Dacia Bigster review: This budget contender is good enough to take the ‘ultimate family car' crown
It's past midday in the mountains behind Marseilles in the Bouche-du-Rhône department of France. I'm driving towards Aix-en-Provence and the screen is filled with the yellowish rocky landscape as the engine warbles gently under the bonnet. I'm looking forward to lunch, something well-cooked but simple, comforting and tasty. Ham, egg and chips, perhaps?
Welcome to the new Dacia Bigster, a funny name for a ham-egg-and-chips offering in one of the most popular classes of car in Europe, the family SUV, with more than three million sold each year, taking in excess of 23 per cent of all new-car sales.
It was only a matter of time before this Romanian-based company, owned and managed by Renault since 1999, grew its version of 'essentiality' into this crossover market. The latest Duster, launched last year, is already making inroads into the smaller B SUV class, while its Sandero hatchback is Europe's best-selling car. Last year Dacia sold a record 31,704 vehicles in the UK, more than Citroen, or Cupra, Honda and Mazda could manage, almost twice the sales of Fiat and making serious inroads into parent Renault's 57,967 registrations.
How come? Part of the answer is provided by Denis Le Vot, Dacia's mercurial and hugely likeable chief executive.
Priced to sell
'In 2019, the average cost of a car in the C-segment SUV class was €29,000 [£25,434 in historic rates], last year it was €38,000 [£32,168]. So, it was a little bit of the Covid, a little of the supply crisis, a little of energy cost, a little of the cost of the aluminium, or whatever you want,' he says. 'But cars are too expensive and people don't want to spend money on cars any more; they make choices…'.
So, like some supermarket promotion, Dacia is turning the clock back five years on prices, except this isn't a promotion; this is what Dacia does. In the UK, the range starts at £24,995, rising to £26,245 for the penultimate Journey trim level and £26,495 for the top Extreme trim. You can't spend any more than £30,000, even for the most expensive model, while PCP deals start at £350 a month with a £350 deposit. These prices are where a lot of the closest rivals start for a car stripped out like a nuclear winter.
Does that also apply to the Bigster? A resounding no. From the outside this is a good-looking vehicle, unthreatening, but supermarket-tough with car park-proof grey plastic panels on the sills and around the wheel arches.
Heated seats... in a Dacia?
And the interior? Dacia has spent the past few years asking questions, mainly of 400 German buyers (where this C-segment SUV market is strongest) what they like, what they don't, and what might convince them to buy one.
I'm looking at the results now and I can see a well-designed twin-screen facia with tiles for heated seats, heated steering wheel… Hold on, heated seats on a Dacia?
Le Vot bridles. 'Heated seats? Sure. Or people just walk away. These things are the 'essentiality' of the C-segment. We're not going premium, we just coldly and bluntly looked at what three million people every year are used to, and are not ready to be downgraded in any way.'
There's lots of intelligent design, such as the middle-seat armrest in the rear containing cup holders and slots for smartphones, along with neat luggage restraint brackets. There's even a camping option with a double bed, as well as versatile roof bars. There's also a rear-seat tilt control in the boot so you aren't forced to dance between rear seats and the boot lid when you have a long load. Those rear seats are comfortable and spacious, with enough room for three large teenagers across the bench, which splits 40/20/40 per cent.
It all feels like the Skoda promise of 'Simply Clever', although Dacia's decision to mix up the driver's seat adjustment – forward and back performed manually, with electric height and back recline – takes a little getting used to. You also still sit rather high, and the steering wheel adjustment is rather mean, but views out are expansive, the feeling of airiness boosted in the upper trim levels by a large sunroof (along with parking aids and a rear-view camera).
On the road
So how does Dacia's 'essentiality' translate into the driving experience? In two words, completely unexceptional. The Bigster is perfectly suited to the job of being a family troop carrier; think school runs, seaside trips, visiting relatives, shopping and more school runs. Or as Le Vot says: 'Right in the heart of the C-segment.'
The major drivetrain choices are a 1.2-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid petrol engine delivering 138bhp with front-wheel drive, or 127bhp with 4x4, along with a 153bhp, 1.8-litre front-drive Hybrid 155 – the only one available at the launch.
This is an update on Renault's acclaimed hybrid system, with a clutchless automatic gearbox with two motors, and gears engaged with dog gears rather than conventional synchro rings. The larger-capacity, four-cylinder engine has more torque (127lb ft) than the three-cylinder 1.2 to help smooth the gear changes. The engine still booms noisily if you floor the accelerator pedal, and it requires notice in triplicate before overtaking, but driven gently this is a quiet and companionable power unit, brisk enough for a family SUV.
Over a variety of road types and surfaces (and on 19-inch wheels) the ride is acceptable, although it feels slightly crashy on very broken surfaces, and slightly floaty on smoothly undulating ones. The body rolls in corners, but it's well controlled and long journeys are comfortable.
The steering isn't the sharpest, but it turns nicely off the straight ahead and feels accurate and well weighted. The brake pedal has a bit of lost movement at the top of the travel, but stopping feels strong and progressive once the pads are engaged.
The handling is controlled, with fine damping and a neat, confidence-inspiring feeling at the wheel underpinned with safe-and-sensible nose-on understeer. There are no industry-standard Euro NCAP crash test results yet, but quietly Dacia is expecting four stars.
The Telegraph verdict
What comes across strongly to anyone who has driven earlier generations of Dacia cars is just how much thought and design has gone into the Bigster. It's simply better in every respect.
There is greater refinement, with less interior noise thanks to drivetrain improvements, along with more insulation and thicker window glass. The ride comfort is better, thanks to what feels like improved damping and suspension. In the facia the screens are better designed, more spread out and easier to read. Using the 'Perso' switch, with which you can also select various dynamic settings, for also turning off lane-keeping and speed limit warnings, is excellent.
In the words of a sports coach, Dacia has raised its game. I think Dacia will sell the Bigster by the bucketload.
The facts
On test: Dacia Bigster Hybrid 155 Journey
Body style: C-segment five-door SUV
On sale: now
How much? range from £24,995 (£29,245 as tested)
How fast? 112mph, 0-62mph in 9.7sec
How economical? 60.1mpg (WLTP Combined), 58.9mpg on test
Engine & gearbox: 1.8-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol, clutchless geared automatic transmission and hybrid drive system, front-wheel drive
Maximum power/torque: 153bhp @ 5,300rpm/129lb ft @ 3,000rpm
CO2 emissions: 105g/km (WLTP Combined)
Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles (up to 7 years/75,000 miles if annually serviced by Dacia)
The rivals
Suzuki Vitara, from £26,949
Smaller family crossover but similar prices starting with the Motion Mild Hybrid, front-wheel drive with a 127bhp/173lb ft, 1.4-litre mild hybrid unit and manual gearbox, giving a top speed of 121mph, 0-62mph in 9.5sec, 53.2mpg and 118g/km. Equipment isn't too sparse either. There's also a 4x4 option on top models.
Nissan Qashqai, from £30,135
Similarly-sized market-leading family crossover (4,425mm long) but a lot more expensive. Two powertrains are offered: a 1.3-litre mild hybrid with manual or automatic gearbox (including optional 4x4), or 1.5-litre e-power range-extending battery power. The lowest power unit gives 122mph, 0-62mph in 10.4sec, 45mpg and 142g/km. Nicely engineered – and built in Britain.
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