Dacia Bigster review: a budget SUV that punches well above its weight
The Dacia Bigster
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DACIA BIGSTER |
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Rating |
★★★★☆ |
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Price |
from €29,990 - €38,258 as tested |
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Engine |
a 1.8ltr petrol hybrid with 155bhp |
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The Spec |
What no lino? It can’t be a Dacia |
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Verdict |
will have plenty of opponents running for cover on price and spec |
There was a time – up until fairly recently, it must be said – that Dacia lived entirely on scraps from the table occupied by its owner, Renault.
The French giant, it seemed, was mildly embarrassed by its Romanian family member and keen to keep it at arm’s length in case it might cause some sort of lower-order infection. To that end Dacia was allowed only partial access to the Renault parts bin and therefore consigned to having to utilise elderly equipment and technology.
But, with the massive success of the Duster and quietly efficient sales for such as the Logan, the Sandero, the Stepway and, more latterly, the MPV Jogger and the surprisingly good EV, the Spring, attitudes in Paris have changed as Dacia transformed itself from being a distant relative into a prodigal son.
Instead of simply being a duff brand making naff motors, Dacia actually made a virtue of its ability to make cheap cars and in doing do struck a nerve with the buying public who were prepared to live with those products made by a bargain bin manufacturer.
For those people unwilling to pay the oft-exorbitant prices being demanded by established names for a new car, or those who simply wanted a cheap second car that the whole family could thrash around in without undue concerns about repair or maintenance bills, Dacia provided the product they wanted.
Sure, it might not come near the build quality and refinement offered elsewhere, but so what? It made reliable, economic and damn cheap vehicles that were far from flash but got the job done.
That being so, Renault eventually realised they had a winner on their hands – inadvertently or not – and decided to throw a few investment dollars the way of its Eastern European love child.
They did a successful rebrand a few years ago, successfully recasting Dacia as mildly glamourous and well above the budget brands that characterised cars from behind what used to be the Iron Curtain.
In some ways they aped the model created by VW for its Czech brand Skoda, slowly rebuilding what had been a subject of western scorn into something beloved by the masses.
And, like Skoda, Dacia is now in a position to expand its model line-up and to offer products in segments it did not previously occupy. The Spring was its first EV, the Jogger its first MPV and now the Bigster, its first family SUV.
Aside from the terrible name – it brings to mind a parody of the old Mae West line: “Is that a Bigster in your pocket…” – this is a fine effort indeed and one which will considerably bolster the company’s market presence and its bottom line.
Polished and all as it is – for a Dacia – the Bigster still deliberately eschews glamour and is resiliently bargain basement, but once potential customers realise they’re not going to be getting German (or French) levels of sophistication, comfort, refinement and build quality, they’ll be off to a good start.
That’s not to say this car is built of cardboard or anything, just that you’ll see plenty of scratchy plastics and that décor is going to limited in its appeal. But the whole gig here is about functionality, practicality and longevity, so suck it up.
As the brand has evolved, so too has the breadth of its ambition and, compared with Dacias of old where the steering wheel was nearly an optional extra, this is nearly palatial by comparison. And, for aficionados of the brand, the level of kit on the tester was nearly space age.
Given that it is going to be competing against such class leaders as the Nissan Qashqai, the Hyundai Tuscon, the Toyota RAV4, or the Kia Sportage, among others, it’s got to have something on its side and it does: the price. After all, it is as much as ten grand cheaper than some of those mentioned.
Aside altogether from its cost, what can we tell you about the car? Well, it is 4.5 metres long and is Dacia’s biggest product. It is only marginally longer than the seven-seat Jogger, but does only have five seats, which means the cargo area is vast.
In truth, when first seeing the car, I jumped to the conclusion that it had to have seven seats and I was surprised to find it didn’t. It would be something of a shock if the company did not, in due course, introduce a version with those two extra seats.
To gain access to the boot, you have to open the rear door and therein lay a surprise – it’s electric, a first for Dacia. Other firsts come quickly too: stuff like the panoramic sunroof and the two-tone Indigo Blue paint job are options. So, you see, it’s not all austerity ‘round here.
To prove the point even the basic ‘Essential’ spec offers such as cruise control, manual air con., auto headlights, 17” alloys, one-touch front and rear electric windows and a 10.1” touchscreen. Four-wheel drive is offered too, but it didn’t feature on the tester, which was the ‘Journey’ package.
It featured a hybrid 1.8 litre engine with a 37-kW electric motor and a 1.2 kWh battery which is allied to a four-speed automatic transmission with electric motors and power fed to the front wheels only.
Despite a 155 bhp output, it’s not the quickest thing you’ll ever drive with a 9.5 second 0-100 km/h time and a 180 km/h top speed. That said it is still hugely economical and the claimed 4.7 l/100 km (60.1 mpg) is a tad optimistic, but you will certainly not be shocked to achieve a figure around the 5.1 l/100 km (54 mpg) on a regular basis.
The down sides are few and far between but a somewhat vague steering set-up with too much power assistance, the weight of which does not build progressively, leaves you guessing sometimes about how much input is required.
It’s not that bad, but for anyone who appreciates such things, it is noticeable and unwelcome, as is the somewhat snatchy brakes which seem to have gotten lost somewhere between the regenerative and friction elements.
On the move the hybrid system is ridiculously quiet and runs as an electric only at speeds up to 40 mph and is therefore virtually silent around town, Like many other hybrids, it can get screechy when you give it holly and that’s probably not helped by the auto ‘box only having four cogs.
It rides and drives much better than you’d expect for a value-for-money motor and while the suspension was a tad to floaty for my liking, in general this meant it actually coped well with bad road surfaces, which makes it sort of ideal for this country.
The interior is basic, from a materials point of view, but the seats are comfortable and there’s plenty of room for five adults. As mentioned, the boot is massive – 677 litres – and has a clever height adjustable floor and the 40/20/40 split rear seats mean you can juggle passenger and cargo requirements with ease.
Kit levels on the tester were boosted by adaptive cruise control, heated front seats (which are also partly electrically controlled), keyless entry and other things you never expected a Dacia to have.
While not entirely flawless and not as good a driving prospect as the Duster, the Bigster is nevertheless a very impressive offering from a brand that it finally finding its feet and displaying confidence levels we never thought feasible.
This a real commonsense car that feels self-assured and proud of what it is. I suspect a lot of the paying customers will easily buy in for those reasons and not alone because it beats the pants off a lot of opponents on price. It’s not quite a five-star car, but not far off it.
