The Dacia Bigster, a larger SUV based on the Dacia Duster platform, has achieved a 3-star safety rating at the Euro NCAP crash tests. This rating reflects the SUV's performance in side-impact protection and its ability to mitigate whiplash injuries, and the overall safety.
The Dacia Bigster is equipped with six airbags, seatbelt pretensioners, and load limiters. It features a front passenger airbag cut-off switch, a seat belt reminder, and Isofix child anchor points. To enhance its crash test performance, the vehicle includes Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) for vulnerable road users and motorcyclists, AEB for car-to-car collisions, speed assistance, lane assist, and a system for detecting driver fatigue and distraction. Let's take a look at the scores it received.
Adult Occupant Protection
The Dacia Bigster achieved 27.7 points, equivalent to 69%, in the Adult Occupant safety assessment. During frontal offset crash tests, the passenger compartment proved to be stable, providing good protection for the knees and femurs of both the driver and front passenger. However, the driver's chest protection received a weak rating. In the full-width rigid barrier test, chest protection for both the driver and rear passenger was deemed marginal. The side impact tests yielded excellent protection for all critical body areas, resulting in maximum points. Despite this, the absence of measures for far-side impact protection led to a poor rating in that category.
Dacia Bigster Adult Occupant Test
Child Occupant Protection
The Dacia Bigster scored 42 points (85 percent), in the Child Occupant Safety Assessment Test. Both 6- and 10-year-old child dummies were well protected during frontal and side impact tests. The vehicle allows for the front passenger airbag to be deactivated for the use of rearward-facing child seats, and it provides clear guidance to the driver about this feature. However, the Duster lacks a child presence detection system.
Vulnerable Road Users
The Dacia Bigster scored 38.2 points, or 60%, for pedestrian and cyclist protection. The bonnet offers decent protection in most areas, but the base of the windscreen and its pillars provide poor safety. The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system works well for pedestrians and cyclists but lacks features like cyclist door prevention. Pelvis protection is poor, while femur protection is good. The knee and tibia protection had mixed results.
Safety Assist Systems
The Dacia Bigster received 10.3 points, or 57%, for its safety assist features. These include an advanced eCall system, monitoring for driver status, and a lane support system that gently keeps the vehicle in its lane. However, it doesn't have some advanced features found in other models, such as rear-seat occupant detection and comprehensive AEB, which lowered its score in this area.
While the Dacia Bigster continues to be unavailable in India, the third-generation Renault Duster is expected to debut in the country later in the first half of 2026. After the Duster, its 7-seater sibling, the Renault Boreal, is also planned for a later launch.