Road tested By Hugh Maguire.
Dacia was originally an independent Romanian car manufacturer who have been around for quite some time but they were bought by the Renault Group in 1999. Therefore their cars are primarily based on tried and tested Renault running gear and chassis.
Dacia are still manufactured primarily in Romania and the brand has seen a huge growth in its popularity as the models on offer are keenly priced and offer genuine value for money.
Dacia have won numerous awards and have sold millions of vehicles across Europe.
The Duster now in its third generation has been a great success here in Ireland and abroad. Now Dacia enter a larger segment where their new model the Bigster will compete against some of the best sellers in this bracket such as the Hyundai Tucson and its competitors from Kia, Toyota, Skoda and so forth.
So this week I am reviewing the new Dacia Bigster self charging petrol hybrid. With prices starting at €29,995 Dacia will be hoping their distinctive price advantage in this class will win over customers as did the Duster in it’s segment.
So has it any street cred?
The styling is pretty good. It has what I would call robust good looks. The lines are clean and attractive and overall the new Bigster looks like a purposeful SUV should. Some great new colours such as the Indigo Blue of my test car give it a trendy new look too in addition to snazzy looking 19 inch alloys. I like it!
What is it like inside?
It all looks pretty good. Sure you don’t have to look very far to find hard touch plastics but because they have put a bit of thought into the design the overall look and feel of the cabin is one of style and reasonable quality.
There is plenty of standard kit on this mid range ‘Journey’ version highlights of which include the now obligatory safety systems such as lane assist as well as heated front seats, Apple Car Play, auto keyless opening and closing, heated steering wheel, wireless phone charging, a central touchscreen and I am pleased to see a row of real buttons for the climate control functions! The digital dash is a pretty simple affair but gives the necessary information to the driver. Overall its a very impressive package of kit. There is lots of oddments space and even a handy clip for placing your mobile phone.
The driving position is good with the extra height of the Bigster giving a commanding view of the road ahead. Accomadation is good it will seat four adults in comfort and five at a squeeze, with a very decent load area of some 612 litres.
What is under the bonnet?
Power comes from a 1.8 litre petrol engine driving the front wheels through a four speed auto in combination with a battery and an electric motor. Power output is 155 bhp. Its fully self charging and over some 500km of road testing I found that not only did it re charge the battery very quickly via regenerative braking and the engine itself but it drives on EV power quite a lot of the time when in traffic and when at very low speeds. The result is an impressive fuel consumption of just 5.2 litres per 100km. Performance is sedate but frankly fine and it cruises all day very happily at motorway speeds. Road tax is just €180 per year.
Will I enjoy driving it?
This new Bigster is impressive! It is reasonably quiet and refined. Its not a car that encourages you to hustle it along a twisty road. Its quite softly sprung and there is a degree of body roll in corners, but most who buy these cars don’t care about that. Road wind and engine noise are all well suppressed.
It hums along all day at motorway speeds in an un fussed manner and proves a comfortable car in which to travel.
So What is the Verdict?
This higher spec Journey version costs €37,500 but with the range kicking off at a whisker under €30k its really good value and not because its cheap and cheerful. You won’t feel compromised pulling up in the new Bigster. Overall then I think Dacia have another hit on their hands and this self charging hybrid really does deliver!