The £25k Dacia Bigster Is The Company’s Most Expensive Car

Ordinarily, we wouldn’t be hugely bothered about a new C-segment family crossover. This kind of car is everywhere, and normally, they’re about as exciting as a documentary about how porridge is made. The Dacia Bigster, though, is a bit different, because it comes from one of our very favourite manufacturers.

But there’s bad news! The Bigster is the most expensive car Dacia sells. That said, ‘expensive’ in Dacia’s world means a starting price of £24,995. That’s nearly £4,000 less than a basic Kia Sportage, which was Britain’s best-selling car in the Bigster’s class last year.

As the name implies, the Bigster is the largest SUV from the Romanian manufacturer to date – and only bested in its line-up by the seven-seat Jogger. Very handily, volume is the USP of the Bigster too.

Coming into the C-segment of SUVs, rivalling school run and ‘40 in a 60 before doing 40 in a 30’ favourites like the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage, it boasts the largest boot of the lot. That measures at 667 litres, making it some way clear of both of those – 504 litres and 591 litres respectively.

It’s also claimed that the Bigster will offer the best head- and legroom in class, though we’ll have to try it out for ourselves before confirming if that’s the case. Not that we doubt it.

As for powertrains, you’re picking between two pure 1.2-litre three-pot petrol options and a hybrid system. Perhaps oddly, it’s the lowest output engine – 128bhp – that has our fancy as it’s the only one available as a proper 4x4. That one starts at £27,195 in basic Expression trim, or £28,695 for the top Extreme version.

Weirdly, opt for the same engine with front-wheel drive and you get slightly more power – 138bhp. That, in Expression form, is the cheapest £24,995 version, rising to £26,245 for the mid-ranking Journey and £26,495 for the Extreme.

 If you want an automatic, you’ll need the hybrid. This pairs up a 107bhp 1.8-litre four-cylinder with an electric motor for a combined 153bhp, with electric power drawn from a small 1.4kWh battery. That one’s £27,995 for the Expression, £29,245 for the Journey, and £29,495 for the Extreme – the most you’ll pay for a Bigster before any options.

Regardless of trim, standard equipment includes dual-zone air-con, a 10.1-inch infotainment system, a digital instrument cluster and a reversing camera.

From there, the Extreme trim is more focused on being used and abused off-road with trinkets like washable fabric upholstery, rubber mats, a panoramic sunroof and hill descent control. Meanwhile, Journey is a touch more daily-oriented with electric seats, adaptive cruise control and an electric tailgate.

The front-wheel drive petrol car will hit 62mph in 9.8 seconds, while the hybrid manages it 9.7 and the 4x4 in 11.2. All powertrains have a 112mph top speed, while the hybrid’s quoted 60.1mpg unsurprisingly makes it the most efficient on paper. The Bigster’s available to order now, and should arrive in the UK in the next few months.