Duster or Bigster, auto or manual.
Discussion
Took a Bigster out today for a short half hour unaccompanied test drive.
The demo car was the 1.8 hybrid auto so keycard in my pocket, like I did with my sadly gone Alpine, I climbed in and went to press the start button.
Nothing. A message saying keycard has to be placed in a cubby saying key here, or some such.
Might as well be a good old fashioned key then
Start button again pressed but I then waited for the engine to explode into life but just some graphics changed on the screen where the speedo and rev dials used to be.
This is so different from my mk2 1.0 petrol Duster
Ah, so being hybrid it starts and runs on electricity. Sorry folks, I've only ever driven mild hybrid rental cars before this experience with a full hybrid.
Off we go, this is lightyears ahead of my old Dacia, wafting off in silence and quite eager too. Straight on to the A4 and brisk smooth acceleration to just under 40, too many cameras to risk going quicker.
Well I have only 25 minutes left of my half hour. Apparently I'm insured until 11am, pretty restrictive, it was all done digitally via my phone. Brave New World.
Best thing will be to take the side road and see what the biggest Dacia is like in the urban landscape. I turn left, and now it's a 20mph zone, and the car is slowing down. Nothing to do with me, I have my foot almost flat to the floor pressing the pedal.
FFS! the bloody car obeys the speed limit, how Big Brother! If I mash the loud pedal it feels like when you engage kickdown in an old school automatic. There's resistance but then the car speeds up.
But ease off and it goes back to obeying the limit. So my progress now looks as if I'm a learner who hasn't mastered clutch control.
I found somewhere to pull over and start going through the menus on the large and well placed screen. I turn off all the nannies but can't find one related to obeying the limits.
This is so annoying. The car looks great, it feels solid, seat and positioning is comfortable, I like the cockpit and interior and the whole package looks well put together and has a chunky, almost military bearing.
Running out of time, I tried to hightail back to the dealer (I couldn't) and parked back on their lot.
I immediately said that I wasn't happy about how the car drove to the sales guy.
Now I find out that there's a button that you press twice to switch all the aids off.
So anyone with a new Duster/Bigster, can you tell me that this is correct, thanks.
I do fancy an automatic but I don't think I need the extra size of the Bigster. It's only around 20cms longer yet the same width, although it does look a lot bulkier, in a nice way.
I sat in a new Duster and from the driver's seat I couldn't really tell whether I was in either car.
The auto hybrid Duster Expression is about £3000 more than the 1.2 petrol but going 'down' to a Duster is a £3000 saving over the equivalent Bigster.
So fellow Dacia owners, which should I go for
Just as long as I can turn that damn speed limit thing off.
The demo car was the 1.8 hybrid auto so keycard in my pocket, like I did with my sadly gone Alpine, I climbed in and went to press the start button.
Nothing. A message saying keycard has to be placed in a cubby saying key here, or some such.
Might as well be a good old fashioned key then
Start button again pressed but I then waited for the engine to explode into life
but just some graphics changed on the screen where the speedo and rev dials used to be.This is so different from my mk2 1.0 petrol Duster
Ah, so being hybrid it starts and runs on electricity. Sorry folks, I've only ever driven mild hybrid rental cars before this experience with a full hybrid.
Off we go, this is lightyears ahead of my old Dacia, wafting off in silence and quite eager too. Straight on to the A4 and brisk smooth acceleration to just under 40, too many cameras to risk going quicker.
Well I have only 25 minutes left of my half hour. Apparently I'm insured until 11am, pretty restrictive, it was all done digitally via my phone. Brave New World.
Best thing will be to take the side road and see what the biggest Dacia is like in the urban landscape. I turn left, and now it's a 20mph zone, and the car is slowing down. Nothing to do with me, I have my foot almost flat to the floor pressing the pedal.
FFS! the bloody car obeys the speed limit, how Big Brother! If I mash the loud pedal it feels like when you engage kickdown in an old school automatic. There's resistance but then the car speeds up.
But ease off and it goes back to obeying the limit. So my progress now looks as if I'm a learner who hasn't mastered clutch control.
I found somewhere to pull over and start going through the menus on the large and well placed screen. I turn off all the nannies but can't find one related to obeying the limits.
This is so annoying. The car looks great, it feels solid, seat and positioning is comfortable, I like the cockpit and interior and the whole package looks well put together and has a chunky, almost military bearing.
Running out of time, I tried to hightail back to the dealer (I couldn't) and parked back on their lot.
I immediately said that I wasn't happy about how the car drove to the sales guy.
Now I find out that there's a button that you press twice to switch all the aids off.
So anyone with a new Duster/Bigster, can you tell me that this is correct, thanks.
I do fancy an automatic but I don't think I need the extra size of the Bigster. It's only around 20cms longer yet the same width, although it does look a lot bulkier, in a nice way.
I sat in a new Duster and from the driver's seat I couldn't really tell whether I was in either car.
The auto hybrid Duster Expression is about £3000 more than the 1.2 petrol but going 'down' to a Duster is a £3000 saving over the equivalent Bigster.
So fellow Dacia owners, which should I go for
Just as long as I can turn that damn speed limit thing off.
