If a recently married man tells people he’s going to be sleeping in his car one night, concern, it seems, is the immediate reaction. “No,” I tell them, “this is for fun.”

Little do they know that the Dacia Duster I've been running for the past few months has been fitted with a fold-out bed, a double(ish) mattress and a tent, all of which combine to create a set-up that is poised to turn even the most bougie of Glastonbury glampers a shade of jealous green.

Am I about to experience the future of camping? Is this the camper van killer? We’re all about to find out with a night in a New Forest field.

We hit the first obstacle before I’ve even turned the engine on: there’s no boot space. When getting the carry-on-camping accessories fitted, I didn’t really think about how much room it would all take up. Insert face-palm emoji here. The new Duster has a pretty cavernous 517-litre load space, yet the Sleep Pack takes up the lot.

There is some space under the bed’s supporting structure, but that’s needed for the tent itself. Luckily, though, tonight it’s just me – the wife laughed and said “no thanks” – so my overnight bag, some food and basic survival equipment can go on the back seats.

I arrive at my base for the night about 45 minutes later. Despite the extra weight in the back, the Duster doesn’t drive any differently, and there’s no sign of the economy dropping from my regular 56mpg.

It’s about 1pm as I park up. It’s clear I’ve drawn a short campsite straw, because my space has no shady tree coverage and the car’s temperature gauge is currently reading 38deg C. No better time to start setting up camp, then…

The first job is to make the bed, so to speak. I did carry out a small trial at home to make sure it was working. It all made sense, but my lasting impression was that this was going to be a bit of aggro.

And so it proves. First, lower the rear seats flat and push the front seats as far forwards as they go. Next, pull out the wooden bed base, which is heavier than it looks – mind your fingers, like I didn’t – and clip it into place. Fold out the mattress, add some extra side cushions (to stop you falling into the footwell), attach the window blackouts, which magically snap into place, and… done. This time it was all rather painless – bar the finger.

Now, the tent. Anyone who has put up a tent before knows it’s never easy, but having pulled the Sleep Pack’s synthetic canvas house out of the bag, I can tell this is going to be a different level of misery.

Never mind pinning down four corners and popping it up into place; instead, one of the tent’s sides connects to the Dacia’s open boot, and I find out quickly why this is an issue: the open side means the wind can get in, and the wind getting in means the tent keeps trying to fly away, which then pulls out the pegs that are already (not) pinning it all down. Lord have mercy…

At this point I realise my campsite neighbours have formed a small crowd and are staring at me, wondering what on earth is going on. “It’s the future,” I preach to one. He’s not buying it. They definitely think I’m mad.

I manage to get three poles in – two for the main structure, one for the door – and then go about securing the open side to the car. More confusion. Which cord goes where? What does this bit do? And why is this bit not attached?

I finally relent and read the manual, which cheerily tells me simply to ‘connect straps to the car’. Thanks very much. I tie them to door handles, alloy wheels, door mirrors and even the bootlid’s hydraulics. About 40 minutes later the tent is at last erected and pinned down, the guy ropes are in place and the inner compartment – used here for my bags given I’ve got a swanky bed and I’m enjoying the overnight experience on my own – is sorted.

As you can imagine, I’m very proud. My neighbours are still watching, and is that envy I see in their eyes? Actually, no – they’re laughing at it. At me.

I take a step back to see what the finished set-up looks like and it’s clear what everyone is finding so funny: it’s the campsite equivalent of a proud four-year-old’s squiggly drawing of who knows what. (In case you were wondering what it’s supposed to look like when assembled by someone competent, there’s a Dacia press picture just below and to the left to show you.)

Regardless, I spend the night and, to my surprise, it’s quite a relaxing experience: this has actually bettered any tent excursion I’ve had previously. The mattress and blackout coverings are especially brilliant. I wouldn’t, however, recommend this to the claustrophobic among you: I got really quite close to the car’s roof.

So to answer my earlier question: is this the future of camping? Is the Sleep Pack conversion a camper van killer? Er, not really, but it’s a fun idea.

For those of you considering taking the plunge, make sure you (a) have a garage in which to store the Sleep Pack when not in use, because keeping it in the boot has been quite annoying from a luggage space point of view, and (b) maybe think twice about the tent itself. It looks bloody cool when it’s finally up, but getting there was the biggest faff of my life. Happy camping!

The updated Dacia Spring EV has become the UK’s cheapest car, at £12,240.

The small hatchback has been discounted by £3750 by the Romanian brand in response to the UK government’s Electric Car Grant.

