The new Dacia Duster lands in November, will start from £18,745

It’s the all-new Dacia Duster, which continues to look robust and offers an efficient range of powertrains for… not much money. Prices will start at £18,745 for the most basic ‘Essential’ trim before stretching to £26,745 for a fully decked-out ‘Extreme’.

The ‘Hybrid 140’ model will be the range-topper, with its 1.6-litre four-pot and dual electric motor pairing putting out a combined 141bhp. Probably won’t be going anywhere in too big a hurry, then.

But the benefit of such an engine is that it’s efficient: it’ll run on electric power alone up to 80 per cent of the time, which means more money to spend on apology gifts for getting everywhere late. It’s also the only powertrain option that comes with an automatic transmission, with the others fitted to six-speed manuals.

The mid-range ‘TCe 130’ alternative is a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder, aided by a 48V mild-hybrid motor to send 131bhp to a choice of two or four wheels. Or, if you want to go old school, you can opt for a 100bhp four-pot ‘Bi-Fuel’ engine, which is claimed to offer as much as 800 miles on a single tank. For perspective, that’s London to Milan with juice left over.

Regardless of which engine you choose, the Duster can traverse up to 217mm of ground, while the 4x4 models offer as many as five driving modes to adapt the car to various environments. Reckon there’s one for the perilous Hangar Lane Gyratory?

The Duster’s also gained a fresh look for the new generation. There’s thicker underbody shielding and wheel arch guards, while the bumpers are made from a strange new material called ‘Starkle’. It’s part-recycled composites, and since it retains its natural colour, evidence of rendezvous with lamp posts should be masked a bit better.

There’s a fresh take on light signatures too - specifically at the rear. A new C-shaped look with various break-up points forms part of a pretty significant rear-end refresh. It’s less a facelift and more a… back-of-head lift.

Inside, it’ll adopt Dacia’s new CMF-B platform, opening up more space inside for empty Fruit Shoot bottles to assemble. There's less body roll and better cornering stability too, along with a ride that felt soft and supple during our test.

Standard goods include a 10.1in multimedia hub and a seven-inch digital driver display, with Apple CarPlay and the Android equivalent equipped as part of the basic tech suite. Oh, and Dacia’s gone even further with its ‘YouClip’ system of mounting points for accessories, with a few extra spots found for GoPros and other gadgetry.

The new Duster lands in November, beyond which we’re expecting at least a quarter of Britain’s parking spaces to play host to one.