Customer reviews for Dacia BigsterDacia Bigster seen by those who use it on a daily basis

My car went wrong after 1 months of having it and it is still with the workshop. I have no idea when I will get it back and if I will get it back

Firstly, I'd like to say that overall we're enjoying the Dacia Bigster primarily for the following reasons:

- The vehicle is very functional and practical

- It has large boot

- The systems technology is not overwhelming

- The hybrid system is saving us money on fuel.

However, it has its faults:

- Build quality - when driving the car for the first time there was, and still is, an annoying rattle coming from the passenger side dashboard. Additionally, there is something loose and rattling around in the tailgate.

- Boot Space - the boot cover (partition between the boot and lower storage area) is flimsy and not one piece meaning that, frustratingly, it always comes apart and can be a pain to reposition. It would be better if it folded (like on the Kia Sportage). Moreover, there is no division of the lower boot space meaning that everything within it is loose. It would be better if there was the ability to partition this area so that essential equipment, some of it heavy and cumbersome (e.g. tow rope, tyre inflation etc.) could be more securely stowed so you don't hear it banging around when driving!

- Driving comfort - there needs to be more foam in the driver's side arm rest as my elbow is sore after driving, particularly as there's no other convenient place to rest my right arm when driving.

- Front Doors - the front doors would benefit from having some means of controlling their opening. As the handle is so far forward, when opening the door the only way to properly control the swing is to place a hand on the opening frame of the door. This makes it precarious when opening doors in car parks or when parked close to obstructions.

- Cruise Control - please provide standard cruise control in addition to variable cruise control! I find the variable cruise control a nuisance as I want to dictate the speed of my car and not have it dictated by the speed of the car in front. Although I appreciate there are times when this is necessary I find that for the most part it is an inconvenience as it results in a constant cycle of slowing down and speeding up which is not fuel efficient, particularly when motorway driving. Additionally, note that the variable cruise control function is unavailable when the sensors are obscured by heavy rain or dirt. In such instances there is no normal cruise control available as a redundancy. Personally, I would rather have normal cruise control over the variable speed option and this is one of the most frustrating things about the car.

- Ergonomics - the cruise control function buttons should be located on the right hand side of the steering wheel (as they are on a Kia Sportage) so the driver's right hand does not have to come off the wheel at any time. This is particularly annoying as the left hand is primarily used to control most other functions from the centre console screen, gear stick and heating dials meaning that the driver is not in full control of the vehicle when doing so.

- Traffic Recognition System - this is poor and needs updating. It doesn't recognise important UK traffic signs such as 'National Speed Limit' signs meaning that it alarms on the motorway as it thinks the speed limit is 60 mph rather than 70 mph. The speed at which any sign is recognised is significantly slower than the Kia Sportage I owned previous to our Dacia Bigster.

- Rear Windscreen Wiper - there is a really annoying clicking noise that emanates from an area near the glove box whenever the rear wiper is active, reminiscent of cars from the 1980s...

- Side Mirrors - the blind spot monitor frequently records spurious readings, particularly at night or when in the fast lane of the motorway.

- Handles - there are no ceiling mounted handles provided in the rear for passenger stability and to aid access and egress from the vehicle.

From the specification and price combination, the Dacia Bigster sounds almost to be too good to be true, having owned a 4x4 Bigster for 3 months, I can confirm that both; Specification and Value have both been successfully combined.

The 1.2 TCE engine performs very well for its size, providing enough power output for comfortable driving.

This is not a flashy souped up sports car, so won't burn up the Boy Racer in the next lane at the Traffic Lights, but that is not what it is intended for.

Whilst not flashy, it does have a lot of the current design elements found on many other modern cars these days, for example; the Rear of the Car, having the aerodynamic external Rear Spoiler with incorporated Rear Stop lamp that are seen on many Cars including Range Rovers.

The front end has a tall front grille which are appearing on many new Hybrid and EVs, from a variety of other manufacturers.

The whole car is of beefy appearance and from my ownership, I can confirm that the car is indeed of an excellent build quality; robust, functional and will more than adequately perform the duties required of a rugged family Car.

The Boot is cavernous as it is, but can be made larger by flattening the 60/40 split Rear Seats.

The Roof Rack Bars can be adjusted to run both; transversely of longitudinally, to adjust the load to be carried up top.

Inside the Seats are comfortable and of a hard wearing upholstery designed to tackle the demands of Family life. The Upholstery has a neoprene type texture and so far, I have found it to be easy to keep clean.

The Head room and Leg room, were real selling points, as all members of my family are over 6 foot in height and yet they have plenty of room in either the front or back.

A nice high driving position gives a clear view of the Road ahead.

For the Driver, all of the current driving Safety Aids are included, being a legal requirement for new Cars, however the Driver can customise these to their own requirements.

Front, Rear and Side Cameras are fitted, which can be individually selected to assist with parking in tight spaces.

All the usual Phone connected items, including; Phone, Sat Nav etc are included and displayed on a large LCD display.

Push Buttons are provided to control the; Heater, Air Con, Heated Seats, Heated etc.

The Sunroof has a powered Screen and powered Glass Window, which I'll have to wait for the better Weather to test when driving.