I ordered a 1.2 Journey in Indigo Blue yesterday, to replace our 22 plate Duster Expression. We also drove a new Duster, but I felt the new Duster was not as good a ride as the one it would replace, but the Bigster was a huge improvement in every regard. Really looking forward to picking it up.
Edited by Magikarp on Sunday 11th January 11:34
I forgot that I posted this up.
I went for a full Hybrid Journey in the end. I have only covered 800 odd miles so far but it's light years ahead of my old Duster mk2 1.0.
It's pretty nippy for its size, especially when running on electric and it's a fine motorway cruiser.
I always felt that I was flirting with disaster to keep to 80/85 in the Duster but this one feels solid and planted.
When it was autumn I was getting 58mpg around town but now it's colder I'm getting 45mpg for similar journeys. Still not bad but quite a drop.
Currently the petrol engine cuts in a lot more as a generator which feels rough after running on electric.
Shame the traction battery is only 1 and a bit KWs.
The size is amazing, I'm 182cms/ 5ft 11ins and I can comfortably sleep in the back with the seats down, and I have no complaints about sitting in the driver's seat for hours.
I guess the handling is also helped by the 19ins wheels and relatively low profile tyres. I'd have preferred the 17ins wheels off the base model.
The big bulbous tyres where great for avoiding kerbing the wheels on my Duster as I seem to have scuffed 3 of the alloys on the Bigster already.
Due to my just drive in and bump up the kerb parking which I didn't do in my previous car, an Alpine, who's alloys remained flawless for the 8000 miles I had her. With that one I was a pussy at parking, as I was with the Abarth that I had before
I'm getting some rattles on poor road surfaces but I think I've traced that to the A pillar trims, which are made of quite bendy plastic. They are rattling against the main dashboard plastic.
I need to find something to wedge in there.
In order to drive without bings, bongs and other nannies, there's a button you have to press twice and slowly, then another on the steering wheel.
So that's 4 pushes of buttons to start the car and have it as I like it.
Android auto is all good, as is the car's own satnav, radio is fine, there's the classic Renault remote pod just under your right hand when on the wheel. The Google voice command is getting very good now.
I only realised the other night that it has auto high/low beam which seems pretty intelligent.
It has adaptive cruise which works, as long as the camera in the windscreen isn't covered in muck or ice. I don't tend to use it as I find it more stressful having my foot hovering over the brake in case it goes wrong.
Tried it in heavy traffic on the motorway and it'll even slow to a stop in jams and pull away again when the traffic starts moving.
But, like I say, I'd rather control it myself.
As I found on my test drive there's even a speed limiter setting that uses the camera to read the signs thus stopping you going faster than 20,30,40 etc.
I don't use that
I think it's a great car. Doesn't make me want to go out and just drive it, but it's good at what it was made to do.
I went for a full Hybrid Journey in the end. I have only covered 800 odd miles so far but it's light years ahead of my old Duster mk2 1.0.
It's pretty nippy for its size, especially when running on electric and it's a fine motorway cruiser.
I always felt that I was flirting with disaster to keep to 80/85 in the Duster but this one feels solid and planted.
When it was autumn I was getting 58mpg around town but now it's colder I'm getting 45mpg for similar journeys. Still not bad but quite a drop.
Currently the petrol engine cuts in a lot more as a generator which feels rough after running on electric.
Shame the traction battery is only 1 and a bit KWs.
The size is amazing, I'm 182cms/ 5ft 11ins and I can comfortably sleep in the back with the seats down, and I have no complaints about sitting in the driver's seat for hours.
I guess the handling is also helped by the 19ins wheels and relatively low profile tyres. I'd have preferred the 17ins wheels off the base model.
The big bulbous tyres where great for avoiding kerbing the wheels on my Duster as I seem to have scuffed 3 of the alloys on the Bigster already.
Due to my just drive in and bump up the kerb parking which I didn't do in my previous car, an Alpine, who's alloys remained flawless for the 8000 miles I had her. With that one I was a pussy at parking, as I was with the Abarth that I had before
I'm getting some rattles on poor road surfaces but I think I've traced that to the A pillar trims, which are made of quite bendy plastic. They are rattling against the main dashboard plastic.
I need to find something to wedge in there.
In order to drive without bings, bongs and other nannies, there's a button you have to press twice and slowly, then another on the steering wheel.
So that's 4 pushes of buttons to start the car and have it as I like it.
Android auto is all good, as is the car's own satnav, radio is fine, there's the classic Renault remote pod just under your right hand when on the wheel. The Google voice command is getting very good now.
I only realised the other night that it has auto high/low beam which seems pretty intelligent.
It has adaptive cruise which works, as long as the camera in the windscreen isn't covered in muck or ice. I don't tend to use it as I find it more stressful having my foot hovering over the brake in case it goes wrong.
Tried it in heavy traffic on the motorway and it'll even slow to a stop in jams and pull away again when the traffic starts moving.
But, like I say, I'd rather control it myself.
As I found on my test drive there's even a speed limiter setting that uses the camera to read the signs thus stopping you going faster than 20,30,40 etc.
I don't use that
I think it's a great car. Doesn't make me want to go out and just drive it, but it's good at what it was made to do.
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