Being made in China, the Spring doesn't qualify for the ECG, which knocks either £1500 or £3750 off the price of a new EV, so Dacia has launched its own matching incentive.

The discount can also be had in the form of a deposit contribution on PCP finance. On a four-year contract with a customer deposit of £2776, allowing 6000 miles to be driven annually, that results in a monthly payment of £129 per month on the entry-level model.

What's new for the Dacia Spring in 2026?

Chief among the changes made to the Spring for 2026 are the introduction of two new motors that are intended to make it “fit naturally into motorway traffic”.

The previous 45bhp and 65bhp motors have been removed from the line-up in favour of punchier 70bhp and 101bhp options.

With 70bhp, the Spring can hit 62mph from rest in 12.3sec – a significant improvement on the 19.1sec taken by the old 45bhp version. With the 101bhp motor (priced from £13,240), it takes 9.6sec.

Along with the new motors, Dacia has also equipped the Spring with a new 24.3kWh battery which uses the lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry. A first for any Renault Group model, this is said to reduce costs, last longer and improve thermal safety compared with conventional nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC). 

The new battery gives an unchanged 140 miles of range on the WLTP test cycle, which Dacia said is enough to "easily cover a full working week with a single charge", but it can now charge at up to 40kW in range-topping Extreme form, up from 30kW as standard.

The powertrain tweaks come alongside a raft of changes aimed at making the Spring more efficient and better to drive - building on various upgrades it received last year.

Chief among these are an improved braking system with more powerful assistance, a standard anti-roll bar and retuned suspension for improved stability and subtle new aero-optimising bodywork elements that cut the drag coefficient from 0.743 to 0.665.

Customer deliveries are scheduled to begin next spring.

UK order books for the new Dacia Sandero have opened, pricing the supermini from £14,765 and its rugged sibling, the Sandero Stepway, from £16,065.

That means the supermini retains its position as one of the UK's cheapest new cars, although the smaller, electrically powered Dacia Spring has now undercut it, thanks to a new discount.

Initially, the latest Sandero will be offered with a turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, putting out either 99bhp or 108bhp. 

But it will gain a hybrid powertrain as part of its mid-life update, which also includes a new look and added equipment across the board.

In around a year's time, Dacia will equip the range-topping Sandero Stepway with its new Hybrid 155 powertrain, which combines a 108bhp four-cylinder petrol engine with a 49bhp electric motor and a starter-generator for 154bhp and 125lb ft of torque - chunky gains over the Sandero's current 108bhp engine.

As deployed in the flagship Dacia Bigster SUV, this arrangement features a 1.4kWh battery for short-distance electric running and a clutchless automatic gearbox that has four ratios for the engine and two ratios for the motor.

Dacia has yet to reveal full performance and efficiency figures for the Sandero Stepway Hybrid 155, but the same powertrain in the much larger Bigster returned 72.4mpg in urban driving and around 55mpg in higher-speed running in an Autocar road test - figures that the lower and lighter Sandero should improve upon.

​The hybrid is expected to command a circa-£3000 premium compared with the pure-petrol model, based on the gap between the pure-ICE and hybrid versions of the related Jogger seven-seat estate.

Dacia has no plans as yet to introduce the Hybrid 155 powertrain to the standard Sandero.

Product performance boss Patrice Lévy-Bencheton told Autocar the lower-slung supermini must remain as affordable as possible to maintain its position as Europe’s best-selling car on the retail market.

“What is very interesting is that customers for the Sandero and Sandero Stepway are quite different,” he said.

"A Stepway customer will hesitate more with B-SUV offers on the market, so there is a bit more purchasing power. A Sandero customer is really hesitating with a simple B-hatch and is going for the best possible price on the market, so they are very measured in the budget they give to their car purchase.

"So on the [standard] Sandero, for the moment, we will wait a bit more and see. We can do it easily, because we have exactly the same engine bay and everything; it's more a question of will it find its customers or not."

The addition of the hybrid powertrain comes alongside a raft of styling tweaks for the Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Jogger.

On sale from November, the trio gain a new LED light signature with an 'inverted T' that flanks a new-look grille – and new pixel-style rear light motifs, which on the Jogger are designed to look as if they extend from the rear window.

The Jogger and Sandero Stepway now come with new body cladding made from Dacia's 'Starkle' plastic, which contains 20% recycled materials. And there are new colours and wheel designs available across the line-up.

There are subtle changes in the interiors, as well, with the three models gaining new-look air vents, more durable fabric trimmings, a reshaped steering wheel for "optimised ergonomics" and a new-look infotainment system centred around a 10.0in central touchscreen - up from 8.0in before.

