00:00this is the dacia bigster if it looks familiar from the front that's because up to the b
00:05pillar it's basically a duster and then towards the rear there's a bit more space for rear
00:10passengers and a larger boot watch my duster review like share subscribe see you in the next
00:16episode don't worry i won't get off the hook that easy what i booked for test drive is a wet
00:23dream
00:24of many a budget muttering enthusiasts it's an all-wheel drive hybrid with auto gas
00:31how does that even work let's find out
00:48dacia boasts that in 2025 it became the second most popular brand in europe
00:54and it quickly adds among individual buyers the sandero is the best-selling model followed by
01:00the duster which also happens to be the second best-selling suv among europe's private buyers
01:07seeing how people can't get enough of dusters dacia decided to milk the platform and introduce
01:12the slightly longer bigster it also announced an even longer but somewhat more coupe-ish striker
01:19which is coming along soon at 270 centimeters the bigster's wheelbase is just over four centimeters
01:27longer than the duster's the rear overhang is approximately 18 centimeters longer overall the
01:33bigster is just under 23 centimeters longer than the duster measuring 457 centimeters
01:42this means the boot volume has increased from a maximum of
01:47come on 517 liters in the duster to a maximum of 667 liters in the bigster depending on a powertrain
01:55the
01:56boot volume delta ranges from about 100 to 150 liters and the powertrains include a mild hybrid a full
02:02hybrid a mild hybrid with lpg and a mild hybrid with lpg and all-wheel drive like the car i'm
02:10reviewing
02:10today the boot volume here is 444 liters because of the 50 liter lpg tank located under the floor
02:19the petrol tank capacity is also 50 liters providing up to 1500 kilometers of range and up to 30 percent
02:26lower operating costs that's based on french lpg prices the boot dimensions are 100 centimeters wide
02:34between the wheel arches 105 centimeters deep and 45 centimeters from the floor to the cargo cover
02:42there are now levers for folding second row backrests a 12 volt outlet three standard shopping bag hooks
02:51and one u-clip mounting point u-clip is a dacia accessory system which includes hooks flashlights bags cup holders
03:00and phone mounts for example here i have a flashlight but i could swap it for a hook and mount
03:06the flashlight
03:07on the boot lid depending on the market the power tailgate may be an option for around 300 euro
03:15which is definitely not worth paying for as it beeps quite loudly and is rather slow and you cannot operate
03:25it with gesture there should be an extra few centimeters of rear leg room versus the duster thanks
03:36to the longer wheelbase i'd need to have both cars on the set measure the exact driver's seat position to
03:43verify this now the elbow room is the same as in the duster and it's 143 centimeters the doors still
03:51don't cover the sills and the door pockets are still far too tight for a bottle however some trims get
03:58a
03:5840 20 40 split rear seat and the center section becomes an armrest complete with cup holders and smartphone
04:05holders the tunnel still runs through the center but now we get air conditioning vents which were not
04:13present on the duster i reviewed there are two usb-c ports and a u-clip mount as well
04:20the cockpit looks almost identical to the duster the only difference from the duster i reviewed almost two
04:26years ago is the center console the duster back then was a manual so the console was lower and this
04:34because
04:34the hybrid drive train is an automatic and the console is higher and there's this funny short gear
04:41selector i strongly recommend you choose the winter package plus if it's an option on the trim you're
04:47looking at as it includes heated steering wheel heated seats and heated front screen windshield
04:55electrically heated however the hard plastics even if they stand the test of time will be a hard sell
05:02compared to what the chinese competition has to offer the wireless charger breaks connection
05:10every few seconds regardless of whether the phone is in a case or not or whether the car is moving
05:15or parked due to the higher console there are less than ideal cup holders that don't fit larger drinks
05:22and smaller ones will rattle in the plastic inserts the optional u-clip cup holder isn't a solution
05:29as it obstructs the glove box not to mention that the passenger can hit it with their knee
05:35the glove box is average sized as is the storage under the armrest which by the way is ventilated
05:42the door pockets are tight but they can accommodate medium-sized bottles
06:05the current bigster engine lineup consists of 1.2 and 1.8 liter engines the smaller one is
06:11a mild hybrid and can be ordered with or without lpg the lpg version can also be equipped with all
06:21-wheel drive
