Dacia has got away with calling its cars Duster and Jogger – now they’re joined by the new Bigster.
Silly name aside, the new Dacia Bigster promises to be a very impressive family SUV to rival the likes of the Citroen C5 Aircross and MG HS.
It’s designed to look like a bigger version of the new Duster, with boxy, sharp lines for a cool style. The SUV elements are ticked off nicely – there are chunky black wheel arches, roof rails and a tall ride height.
At 4.57 metres long, it’s 23cm longer than a Duster and marginally longer than a Volkswagen Tiguan, but a whisker shorter than the Ford Kuga.
The Bigster is available to pre-order from Dacia now with an initial £250 deposit.
New Dacia Bigster prices and specs
Mirroring other recent Dacia models, the Bigster is available in three trim levels. Entry-level Expression – a mid-spec trim on other Dacias – brings two-zone air conditioning, auto wipers, a reversing camera, a semi-digital instrument cluster and 17-inch alloy wheels. Prices start from just £24,995, with four-wheel drive costing £2,200 more, while hybrid versions start at £27,995.
Journey, a style-focused trim, adds 19-inch alloys, exclusive upholstery, heated front seats, wireless phone charging and an electric bootlid. You can't get the Journey trim as a 4x4, but prices are still reasonable at £26,245 for the standard petrol and £3,000 more for the hybrid.
Top-spec Extreme trim adds copper brown trim inside and out, a panoramic sunroof – a first for Dacia – rubber mats, washable upholstery and Dacia's pioneering modular roof bars. Extreme costs just £250 more than the Journey, meaning every Bigster comes in at under £30,000 (before options). Four-wheel drive is available here, because the Extreme is aimed at customers who are outdoor enthusiasts.
The Indigo Blue metallic paint shade in our pictures is new and exclusive to the Bigster. Five other colours are available.
Interior and practicality
Up front, every Bigster gets a 10.1-inch touchscreen with phone mirroring (high-spec cars also get built-in sat nav with connected traffic features). While this controls many of the car’s functions, there are still a few buttons for essential controls.
The interior looks robust and hard-wearing, and we also spot a couple of handy storage areas within easy reach of the driver.
We’re told the new Bigster has laminated glass and more sound deadening to reduce unwanted ambient noise.
Dacia says the Bigster offers best-in-class rear-seat space, with headroom and legroom both said to be very generous.
The boot is also up there with the class leaders, and you might well struggle to fill the 667-litre space (614 for the 4x4, 612 for the hybrid). However, for when you do need extra cargo capacity, the rear seats fold in a 40:20:40 split and can be folded from levers in the boot.
Dacia has bundled all of the Bigster’s many driver assistance features into one ‘My Safety’ mode. This lets you activate your preferred My Safety settings without having to disengage every assistance system every time you set off.
Engines
Bigster buyers have a choice of petrol or hybrid engines. The 1.2-litre TCe petrol engines come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, as well as mild-hybrid tech to slightly reduce fuel consumption. This should enable a petrol Bigster to manage up to 51mpg.
Four-wheel drive is optionally available, and 4x4 models come with additional driving modes for snow, mud/sand and off-road.
Then there’s the Bigster Hybrid 155, which boasts a much larger battery than the mild-hybrid petrols and two electric motors (one to help with propulsion, and one that acts as a starter-generator). This gets an automatic gearbox as standard, complete with a stubby little gearshifter that looks similar to what you get on a Porsche 911.
Thanks to regenerative braking that scoops up lost energy, the hybrid engine can run for up to 80% of around-town journeys on electric power alone. It always starts on EV power, too. Dacia's official fuel economy figure for this engine is 60.1mpg.
Neither engine is lacking in performance, with two-wheel-drive petrol and hybrid models both hitting 0-62mph in under 10 seconds. The 4x4 isn't too far behind, taking 11.2 seconds.
Accessories
It’s clear that Dacia has thought about how to make the Bigster as useful as possible. Extreme and Journey models come with modular roof rails that can turn 90 degrees to create integrated roof bars, while you can optionally add a rear-seat centre armrest that turns into a rucksack.
For those wanting to get the most use from the Bigster, there’s an optional Sleep Pack featuring a double bed (which can be assembled in two minutes) and storage, and you can even buy a tent that perfectly fits onto the back of the Bigster with the bootlid up.
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