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

Car is great. Dacia UK customer service is dire. Trying to get a hard copy was like pulling teeth! Initially staff denied it existed and sent me a photocopied version. Approx 240 pages of loose A4 pieces of paper stuffed in an envelope. Totally useless and a waste of paper. Eventually after weeks of me sending emails back and forth they eventually admitted there was a hard copy and finally sent me one. It shouldn’t have been so hard to get a hard copy of a hand book.

Not impressed with pricing structure as 4 days after I took delivery of my 2 tone car Dacia announce that they were no longer charging for 2 tone paint. So I paid £1300 for my blue car with black roof to find everyone else after 1st July was not having to pay for it and it was standard. Had I known this when I collected it I would have cancelled and walked away. I’ve already been informed that because it was ordered before the 1st July then it’s just tough. I know that when I ordered it was already known by Dacia that they were cancelling the 2 tone paint cost but of course I still had to pay for it.

Due to this I will not buy another Dacia or Renault car. My last 3 cars were all paid for in cash and part exchange vehicle - 1 was a Renault and my latest the Dacia Bigster. I will spend my cash on a brand that appreciates its customer as Renault / Dacia clearly don’t!

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

Comfortable, economical. (average of 64.mpg over 2800 miles). Reasonably quiet.

My jogger hybrid used to have a freer overrun when in economy. The Bigster has a economy setting but when engaged the overrun still does not change. I found that in the Jogger one could slip out economy and enjoy more regenerative power when descending hills. This function has been lost.

The volume control constantly opts out and needs re setting. This seems to be in conjunction when using waze or maps. Rather frustrating and it can only be reset when at a stand still.

The adaptive cruise control is either on or off. When on it can be a hindrance unless one wants to just be happy behind a queue of motorway traffic. Having cruise control is great but one should be able to switch the adaptive element off.

Additionally three times when using adaptive cruise control the brakes have been suddenly applied. Twice it was on a normal road, the sensors had picked up a vehicle parked in a layby and slammed on the brakes. The third time I was on a motorway and again it had picked up a vehicle in the left hand hard shoulder. MAKE cruise control switchable between adaptive and "normal" Many drivers would appreciate it.

Owned 3 months car has plenty of space and a very large boot. Drive is good and little body roll. Fuel economy was around 64mpg but this has dropped to around 54mpg possibly due to cold weather, as driving style has not changed. Parking can be a challenge as spaces long enough are few and far between. Boot is large but not flat so longer items may be off the deck. Main issues are the infotainment and digital information. Messages flash up very day saying the front camera is not working, or safety equipment has been activated, lane discipline is a nightmare on country roads as is activates all the time. Radio cuts out for a few seconds almost daily. Settings can change from switching off to starting, eg fan speed can change, or you have it set to show fuel consumption and when you get back in it is on water temperature. The other main issue is the engine noise, normally the engine noise is reasonable, but when about to change gear the engine revs hard. If the battery to the hybrid system is low the engine goes into an horrendous roaring noise at it attempts to recharge. My sons Bigster also does this. Not sure why Dacia thought such an issue was acceptable in this day and age.

The interior size that Bigster advertising brags about led me to anticipate more storage area which I need for camping and personal gear. This was my incentive for buying the Extreme Bigster My Duster was a great car and going strong. The boot floor tray-style protector that I had in my Dusteri is now in my Bigster. There’s barely 5cm difference in length! I don’t feel I have gained boot space at all and since the Bigster does not have a back shelf this has reduced my storage even further. Transferring items from the Duster glove compartment to the Bigster glove compartment I was upset not to be able to get everything in! I believe there should be five clip attachment points. Not in my car. I do like that the passenger window can be raised with one touch in tandem with the driver’s window. The cooler section is not as big as in the Journey Bigster but it functions well enough. Passengers are comfortable in all the seats as is the driver. There is much to like about the Extreme Bigster, if only the boot in purely practical terms had actually been Bigger.

I love the size, it feels big on the roads and I like that. The profile is quite slim which makes it easier to get into spots and the interior is plain and simple. What I asked for and the hybrid engine is mostly brilliant!

Sadly the tech and various other safety features aren’t up to scratch and actually have become a hindrance. The cruise control and parking sensors just don’t work well at all and have become slightly dangerous in certain situations I.e. the cruise control will stop working quite rapidly and jolt the breaks on while driving and in some situations the parking sensors have no idea where objects are. I have seen on an owners forum online this is an extremely common and recurring problem.

That being said, I do really like my Bigster. It’s really practical, the hybrid engine has saved me a lot of money in petrol although it can be very noisy when it’s charging the battery and that took some getting used to. it does feel fun to drive and enjoy it although I’m still (after 3 months) adapting to the size difference.

The Bigster is nice to drive day to day but some things annoy. The lane control system is too sensitive and disconcerting especially at motorway speeds, I always turn it off if traveling long distance, which seems to defeat the object. The seat material is quite easy to clean with soap and water but is made of a fabric which seems to trap dirt.

The main gripe we have with the Bigster, is that its not big enough! We bought the car on advanced booking as we liked the size it appeared to be in the adverts and not being able to see it in the flesh. Clever marketing suggested it was a large car but in reality is quite small, too small for our needs.

We have the 4x4 Extreme and it seems well built and the performance from the small engine is good. Initially the electronic dash seemed to have a mind of its own, changing displays without input, but this has calmed down a bit now, as I hoped it would.

Overall a good car and we do plan to keep it long term despite the size issue.

Overall it's a really good car & I enjoy driving it. The cabin is roomy & comfortable for all occupants. The driver has a slightly elevated position providing a great view of the road ahead. Steering is light and easy but with a positive feel even at slow speeds. Very stable cornering without any roll. I drive mainly short journeys on country roads but have also done a couple of long distance motorway and easily maintain over 50 mpg over all. The multimedia screen is good with lots of apps & easy to use.

My main niggle is there are lots & lots of settings and it isn't easy to understand how to set them to your own preferences. Also the multimedia screen literally freezes if the temp drops below -4c when it's parked up overnight, which means you can't access anything controlled by the screen, including heated seats and heated steering wheel.

The IT center console appears to be temperamental in cold conditions, 0 degrees or below. It cycles round rebooting, black screen which makes it difficult to switch on heated seats and steering wheel, with also the radio disappearing for up to 2/3 days.

Occasionally the warning sensors come on for no reason, which can be a bit annoying when driving.

Not having a heated windscreen is creating a daily build-up of condensation inside the car and in freezing conditions I am having to scrape this off with a car scrapper (something that wasn't a thing in my old car).

Apart from these little niggles, the car drives smoothy and caters for my family of 5, the seats are comfortable with the boot space being it's best feature.

Likes -

The automatic lights and windscreen wipers.

The large boot which is big enough for our 3 dogs leaving back seats available for passengers.

The way the car drives which is smooth and silky. Manoeuvrability is easy and she is a pleasure to drive.

Dislikes -

The lack of a physical car manual which includes detailed instruction on how to use the satnav. There is no instruction on using the satnav in the online version, which is appalling as it doesn't explain a lot of aspects of using the screens. Also, the contents page is incorrect as the page numbers don't relate to the correct titles.

That the door to the boot has to be opened and closed manually despite having the top of the range Bigster Extreme!!