Dacia Bigster review: budget 4x4 delivers practicality, value and hybrid efficiency
The new Dacia Bigster 4x4
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DACIA BIGSTER 4x4 |
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Rating |
â â â â â |
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Price |
from âŹ29,990 - âŹ39,690 as tested |
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Engine |
a 1.2 litre mild hybrid set up with 130bhp |
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The Spec |
shockingly good for anyone with an appreciation of Dacia history |
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Verdict |
another winner from the Romanians |
There are times in life â and writing columns such as this one â when you eke out something of a perverse pleasure by being able to proclaim proudly: âI told you so.â Mostly for motoring hacks this comes when you have spotted something of a gem coming from a source that was previously only guilty of making some pretty awful contributions to the automotive canon.
For many moons Dacia was guilty of exactly that, cars such as the Logan, the Stepway and even some of the original versions of the now venerable Duster, were as bad as it got. Sure they were cheap and achieved an audience for that one â and only â reason.
Otherwise, they were mechanically Neanderthal and could have been designed by a cave-dweller too. That they emerged originally from darkest Eastern Europe where austerity was not only a way of life, but a regime requirement for each and every citizen in what was styled as some class of a âpeopleâs republic.â Ceausescuâs Romania was as good a model as any for this sort of administration, running the country not for the people or by the people, but for the man at the top. It was a system designed to keep those at the top in power for as long as they wished and damn the proletariat.
Said dictator did of course meet a sticky end along with his wife, being summarily executed after a show trial which saw them convicted of genocide, subversion and having salted $1 bn in foreign banks. One of the few economic legacies he left behind was the Dacia car company.
It lurched onwards in the post-communist era, making some of the worst cars history has ever seen. But, having been bought out by Renault, Dacia has eventually turned itself into a purveyor of budget cars which the public actually wanted. Sure, some of their initial ventures were terrible, but latterly the company has found its mojo.
The new Duster, the Irish Examiner Car of the Year in 2024, is a fine exemplar of whatâs been achieved. This weekâs tester, the Bigster 4x4, is concrete evidence that Dacia has hit a rich vein of form.
Although essentially a budget brand, Dacia has begun to successfully mine growing customer satisfaction with what they make even though it previously eschewed any and all creature comforts.
That being the case, what youâre left with when youâve stripped away the excessive and unnecessary trinkets which seem to appeal to more and more people these days, youâre left with something which is both practical, sensible and cheap.
With better access to the Renault parts and tech bins, Daciaâs quality has risen sharply and without unduly affecting the bottom line. That the Bigster comes with such as a panoramic roof (does come as an extra) or a powered tailgate suggests a profligacy thatâs not part of the company DNA, but the way it has been done is still consumer friendly.
That roof costs roughly half what youâd pay a German manufacturer, while the powered rear door only has one electric strut in order to save cash. So, while it might be budgety, itâs not all gloom.
The Bigster â another name which will comfortably fit into the realm of awfulness â is essentially a stretched Duster; it is based on the same CMF-B platform, is styled similarly (which is good) and comes with the same levels of spec.
But â and hereâs the good news â this sort of duality keeps costs low, allows Dacia to continue to undercut its rivals and benefits the punter. Whatâs not to like?
Our 4x4 tester comes only with the Tce 130 engine with a mild hybrid set-up. As the name suggests, it outputs 130bhp and while this might seem a touch lame for such a big car, it actually performs rather well.
Also, thereâs no auto gearbox option available with this particular model and you have to make do with a six-speed manual which, if Iâm honest, is a little on the clunky side and takes a little getting used to.
That said, the rest of the package works well and the engine, a 1.2 litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine with 48-volt mild hybrid assistance, has a solid 230Nm of torque on offer and will make the 0-100 km/h dash in a reasonable 11.2 seconds.
The top speed is largely irrelevant because the Bigster is not a speedster, but what is pertinent is the fact that the 4x4 system is quite sophisticated. You are offered five driving modes through a terrain control system and that pretty much makes it a go-anywhere piece of kit.
That it has a towing capacity of 750kg unbraked and 1,500kg braked, will also considerably broaden appeal and make the car an attractive prospect for farmers and others who might not have ever considered anything from the brand.
And when youâre looking at a petrol consumption figure which should average out at somewhere in the region of 5.2 l/100km, all of a sudden that appeal becomes ever more crystal.
Sharing as it does so much with the Duster, the cabin is a familiar place. You get the same 10.1â infotainment screen which will not shock you with its cutting-edge capabilities but will reassure with its ease of use. There is also a similar digital cluster for the instrumentation and you also get a cold box in the centre console.
Dacia has long gone from the crack den chic of old, but everything is nevertheless sturdy if not eye-catching. There are a lot of hard plastics in the cabin, but if itâs soft touch youâre looking for then go elsewhere and pay a lot more. The seats are comfy and supportive, even if theyâre covered by a strange looking upholstery.
The cabin is big and airy and the boot is huge â more than 600 litres â but if you expected a seven-seat option â a la the Jogger â then forget it, because there wonât be one. Even so, and despite all the hybrid stuff that has to be accommodated and the addition of rear differentials, you could still host a minor rock concert back there.
On the road it is good if being far from perfect. The steering is a little on the numb side, but the handling is very predicable if a little floaty for my liking. That said the ride is good and the suspension system pretty much coped okay with our patchwork quilt road network.
The Bigster is far from being the perfect driving machine, but it is more than good enough to hold its own against rivals which cost so much more. Its flaws do not knock it enough to chalk it off as a rival to such as the Nissan Qashqai or the Hyundai Tuscon, or even the Volkswagen Tiguan.
It might not be as smooth around the edges as some rivals, but it makes up for any deficiencies with its hard work ethic and honesty. If this doesnât sway a lot of drivers towards the brand, then I donât know what will.
