One in three cars sold in Ireland belongs to what's called the C crossover SUV segment - think Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Tiguan and Peugeot 2008 as options here. They are popular family cars, largely because of their practicality, but they have also become very expensive in recent years, with prices edging up from an average of €40,000 and not far off €50,000 in some cases.
This is natural conquest territory for Dacia, which has now moved into the segment with its new Bigster and a starting price of €29,990 for the basic entry level version. As is always the case with Dacia, we do not expect many frills or an upmarket air about the car. What you see is what you get.
Well, almost. The Bigster has a surprisingly well-designed exterior and a fairly distinctive road presence for a car at this price point. The interior, on the other hand, is predictably dominated by a lot of cheap plastic. In other words, it’s basic on the inside but not on the outside.
It’s quite a big car, coming in at 1.7 metres high, 4.57 metres long and 1.8 metres wide. It also has a pretty impressive boot capacity of 612 litres - enough for a big family’s luggage - and this can be extended to 677 litres with the rear seats folded.
There’s a choice of mild and full hybrid engines and a four wheel drive option at the top of the price scale but the most expensive version is still a tad under €38,000.
The cheapest entry level Essential version has a 10.1" central touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, air conditioning, 17" alloy wheels and a parking camera as well as rear parking sensors.
The more expensive versions get two 10" screens and equipment such as keyless entry, a rear camera, front and rear parking sensors, dual zone climate control alloy wheels automatic wipers and hill start assist.
Other versions get extras such as a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, rear window privacy glass, wireless phone charging. A power tailgate and an electric sliding panoramic roof are also available options, depending on the version.
The mild hybrid entry version has a 1.2 three-cylinder engine and the full hybrid is a 1.8 unit. Renault is claiming modest consumption for both, which actually should be helped by the fact that the Bigster weighs in at about 1350 kg’s lighter than some competitors.
The full hybrid engine is a new one from the Renault Group, which Dacia says offers more power output and pulling power, allowing for a towing capacity of up to one tonne.
Dacia has been involved in a standoff with the EuroNCAP crash testing organisation after a number of poor ratings and it argues that EuroNCAP is insisting on too many high tech safety features to award higher ratings.
It and Citroen say they can’t sell cars as cheaply as they do if they try to meet these higher requirements and insist their cars are safe.
All Bigster versions have advanced emergency braking systems, vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcycle detection), traffic sign recognition with speed alert, rear park assist, emergency stop signal, lane change alert, lane keeping assist, driver attention warning, and the emergency call system, eCall.
