Dacia Bigster Review 2025: Price, specs & boot space

If you're after a roomy SUV for less, then you should absolutely check the Bigster out. It's a great option if you're trading up from the company's own Duster to get more space, or if this is your first Dacia model – the brand is expecting it to bring in lots of new customers, and we can see why. 

It won't feel quite as premium as some rivals inside, but – and we'll be saying this a lot – when you factor in the price, it doesn't seem a big issue. You'll also need to be ok with Dacia's stance on safety systems, especially in a family car. There's absolutely no suggestion that it isn't safe, but some customer may prefer to have extra layers of safety tech that rivals can offer.

Although it's the only engine we've tried so far, we reckon the 155 Hybrid powertrain will be the pick of the bunch. As the largest Dacia ever, the Bigster is also the heaviest in the current range, so the extra poke of the 155 is very welcome. Plus it's based around an inline-four-cylinder engine, which we suspect means it'll be smoother and more refined than the three-cylinder options. The 155 can also be driven in electric mode for a large chunk of the time when around town, which really cuts down fuel use. 

You could pair that with the base Expression trim and have a decent level of equipment, but opting for the Journey or Extreme grades won't add much to the price, especially if you're buying on finance. As for which of the latter you opt for, a lot of that will come down to taste, with Extreme taking on a more aggressive style than Journey and featuring a more hard-wearing interior. Equipment levels across the two are high.

The Dacia Bigster's sheer size and interior space means it's a rival for large SUVs like the Skoda Kodiaq, despite being cheaper than more compact offerings like the Nissan Qashqai, which is undercuts by £5,000. 

The Kia Sportage could also be a rival, as could the Citroen C5 Aircross. The latter is probably the only new car that comes close in terms of price. To find anything competing in terms of value for money, you'd need to look at similar-sized cars on the used market. 

All models come with a 10.1-inch infotainment screen, but the unit in the entry-level Bigster Expression does without navigation. That's not the end of the world given that you still have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity, so it'll be easy enough to display your preferred mobile navigation app, which will be a lot of people's preference anyway. 

It looks to be the same unit fitted to fancier-trimmed versions of the Duster. In that car, we found the system to be a little laggy. We shouldn't be surprised, really – at this kind of price, something has to give.

The Journey and Extreme-trimmed Bigsters get the upgraded Media Nav Line setup, which based on the short amount of time we spent with it seems faster and generally intuitive to use. These models also get the upgraded Arkamys 3D sound system which has six speakers, compared to only four on the Expression, although we've not had a chance to fully test it. There are USB-C ports front and rear and a wireless charging pad in the Journey trim.

As befits the car's name, Dacia has maximised space inside the Bigster. There's no seven-seat version – although the dimensions would cope with an extra row of seats, Dacia says it would compromise rear leg room in the second row. But that means up to five passengers have acres of space, with loads of rear legroom.

There's a load of storage within the Bigster, too. It varies slightly by trim, but the Journey trim that we tried had a high centre console with a big built-in cooler compartment under the armrest, while in the back there are pockets in the back of the front seats for kids to keep magazines and the like. Front and rear doors get generous pockets, and the YouClip mounting points let you add extra options such as cupholders, phone holders and more. In fact, Dacia has opened up the YouClip design to let people design and 3D print their own accessories, which should mean it gets every more useful.

The huge boot should be able to cope with just about anything family life throws at it. Its exact size varies by powertrain because of the various battery packaging requirements – you'll get the most space in the Mild Hybrid 140 model, with 677 litres of space, while the Mild Hybrid 130 4x4 model has 629 litres and the Hybrid 155 has 612 litres. But even the smallest Bigster boot is pretty cavernous, and there's a false floor to keep the loading space flat.

The rear seats fold in a 40:20:40 split for flexibility between passenger and boot space, although they don't fold down completely flat. However, you still get a whopping 1977 litres of capacity and 2.7 metres of load bay to house larger items. The Journey trim gets an electric boot lid that opens and closes with the touch of a button.

