(Wed 03 Mar 10)

At the moment, there are no Romanian cars available for sale in the UK, but that is set to change with the announcement that Dacia will enter the market in late 2012.

Dacia was bought by Renault in 1999 (having previously built Renaults under licence) and achieved fame five years later by announcing that it was going to build a €5000 car called the Logan, though in fact by the time the Logan went on sale it actually cost rather more than that. Still, the Logan and subsequent models sold well in what Renault describes as "emerging markets" as well as in more economically robust countries such as Germany and France.

There are quite a number of models in the Dacia line-up - the Sandero hatchback plus saloon, estate, pickup and van versions of the Logan - but the one due to go on sale first over here is the Duster, and SUV which is making its debut at this year's Geneva Show. It is going on sale this month with a choice of three Renault engines (110bhp 1.6 petrol and 85bhp and 110bhp 1.6 turbo diesel) and front- or four-wheel drive.

Details of the UK cars are largely a matter of guesswork, since there isn't even a dealer network yet. However, going by European prices, and allowing for some inflation, it seems reasonable to assume that an entry-level Duster would cost no more than £12,000 when the range is introduced here.

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