Some criticism has been made about the Dashboard being, "Plasticky", but to me it is resilient and functional, so will stand up to the rigours of daily Family life. Additionally, the cost of the Car, does not put it in an aesthetically flashy category, it's not what this Car is about, it is about true value for hard earned Cash.

Am I glad I purchased a Dacia Bigster, hell YES, I obviously have yet to put it to the rest in all 4 Seasons, but so far, it's looking very, very promising.

Just to clarify, this is my own opinion and a true reflection of my ownership of the Dacia Bigster Extreme 1.2 TCE 4x4, which is without doubt an exceptional value and well designed Family Car.

Let’s face it for the price who can complain. It is filled with all the stuff you would expect in a high end vehicle. So overall I’m really chuffed, it runs fine, it does the job I got it for, it’s a really good motor. Now there are sacrifices, I know this.and accept that, but there are a couple of areas which I think don’t fall into the budget trimming and are pure faults.

1. Door storage .. not enough insulation, they become extremely cold in winter and actually froze a bottle of water.

2. Front camera, loss of visibility and therefore loss of key safety features. After extensive research and trials I have found that it is fine at night, fine when driving with sun behind, but driving into sun… boom no visibility. The camera needs protecting from the sun, a design fault. Renault dealer say they can’t do anything unless the fault is present when they have it!! Doh! Well that’s a parity stupid response because as soon as you turn out of the sun it reverts back. Dacia are you trying to duck the issue?

3. Engine growl, bit of an angry bear, the insulation from engine to passenger compartment is lacking terribly. Sounds as if the big ends want to leap out the engine.

4. Hands free phoning. Very hit and miss. Sometimes it works fine, other times it tells you that you can’t use the function as you are moving? Something amiss there?

5. The satnav is far too bright!! Very hard to see and read. Bit fiddly to set destinations, not as simple as it should be To be honest the satnav in my previous dusters and stepways were far better to read and follow. Even Waze gives better detail.

6. Pillars are a bit wide and produce some frightening blind spots. Checking for oncoming traffic at junctions is a hazardous event.

1500 miles extreme 155. Love it but wish Dacia would sort out the niggles for me.

Overall the Bigster 1.8 Extreme is great I'm near 5000 miles with it up to now. I had 2 dusters in the past with 0 problems at all. so I knew what brand I was buying:-

1. Its big., loads of boot space and perfect for me

2. Comfy.

3. Fantastic on fuel.

4. looks good.

5. Drives well, not too soft on the suspension and ok on corners.

6. Can be quite nippy when needed.

7. Internal dash is set up well

8. I really like the U clip light for the boot very handy indeed

However there are a couple of niggles mainly due to the vehicle soft where

1. The cup hold is almost useless. needs a free upgrade i think

2. The tech isn't refined and I get invalid warnings often.

3. Water gets inside on the rear wiper mount (will be contacting the dealers about this on the first service, but its not a lot).

4. The engine grumble is loud at times and can stay in one gear too long now and then.

5. Heater not the best, can remain cold some times even when engine is warm

Saying that, I Like it, and perhaps a soft where update will resolve the management system issues.

Would I recommend it ? Absolutely yes, compared to its competitors and the class it now drops into its a good car that costs a lot less, Well done Dacia

I am very pleased with my bigster. It feels dependable, and capable with it being the 4x4. I do like the very many lines to look at around the body work, from every angle to me it looks good. Its easy to live with and comfortable, the performance is adequate but I feel it could do with a little more power/torque for the size of the car or a larger more refined engine with 150-160hp and 280-300Nm of torque which would make it much better to drive and in sixth gear it wouldn't feel like the engine was labering when the car asks you to change up to sixth gear.

The Bigster is a great car, roomy and easy to drive. Some of the plastics look a bit cheap, but you get what you pay for and overall the car doesn’t look ‘cheap’, it’s just clearly not premium. The boot cover is clunky and awkward and falls off its rails while you’re trying to adjust it. The automatic windscreen wipers seem a bit erratic. Sometimes they go crazy over a slight drizzle, other times they don’t even come on in pouring rain. Everything else is great. I enjoy driving it. It’s not a fun car to drive, but it’s comfortable and pleasant.

Overall the Bigster is very good value for money. My only moans are the phone connectivity. It disconnects randomly. You get in and out of the car a couple of times and all is fine then the next time you have to reconnect your phone. Also gets confused when two phones are in the car and one leaves it doesn’t pick up on the phone that is still in the car unless you reconnect. The Kadjar used to do this automatically. Also I cannot fathom why I am sometimes driving around using petrol when I have a fully charged battery.

I don't think much can be improved for the price the vehicle is sold at.

A heated front screen would be good for winter.

The speakers/sound system could be a bit punchier with better bass.

When opening the tailgate after/during rain, water drips down so I have to wait a few seconds for the water to stop (otherwise I get a small soak).

The rear door seals collect quite a lot of dirt.

Overall, I am very happy with the car.

Really pleased with my purchase (the full hybrid Extreme)…lots of positives, eg heated steering wheel, heated front seats, big clear control screen, rollback parcel shelf, refrigerated console compartment, the drive, not to mention the look and comfort. The only disappointment was not getting a remote boot opening function - it was so hard to choose between the two top of the range options!