ because riding shotgun with me was top tier adventurer and equally talented photographer Anna Blackwell who took these incredible shots that accompany this piece. As if this North African odyssey couldn’t get any more epic, we ended the day at the Scarabeo camp in Roches Noire. A beautiful rocky outcrop populated with the kind of tents I could only have dreamt of staying in during my three years as a Keycamp holiday rep back in the day. Every corner of my huge tent contained an amazing surprise, in one there was a sumptuous sofa, the next had a blazing log burning fire, followed by a (fully plumbed in) toilet and finally a bloody shower! I was so overwhelmed by this abundance of luxury that I had to have five minutes lying on the King size bed before heading off for sunset cocktails and to meet the Dacia design team.
Though the design presentation was of the informal yet informative type with plenty of laughs and lighthearted moments, I found my mind wandering from the torque talk and off into the cool desert sky. I was smitten by this new outlet for adventure I’d discovered and all I could think about was getting back behind the wheel of my faithful Duster 4×4. I even considered asking if they’d let me drive mine back to the UK before I was brought back down to earth by the onset of a candlelit dinner where I caught up with my fellow travellers over a tasty tagine. A genuinely charming bunch of people who share my love of the outdoors that I could tell by the dreamy looks in their eyes had also experienced something very magical out there today in their Dacias.
After an incredibly sound night’s sleep, the next day saw us travelling back through the desert in the direction of Marrakech. Itching to get back in the seat I took every opportunity to put the vehicle through its paces which it did in spades whilst delivering more of the pure joy it had delivered the day before. Having clocked up over 100 miles during the two day trek by the time we arrived at our final destination, the feeling I experienced after reluctantly handing the keys over was perfectly summed up by my talented co-pilot Anna who announced “I feel like we’ve just left our best mate behind.”
Massive thanks to Charlie from Dacia UK, Charlotte & Josty from ACM, Anna for the photos, fruit pastilles and putting up with my driving and to my fellow adventurers Fran, Sian, Sophie & Ferg. The Duster Hybrid 150 will be arriving in the UK in spring 2026, keep up to date on all Dacia related news HERE.
