2018 Hyundai Accent

[Morris Minor]

Renault has a Romanian subsidiary, Dacia, that sells into 2nd/3rd world markets. Although they've recently started selling into the EU too. If you look at some of their lower end cars you get an idea what's popular.

[Laconian]

Dacia is pretty popular in France. It's like their Kia. The Duster is especially popular.

One of their cars reminds me of constipation, the "Lodgy".

[Morris Minor]

Dacia is pretty popular in France. It's like their Kia. The Duster is especially popular.

One of their cars reminds me of constipation, the "Lodgy".

It's fairly sizable, could easily get stuck in a narrow French alley.

[93JC]

[Tercels] aren't very comfortable

Modern cars, even at their worst are so refined and comfortable, with a care and thought that went into design, comfort, that just wasn't really considered back then.

A buddy of mine had a Tercel for many years; it was basic, but it ran like a trooper for ~400,000 km with nary a hiccup and had a decent amount of room. His was a two-door, and even big ol' 6'-tall me had no issues riding around in the back seat. A brand new subcompact is certainly a lot nicer on the face of it, and some are more space-efficient, but you might be surprised how decent that old Tercel was.

The worst thing about it was it wasn't much fun to drive. Lifeless overboosted steering, suspension tuned for comfort more than performance and not great at comfort either, and a little lawnmower engine under the hood...

I have a friend that has one now, the Echo is a way more thoughtful design.

My mother has an Echo. It's definitely function>>>form, and I'll gladly admit it's a lot more spacious than the Tercel, but it really isn't all that much more comfortable. It's very practical and cheap as all hell to run, and that's about all it's good at. All my mother needs though.

[Raza]

Renault has a Romanian subsidiary, Dacia, that sells into 2nd/3rd world markets. Although they've recently started selling into the EU too. If you look at some of their lower end cars you get an idea what's popular.

Dacias aren't too bad, actually.  They're much better now than they used to be, definitely. 

[Tave]

Agree it appears dated. On the other hand, it's what the last one should and could have been so probably a step in the right direction. Kia has been murdering everything but the Genesis line on design; I can't think of two bigger in-house disparities.

[12,000 RPM]

Agree it appears dated. On the other hand, it's what the last one should and could have been so probably a step in the right direction. Kia has been murdering everything but the Genesis line on design; I can't think of two bigger in-house disparities.

This is true. Hopefully the next Forte gets some love. Both the Elantra and Forte need the 2.0T though.

[cawimmer430]

Dacias are aimed at extremely budget-conscious consumers. These tend to be people who want a cheap car above all else and do not care much about interior quality, engine refinement and so forth.

And they quite popular here. The Sandero and Logan(s) [variants] are pretty basic, but the Duster SUV is actually pretty decent. It's like a better quality and more refined Lada Niva with more features and interior space while offering more comfort.

Many people actually want such no-frills (and no thrills) cars that are cheap, honest and lack all of these fancy features which they don't need. That's the major selling point of these Dacias; that and the fact that they're built using simple and proven Renault technology, which should aid their reliability.

[12,000 RPM]

the fact that they're built using simple and proven Renault technology, which should aid their reliability.

The same Renault that was laughed out of the US for building crap 30 yrs ago? I guess things have changed.

[Laconian]

The same Renault that was laughed out of the US for building crap 30 yrs ago? I guess things have changed.

I think it was more like AMC getting laughed out of existence that took Renault away from us.

[Galaxy]

The same Renault that was laughed out of the US for building crap 30 yrs ago? I guess things have changed.

Now you have Renault supplying entry diesel engines for Mercedes, and a Nissan truck being the bases for a Mercedes truck. 

[Raza]

Dacias are aimed at extremely budget-conscious consumers. These tend to be people who want a cheap car above all else and do not care much about interior quality, engine refinement and so forth.

And they quite popular here. The Sandero and Logan(s) [variants] are pretty basic, but the Duster SUV is actually pretty decent. It's like a better quality and more refined Lada Niva with more features and interior space while offering more comfort.

Many people actually want such no-frills (and no thrills) cars that are cheap, honest and lack all of these fancy features which they don't need. That's the major selling point of these Dacias; that and the fact that they're built using simple and proven Renault technology, which should aid their reliability.

If I recall correctly, most cabs in Romania are Dacia Logans, but the older version.  They must be reliable enough if they're doing that duty. 

[2o6]

Yeah the Renault Alliance and co, weren't the most durable cars, but then again what was? They still moved a lot of units despite it all.

[MX793]

Yeah the Renault Alliance and co, weren't the most durable cars, but then again what was? They still moved a lot of units despite it all.

Anything from the Japanese of that era was better.  I'd argue the GM J body, Chrysler K car, and Ford Escort were all better vehicles.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Anything from the Japanese of that era was better.  I'd argue the GM J body, Chrysler K car, and Ford Escort were all better vehicles.

Yugo was better ...