Dacia Bigster Hybrid - long-term review

The Bigster hasn’t been shy in six months in the Top Gear Garage; that’s 13,000 miles-plus of generalised abuse, airport car parks and light haulage in a household where the cars are looked after but not coddled. The oil still looks brand-new - yep, I check it regularly - and it’s used precisely not one drop.

As a final flourish, we recently took it off on one of its usual haulage jaunts a mere five-hour romp away to Wales for a Noble M600 vs Lotus Emira V6 face-off, loaded to the gills and full of smelly humans, chasing two expensive cars with much more horsepower and much less practicality. The Bigster might not be the plushest of haulers, but it’s proven itself time and time again in the intolerant grind of the day-to-day, and on the multi-hour drudge - in the pouring rain - to Wales, it impressed even TG mag's deputy editor Ollie Kew. Who usually only gets excited by cars with steering so sharp it shears your hands off at the wrist.

The deal with the Bigster is that it offers everything you need without too much of the garnish of what you don’t. Wipe-down neoprene-style seats will shrug off even engine oil from grubby amateur mechanic hands (mine), soy sauce, laundry detergent and muddy paw prints. Not all at the same time, obviously. The rear seats split and fold via handles in the boot - you wouldn’t believe how useful that is if you’re loading solo a lot - and the volume is rectangular and useful, even if the load cover is a bit flaky.

Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that we lost a bit of space by optioning the spacesaver spare tyre under the boot floor. We have picked up some scratches on the harder plastics in the cabin, and if you pull up carpet (under the aforementioned boot floor especially), you’re into a world of bare metal.

And yes, you could have better screens and more options, but heated seats and wheel, a DAB radio with Carplay/Android Auto and a small-ish screen is pretty much all you need. In fact, I’d actually lose all the ADAS and make the car even cheaper. But laws are laws. The same goes for the ride and handling; it’s fine, does the job, is competent. Nails the brief loaded or unloaded, is comfortable enough, goes around a roundabout securely. It’s as exciting as a light nap, but that’s not the point. Plus, I enjoy a good nap.

It’s averaged above 50mpg, and I’ve really enjoyed the hybrid powerplant. Not because it’s particularly quick or slick, but because it seems to absolutely work; a decent percentage of EV-only in town, constantly cycling on the motorway. If you do a lot of mixed mileage to places where a full EV might get complex or require more planning, it’s been a good compromise. And yes, being able to top off the tank for 550 miles of range at a lonely Welsh petrol station is more convenient when you’re bounding all over the place on time-dependent shoots and aren’t sure where you’re going to be.

In a lot of ways, Dacia is doing good business. With lots of companies realising there are bigger margins in more luxurious cars, the price points have risen to the level where it’s hard to see them as a budget option. But the Dacia doesn’t feel cheap - it feels like value. Where Skoda doesn’t have to dodge jokes these days, I don’t think Dacia ever needed to.

It’s been a good car, this. I’d be happy to recommend the Bigster - and have done many times. It’s a solid, dependable, good-looking cover-all that does all the jobs it’s supposed to. And a few more besides.