Looking for the most sensible thing on sale today? This might just be it – it’s the second generation Dacia Duster Commercial. Yep, you can now have the new Duster as a van. Rejoice!

If you can do without the rear seats and desperately need the extra boot space (or if you’re one of those businesses that does proper work and doesn’t just argue about cars all day) then Dacia will sort the conversion at the factory. It involves replacing the rear seats and adding in a flat wooden floor, with a mesh bulkhead to separate the passenger compartment. 

There are plenty of lashing eyes to tie things down in the back, and an opaque film over the rear windows stops prying eyes from seeing what you’re transporting. That load area now offers 1,623 litres of space and a 503kg payload capacity, by the way.

The old Duster Commercial was only available with a diesel engine, but you can now have a petrol in 90hp, 130hp or 150hp flavours. All are front-wheel drive and come with a six-speed manual, although the most powerful can be paired with a six-speed auto. If you want the option of all-wheel drive, you’ll need to spec the 115hp diesel.

To keep things simple and sensible, there are only two trim levels. Essential includes 16-inch steel wheels, aircon and a DAB radio, whereas Comfort trim brings alloy wheels, a rear-view camera, an eight-inch touchscreen and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay.

STORY Greg Potts