The Dacia Duster, Small Sports utility Vehicle, is another winner at this years annual Green Apple Awards

• Dacia Duster collects Small SUV title at the 2016 Green Apple Awards
• Second consecutive time Duster has won the award
• Praised for its no-frills approach to motoring
• Sixth annual awards from the not-for-profit organisation

The Dacia Duster won the Small SUV title at the sixth annual Green Apple Awards this morning at the Houses of Parliament. The ‘shockingly affordable’ Duster was voted into first place for the second consecutive year thanks to its affordability and ruggedness and running costs.

The automotive-based honours at The Green Apple Awards, organised by the Midlands-based The Green Organisation, are judged by members of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers. Marks were awarded by judges for the way a car drives and behaves in the real world, away from the testing laboratory.

One of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers said: "It’s cheap, it’s cheerful, it’s rugged and does what it says on the tin without any fuss or needless frills. The running costs are great, as is the price to buy or lease.”

Louise O’Sullivan, Head of Dacia UK said: “We’re delighted the Duster has once again been recognised by such a well-respected environmental group as the Green Organisation. The Duster underwent a facelift earlier this year and its popularity amongst the British public has shown no signs of slowing.

“It has been challenging preconceptions since launch thanks to Dacia’s no frills approach to motoring and impressive reliability. The Green Apple judges have proved just how economical the Duster is, too.”

Dacia has been a real success story in the UK since its launch in 2013 finding over 88,000 customers thanks to the brand’s clear value for money and no-nonsense approach. Duster, the tough SUV, has struck a particular chord with Britons having seen 6,905 sales in the first 10 months of the year alone – up 20.4 per cent on the same period last year.

The multiple award-winning Duster has been a part of the Dacia range since the brand’s launch in the UK in January 2013 and is the most affordable SUV on the UK market – priced from £9,495 with the Green Apple Award-winning dCi 110 4x2 starting at £12,495. The dCi 110 4x2 outputs 115g/km of CO2 and offers up to 64.2mpg (NEDC Combined). The Duster is available in a choice of four trim levels, with 1.6-litre naturally aspirated or 1.2-litre turbo charged petrol or 1.5-litre dCi diesel engines and in 4x2 or 4x4 set-ups.

The Green Organisation, based in Northamptonshire, was established in 1994 as an international, independent, non-profit, non-political, non-activist environment group, dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world and invites entries from all parts of industry for its annual Green Apple Awards.