Bigster: Great Dacia, Big Ambitions

The bigster rightly bears its name: with a length of 4.57 meters, it is the largest vehicle that Dacia has ever built. 23 centimeters longer than the duster, he competes against models such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and the Peugeot 3008 – in an extremely popular segment. But you shouldn’t believe that the newcomer is just a duster in XXL.

The relationship between the two models is unmistakable, but the Bigster manages to cleverly stand out and seems quite competitive in the higher class. Dacia has taken care of preserving the adventurous outdoor character that the brand now emphasizes-with surrounding protective cladding from strong, a patented material based on recycled fabrics, a ground clearance of more than 20 centimeters and-on the equipment line extreme-bronze-colored accents that add additional character to the vehicle.

All the big …

In the interior, the differences to the duster are most clear – especially in the hybrid variant. This receives its own dashboard with a high center console that extends to between the front seats. In addition, a whole series of equipment features celebrate its premiere at Dacia: a two-zone automatic climate automatic, a panoramic sliding roof, a heated steering wheel, an electrical tailgate, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat (for height and inclination) as well as a three-divided foldable back seat, which gives the already generous trunk even more variability- Drive fit 612 to 702 liters.

Of course, not everything is standard, and to use the full offer, you have to grab extremes or journey with the higher -quality equipment and/or strive for the option list. But even if you put all the ticks, the Bigster costs 32,576 euros in the most expensive variant. So this SUV is not really a « cheap car ». But the price level remains extremely aggressive compared to the competition: the entry price is € 23,197 euros for the petrol variant with 140 hp. At this price you don’t even get a vehicle in the nearest small category. In addition, there is already extensive standard equipment with digital combination instrument, manual air conditioning, 10-inch central display with smartphone integration, LED headlights, reversing camera etc. Another variant with 130 hp p and all-wheel drive is available from 28,515 euros.

A new engine that impresses

The Bigster has the honor of introducing a completely new hybrid drive for the entire Renault group-to which the Romanian brand belongs. The Hybrid 155 retains the same architecture as the well -known Hybrid 140, but is based on a stronger petrol engine with 1.8 liters of displacement and 109 hp. There are also two electric motors with 49 and 20 hp, which are typical of this system, which results in a combined total output of 156 hp. The force is transferred to the front wheels via an equally special automatic transmission with six gears (four for the combustion engine, two for electrical operation). That sounds technically complicated, but in practice you don’t notice anything.

Dacia specifies a consumption of 4.6 l/100 km (104 g CO₂/km) – a value that is even below that of the Duster Hybrid 140 (5 l/100 km)! In fact, on our 150 km long test drive through the Provencal hinterland, we measured an average consumption of 5.1 l/100 km – without conscious savings.

This means that almost 1,000 kilometers can be covered with a 50-liter tank-and this hybrid becomes the perfect alternative to the now painted diesel drive. Dacia also promises that up to 80 % of the driving time can be covered in a purely electrical manner in city traffic. Of course, the small battery with 1.4 kWh only offers a very limited range.

However, excellent energy management, which enables frequent recuperation and e-phases, makes this information credible. The transitions between the drive types are imperceptible – albeit not completely silent, since the petrol engine is quite noticeable when accelerating. Perhaps a detail, especially compared to the overall convincing driving characteristics: the wanking movements are well under control, the traction is stable at all times, the seats offer good hold and the seating position is very comfortable. Only the chassis is somewhat tight on bad roads. But that’s the only real criticism.