Dacia Duster vs MG ZS. Privileged press review: MOTOR No. 12/2024

Such a comparison was bound to happen sooner or later. Dacia Duster went head to head with MG ZS in MOTOR weekly magazine. An advertisement for this fight can be found under the weekly cover. Above you can see the Renault Clio and the Peugeot 5008. Is it worth spending a few coins and buying a current MOTOR?

MOTOR nr 12 (3691) z 18.III.2024
Publisher: Bauer Sp.
Pages: 48 (with cover)
Price: PLN 4.79
Cost of 1 page: about 10 bad
Is it worth buying? So
What brands do they write about: Peugeot, Renault, Alpine, Dacia, Opel
What examples are described / shown / mentioned: 308, 5008, e-5008, Clio, Master, Megane, R4, Symbioz, A290, Bigger, Duster, Astra, Frontera, Grandland, Insignia

On page 6, MOTOR briefly informs about Stellantis’ major investment in the development of drives and models in Latin America. We wrote about it about two weeks ago.

On pages 6-7 you will find a report on car theft in Poland. It shows that Toyota is the leader among thieves. There are two French brands in the top 10 – Renault in seventh place and Peugeot in tenth place. Fiat is in ninth place. In the latter case, the Ducato is often stolen, and in the case of the Renault, the Master is usually lost.

On page 8 in that section Future releases MOTOR mentions, among others: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Alpine A290, Alfa Romeo Milano, Dacia Bigster, Jeep Wagoneer S, Renault 4, Nissan Juke, Opel Frontera, Opel Grandland, Peugeot e-5008 and Renault Symbiosis.

On the same website, MOTOR also published a table with the number of registrations of the ten most popular brands in Europe in January this year. It shows that Peugeot was the fifth most purchased brand, Dacia was seventh, and Renault rounded out the top 10.

Next to it, there was a short notice that EuroNCAP would take a close look at it security of screens installed in vehicles.

On pages 8-9 there is information about the news of the United States, in which it is mentioned Dodge’a Charger.

And so we reached pages 16-19, where MOTOR compared Dacia Duster and MG ZS. Both cars are powered by 1.0 liter petrol engines, but the Dacia also has LPG and produces 100 HP, while the MG gets 111 HP on petrol only. Let’s add that the MG is more than PLN 7,000 more expensive than the Dacia, but after adjusting the difference it reduces to less than PLN 2,000. However, customers may be tempted by an automatic transmission on a car from China. In turn, up to PLN 100,000 (this is an assumption made by MOTOR), you can still buy a diesel under the hood of Dacia, which you can only dream about MG.

The MG ZS turns out to be a car much lower than the Dacia Duster, a little shorter and has a shorter wheelbase. Interestingly, this somehow does not translate into a small space – MOTOR even decided that the Chinese car offers more space inside! Softer materials were also seen in the MG cockpit than in the Dacia. Fortunately, only one-level steering adjustment was discovered on MG, which has not happened in Duster for several years.

MOTOR attracts the all-round view screen on the MG. Dacia can have up to four cameras (although not in this version), and even Editor Laska admits that the images in the MG are outdated and the screen reactions are delayed. Well, since the Chinese car has an electric driver’s seat adjustment, you can close your eyes to a lot …

MOTOR rated the MG’s chassis better, and its brakes slightly better, although overall neither car impresses in this last respect. Duster also turned out to be a slightly more powerful car than MG, but the Chinese car also does not blow your mind when it comes to acceleration. However, the Dacia is more economical (it uses less fuel, I won’t go into the costs of using LPG) and it offers – on petrol only – a long range. After adding LPG, MG loses ground in this category.

Ultimately, however, MG won this comparison, collecting 218 points – 5 more than Dacia Duster.

And for my part, I recommend the last Duster test done by Maciej Pertyński.

In the summer tire test for size 225/50R17, nine tires were compared (on pages 22-27), including Michelin Pilot Sport 5. It turned out to be the most expensive (it costs PLN 719 each), but it is very good. It won 2nd place (ex aequo with GoodYear, and the winner was – what a surprise – Mainland Germany.

The third generation Lancia Delta was reviewed by MOTOR in the segment Used on page 30. This stylish car gets a perfect score! A lower average rating was only seen in the case of fuel consumption and availability of services. Parts prices, service costs and performance without failure were considered average. Above average scores were given for trunk capacity, quality of materials, ride comfort and noise, performance, purchase price and availability of parts. The interior’s spaciousness, materials, appearance and style were considered very good.

Cars – even on the secondary market – are still expensive in Poland relative to income, which is why Poles often use credit to buy them. MOTOR analyzed this situation and it turns out that the purchase of a used Opel Astr is often financed with a loan. Buyers of Dacia Duster, Opel Insignia, Renault Megane or Nissan Qashqai often use this type of financing. This analysis can be found on page 31.

When buying a car, we often consider the costs of its subsequent operation. MOTOR on pages 32-37 will explore the used car market broken down into classes, looking for cheap used cars. In segment B, the Renault Clio TCE 100 performed very well among compacts, the Peugeot 308 was appreciated, and the PureTech 130 gasoline and 130-horsepower 1.5 BlueHDi diesel. In the crossover and small SUV segment, Dacia Duster 1.5 dCi 110 4×2 EDC appeared, and in the medium SUV segment, Peugeot 5008 1.6 PureTech 180 and 2.0 BlueHDi 180.

You can find a comparison of BMW M8 and Dodge Challenger in that section Motorcycle love on pages 40-45.

And that’s all MOTOR wrote about the cars we’re interested in in the current issue.

Krzysztof Gregorczyk; graphics: MOTOR; image: memory