06:21the 1.8 liter unit is a full hybrid the same as i recently tested in a renault clio
06:29this test car is the hybrid g 4x4 version with 150 horsepower the three cylinder 1.2 liter engine is
06:39mated to a six-speed dual clutch gearbox the all-wheel drive version has 10 horsepower more than the
06:46front wheel drive version thanks to the 10 horsepower electric motor powering the rear axle
06:56despite this being a mild hybrid the car drives in pure electric mode relatively often dacia claims up to
07:0260 percent of city driving can be done in electric mode the claimed 0 to 100 kilometers per hour time
07:09is 10.4 seconds i checked and i was almost a second quicker bigster doesn't have a sport mode but
07:16i did
07:17speed runs on petrol and on lpg with similar results
07:25but regardless of the acceleration results the bigster feels sluggish before the car decides to
07:32shift gears the electric motor may or may not start pushing me from the rear but from behind the wheel
07:39i feel like the world outside is overtaking me only after a moment
07:48does the car decide to accelerate usually with an unpleasant jolt
07:53i have the impression that it's a matter of programming the drivetrain to run on electric
07:59power for as long as possible before switching to combustion power only as the very last resort
08:07however in the city the car does run on electric power quite a lot and then it's relatively quiet
08:14relatively because at low speeds you can hear this warning sound that electric cars have to make
08:21it's either that or the wine of the electric motor i don't know which one is worse
08:29driving on the highway it's noisy from all directions but not as bad as in the jogger
08:40the driver's seat is decent with adjustable lumbar support another advantage over the jogger but the
08:46passenger seat is less comfortable visibility is poor the view forward is limited by thick a pillars
08:54the passenger seat cannot be slid back further so with the front passenger i have to lean forward to see
09:00what's happening at intersections the camera helps with maneuvering but the image quality is really bad
09:10i mentioned lpg there is a button above the left knee to turn it off so depending on which fuel
09:18the car
09:18uses the range displayed on the virtual instrument cluster is either for lpg or for petrol fuel consumption
09:25on petrol is approximately six seven liters per 100 kilometers and on lpg approximately eight to nine
09:31liters which is slightly more than the manufacturer claims
09:40and finally i performed my diagonal approach test actually i tried something more challenging first
09:46because dacia used to have decent all-wheel drive but the bigster was out of its depth so i'll just
09:53stick
09:53with the basic test the first approach was an automatic mode with esp engaged okay there's a big hole on
10:00the side so i tried an easier line the bigster made it barely
10:15in automatic mode with esp off it's even worse you can see that the electric motor driving the rear axle
10:22doesn't engage right away when the front wheels need it only after a moment of hesitation the third
10:29approach was in snow mode with esp engaged from behind the wheel i had the impression the car wouldn't move
10:35i guess the system had to generate some energy to power the rear motor first
10:52the fourth approach was in sand and mud mode only when i started turning the steering wheel slightly left and
10:59right that i managed to climb
11:15the fifth attempt is in 4x4 lock mode here the bigster performed best
11:25and finally the same thing but with esp turned off i got up the incline in the end just like
11:33on tarmac during
11:34this off-road test i had the impression that the front and rear axle drives weren't communicating with each
11:43other
11:44price of the dacia bigster started 24 290 euro this test car with options cost 33 997 euro
11:54that's about 3000 euro more than a comparably specced duster
12:01more space for a little more money sounds like a good deal so does the hybrid powertrain combined with lpg
12:07especially given the current fuel prices on the negative side there's the powertrain calibration
12:12and visibility and that all-wheel drive system isn't what it used to be if you need a no-nonsense
12:20car to drive around on rougher roads that will be easy to service and won't break the bank dacia is
12:25your
12:26choice however if before visiting dacia showroom you'll swing by one of those chinese car dealers
12:33then the bigster may be a hard sell so what do you think about the dacia bigster let me know
12:39in a
12:39comment section below if you like my sarcastic down to earth and possibly mildly amusing car reviews
12:48join me every friday at 3 pm central european time and don't forget to subscribe and like this video
12:54as it helps me with the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will see you in the next one
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