Dacia Bigster review

There are three possible engines to go with the three possible trim levels. To start, there’s a mild hybrid TCe 140 1.2-litre three-cylinder with just front-wheel drive, 138bhp and a manual gearbox. And by ‘mild hybrid’ we mean a big starter motor, so very mild. Then there’s a similar – pure petrol – TCe 130 three-pot with 128bhp and all-wheel drive (and a manual) which is interesting if you do a little light off-roading.

Then there’s the flagship, full hybrid 153bhp automatic with front-wheel drive only, though there are strong rumours that it’ll also make its way into the Duster eventually.

What about the new motor(s) then?

The new engine is the one to talk about… and that’s good, because so far, it’s the only one we've sampled. It’s a full-on hybrid with a 109bhp 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors – one has roughly 50bhp and can directly drive the wheels, while a smaller one in the gearbox is used as a starter/generator. Combined you get 153bhp and 127lb ft of torque, driving the front wheels via a four-speed auto for the petrol engine and two more for the electric motors. So technically, it’s a six-speed, clutchless auto.

Take note though: it has less torque than the mild hybrids and it’s front-wheel drive only, so if you want 4x4, you have to have the 128bhp car. The full hybrid's not hugely fast either, and has a kerbweight of 1,419kg (which isn’t fat by any means), but you’re looking at 112mph flat out and 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds. It’s… fine. No more than that. Still, it should manage 60mpg+, if driven very lightly indeed, which is excellent.

Sounds dull…

If you wanted a sportscar, you’ve come to the wrong place. But if you want a well matched medium SUV, it’s actually much better than you think it sounds – albeit within the mission statement. Dacia reckons the hybrid can operate up to 80 per cent electric only in town, and while we're intensely sceptical about those numbers, it really does seem to knock about for a greater proportion of the time in EV mode if you’re in an urban environment.

It always starts and pulls away in electric mode, and the amount of time it spends ‘engine off’ is surprising, especially when you consider that the battery is only 1.4kWh. There are torches with bigger power packs. The changeover from electric to four-pot is also smooth enough and the gearing seems to make the most of everything, although the petrol engine can sound a little gruff when it does kick in. You’re not looking at ridiculous EV acceleration times, and kickdown can be a little confused, but driven like a normal person it all hangs together very well.

What about out of town?

Again, the Bigster makes a decent case for itself. It’ll happily cruise at motorway speeds and the ride is good but not great. Yes, there’s probably a bit too much wind noise over the A-pillars and wing mirrors, and you get a decent rumble through the suspension on a bad surface, but it’s not something that should put you off. In the UK we'd recommend picking the smallest possible wheels.

And when you’re poking around on a bigger A-road, it does 75 per cent commitment perfectly acceptably. It’ll hold onto gears slightly too long and get very understeery plus a bit floppy if you go full attack mode, but seriously, if you’re doing that in a car like this, you need your head examined. Or just make sure you’ve rented it – which is going to be very likely. Driven as it should be, the Bigster copes admirably.

It'll also do massive range on a single 50-litre tank of fuel. Even after some 'road testing' in the UK we saw an average of 57mpg on a 300-mile drive. That'd mean just under 630 miles on a tank. Nice.