If a recently married man tells people he’s going to be sleeping in his car that night, concern, it seems, is the immediate reaction. “No,” I tell them, “this is for fun.” 

Little do they know that the Dacia Duster I will be using is fitted with a fold-out bed, a double(ish) mattress and a tent, all of which combine to create a set-up that is poised to turn even the most bougie of Glastonbury glampers a shade of jealous green – especially given the extras cost... £2090!

Am I about to experience the future of camping? Is this the camper van killer? We’re all about to find out with a night in a New Forest field.

In classic fashion, I hit the first obstacle before I’ve even turned the engine on: there’s no boot space. The new Duster has a pretty cavernous 517-litre load space, yet the InNature Sleep Pack Ultimate (to give the fold out bed its official name) takes up the lot. Insert face-palm emoji here.

There is some space under the bed’s supporting structure, but that’s needed for the tent itself. Luckily, though, tonight it’s just me – the wife laughed and said “no thanks” – so my overnight bag, some food and basic survival equipment can go on the back seats. 

I arrive at my base for the night about 45 minutes later. Despite the extra weight in the back, the Duster doesn’t drive any differently, and there’s no sign of the economy dropping below the official average of 56mpg. It’s about 1pm as I park up. It’s clear I’ve drawn a short campsite straw, because my space has no shady tree coverage and the car’s temperature gauge is currently reading 38deg C. No better time to start setting up camp, then… 

The first job is to make the bed, so to speak. I did carry out a small trial at home to make sure it was working. It all made sense, but my lasting impression was that this was going to be a bit of a faff. And so it proves. 

First, lower the rear seats flat and push the front seats as far forwards as they go. Next, pull out the wooden bed base, which is heavier than it looks – mind your fingers, like I didn’t – and clip it into place. Then fold out the mattress, add some extra side cushions (to stop you falling into the footwell), attach the window blackouts, which magically snap into place, and… done. This time it was all rather painless – bar the finger. 

Now, the tent. Anyone who has put up a tent before knows it’s never easy, but having pulled the synthetic canvas house out of the bag, I can tell this is going to be a different level of misery. 

Never mind pinning down four corners and popping it up into place; instead, one of the tent’s sides connects to the Dacia’s open boot, and I find out quickly why this is an issue: the open side means the wind can get in, and the wind getting in means the tent keeps trying to fly away, which then pulls out the pegs that are already (not) pinning it all down. Lord have mercy… 

At this point I realise my campsite neighbours have formed a small crowd and are staring at me, wondering what on earth is going on. “It’s the future,” I preach to one. He’s not buying it. They definitely think I’m mad. I think I’m mad.

Back to the tent, and I manage to get three poles in – two for the main structure, one for the door – and then go about securing the open side to the car. But this just brings more confusion. Which cord goes where? What does this bit do? And why is this bit not attached? 

I finally relent and read the manual, which cheerily tells me simply to ‘connect straps to the car’. Thanks very much. I don’t think this is what it meant, but I decided – for the sake of ease – to tie them to door handles, alloy wheels, door mirrors and even the bootlid’s hydraulics. 

About 40 minutes later the tent is at last erected and pinned down, the guy ropes are in place and the inner compartment – used here for my bags given I’ve got a swanky bed and I’m enjoying the overnight experience on my own – is sorted. As you can imagine, I’m very proud. 

My neighbours are still watching; is that envy I see in their eyes? Actually, no – they’re laughing at it. At me. I take a step back to see what the finished setup looks like and it’s clear what everyone is finding so funny: it’s the campsite equivalent of a proud four-year-old’s squiggly drawing of who knows what. (In case you were wondering what it’s supposed to look like when assembled by someone competent, there’s a Dacia press picture of a Jogger with the tent just below and to show you.) 

Regardless, I spend the night and, to my surprise, it’s quite a relaxing experience: this has actually bettered any tent excursion I’ve had previously. The mattress and blackout coverings are especially brilliant. I wouldn’t, however, recommend this to the claustrophobic among you: I got really quite close to the car’s roof. 

So to answer my earlier question: is this the future of camping? Is the InNature Sleep Pack Ultimate addition a camper van killer? Er, not really, but it’s a fun idea. For those of you considering taking the plunge, make sure you (a) have a garage in which to store the main structure when not in use, because keeping it in the boot has been quite annoying from a luggage space point of view, and (b) maybe think twice about the tent itself. It looks bloody cool when it’s finally up, but getting there was the biggest faff of my life. Happy camping!