Dacia Bigster: Everything one size bigger

You can like Dacia or not, but you have to give the brand credit for one thing: What the Romanians put on wheels for the money is still unique. Now the Renault subsidiary is entering a new segment: The Bigster is a 4.57 meter long, stately SUV with front or all-wheel drive and fully electrified engines. The model is arriving at Swiss dealerships these days - so it's high time for a test drive.

To put it bluntly: what the Bigster offers for the price is simply sensational. The SUV starts at 26,990 Swiss francs, with the almost fully-equipped top version costing 30,690 Swiss francs - this Romanian car is really shaking up the highly competitive compact SUV segment. In addition to an attractive design and plenty of space in the impeccably finished interior with a large trunk (566 to a maximum of 1912 liters), it also offers extensive equipment including modern assistance systems and a few clever details on top.

Electrified throughout

As always with Dacia, the engines in the range are on the weaker side in terms of performance, but are perfectly adequate. It starts with a 1.2-liter three-cylinder petrol engine with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, which delivers 103 kW/140 hp with front-wheel drive or 96 kW/130 hp with all-wheel drive. Both are combined with a manual 6-speed gearbox. The full hybrid with 115 kW/155 hp system output and multi-mode automatic transmission ranks above this. A full hybrid with all-wheel drive will probably only be added next year.

After just a few minutes, it's clear that the Bigster rides like a big one. It rolls along nicely, is not outstandingly comfortable, but in no way unpleasant. The cockpit with two large screens is modern, easy to operate and fully networkable. In short: no one needs more car. Or, as brand boss Denis le Vot puts it: "We have made Dacia more desirable and sophisticated than ever, and at an excellent price-performance ratio." The competition will have to nibble at this.