Three power options are available in the Dacia Bigster. Those wanting to head off-road will be interested in the petrol-powered Mild Hybrid 130 4x4 model, which uses a mild-hybrid system with a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder engine producing 130PS. The all-wheel-drive system is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and has a Terrain Control setup that lets you switch the car between five driving modes, including Snow, Mud/Sand and Off-Road.

A more powerful, front-wheel-drive version of this engine is the Mild Hybrid 140 with, as the name suggests, 140PS, while the top-spec engine is the Hybrid 155. This is a full-hybrid car with a four-cylinder, 1.8-litre petrol engine, an electric motor and a starter/generator, producing 155PS and 170Nm all together and using an automatic gearbox. Dacia says it can stay in all-electric mode up to 80% of the time during city driving, and indeed we found it impressively keen on relying on battery power at low speeds.

In theory, the Bigster should be quieter and more refined than any Dacia we've experienced before, with an acoustic windscreen and thicker glazing used to reduce road and wind noise. But while road noise is contained adequately, there is a lot of wind noise even at surprisingly low speeds. Sure, the Bigster is a large, bluff and boxy car, but the swirling and buffeting around the car at anything other than 40mph is too loud, even factoring in the low price. That said, you can always crank up the sound system to mask it.

Dacia models have often been given poor Euro NCAP results, with recent examples being the Jogger achieving just one star, and the Duster three stars. The latter is probably more representative of what we can expect once the Bigster is tested, as it's more closely related. 

It's worth noting that a lot of the Duster's lacklustre result has to do with its available electronic safety systems, or lack thereof, plus the performance of the safety features it actually has. The rating for that part of the assessment was 57% overall, compared to 70% for its adult occupant protection ability and 84% for child occupant protection. It was also only rated at 60% for its vulnerable road user protection.

Again, we should say that this a deliberate strategy from Dacia to omit such systems to keep costs down, rather than any systems not working as they should. As far as the present safety equipment goes, the Bigster gets autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition with speeding alert, lane keeping assistance, driver attention warning and an emergency call system.

The Bigster's 1.2-litre inline-three engine is widely used across various Dacia and Renault products, and there aren't any common faults with the unit that we're aware of. The Hybrid 155 is a new powertrain and thus something of an unknown quantity at this stage. 

It should be reassuring that Dacia often places well in the HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index survey. As standard there's a fairly ordinary three-year/60,000 warranty, but this can be extended to seven years or 75,000 miles – whichever comes first – via the Dacia Zen programme if the car is serviced at Dacia dealerships.

From 1 April 2025, when the new Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates come into force, the first-year rate of the Hybrid 155 will be £390, while the Mild Hybrid 140 will cost £440 and the Mild Hybrid 130 £540. All of these will be factored into the on-the-road price, however. From year two of ownership onwards, it'll be £195 a year for all three models.

The entry-level Bigster is the Expression, which comes with 17-inch alloy wheels and roof bars and has rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. Inside, there's dual-zone air-con and the smaller 7.0-inch digital instrument screen.

The Extreme trim adds 18-inch alloy wheels, modular roof bars that you can reposition crosswise, an opening panoramic sunroof and Copper Brown trim both inside and out for a more sophisticated look. The upholstery is a washable synthetic material, and rubber floor and boot mats are standard. Hill descent control is included for slippery off-road hills. You also get the bigger driver instrument display and the YouClip cup holder, bag hook and portable flashlight.

Should the Extreme be your cup of tea, you can also add various accessories to complement the look, including a Sleep Pack (a double bed for the boot), a roof rack and a tent that fits to the Bigster's rear.

If the Extreme is a bit rugged for your tastes, the Journey trim is more luxury-focused. It also has 19-inch wheels, an electric boot lid and a hands-free key, as well as a higher centre console with an armrest and chilled compartment. A wireless phone charger and adaptive cruise control are included and there's the option of two-tone paint with a black roof.