Dacia Bigster Hybrid - long-term review

The biggest question people seem to ask isn’t necessarily whether they should get a Dacia - the brand seems to have that warm, practical respect that you can’t buy with marketing - but whether to go Duster or Bigster. I don’t tend to get asked about Sanderos much. But it’s not that intellectual a question  - the Bigster isn’t so much a separate entity as just a Bigger Duster.

So it’s 230mm longer, 60mm taller, but only a few - as in insignificant - millimetres wider. It’s also got a longer wheelbase (2,700mm) compared to the Duster (2,658mm) so in theory it would be a bit more stable and have a marginally less choppy ride. But in real time, I can’t really tell the difference.

Load volume goes up to 667-litres compared to the shorter car’s 472 (noticeable), and there’s a chunk more rear legroom (again, you’ll see it) with a more versatile 40:20:40 split rear seat with loading hatch. Worth noting here that Bigster gets a few more standard features (like LEDs) that you don’t naturally get on the little brother. But the question isn’t really which is the better car - more like you have to decide what you actually need from it - Duster is shorter and a tad more manoeuvrable, Bigster carries more stuff more easily.

If you don’t need the space, I’d go Duster. But if you regularly have rear passengers or dogs, Bigster it is. Especially if you have dogs; the rear space is nice and square, perfect if you use crates. But still, it copes with pretty much everything with ease - for the money, I’m astonished that it's so solid. And that’s with being battered up and down the motorway all the time, as well as lots of carting around of stuff and people.

It’s not perfect. Now it’s got a few miles on it, you can sense that the four-speed ‘box is quite slow if you try to drive quickly - far better to cruise. Also, with any kind of slickness under the tyres - be that rain or cold temperatures - it has a front end that gives up quicker than a stroppy teenager. But hey, if you bought this car with delusions of rally shenanigans, you were on the wrong track in the first place.

You do sense some lack of precision in several areas, too - basically the bits where money has been saved. The parking sensors are wildly inaccurate, for instance, and the noises they make verging on the hysterical. Reversing from a car parking space with objects both front and back, you’d half believe you were in the middle of a space battle, such are the whoops and alarums. And then you step out and have a look, and you’re three-foot from the object. Call it paranoia, but I’ve also had the system say absolutely nothing until I was three-inches away. Parking sensors that have a sense of humour aren’t always a good thing.

And I’ve mentioned this before, but the reversing camera is of such low quality (and gets muddy/rainy very quickly) that it sometimes looks like an impressionist painting.

We’ve also got a new squeak on the left-hand side of the dash where it meets the windscreen. It’s not actually much of a worry - I’ve already fixed a few new-car chirps with silicon spray and some cornflour - but I only remember this one once I’ve actually started driving, and it’s been nearly a month, sigh. Might have to go and do it right now, while I remember.