New Dacia Bigster SUV: price, specs and official release date
The Dacia Duster’s big brother will be unveiled in a matter of days, before heading to the Paris Motor Show
The all-new Dacia Bigster family SUV will finally be revealed to the world on 9 October, it has been confirmed. The latest addition to Dacia’s wallet-friendly range is a mid-size SUV that will take on hugely popular models such as the Ford Kuga and Nissan Qashqai.
The first official teaser images of the Bigster don’t tell us much about the car, thanks to a pesky seagull and what must have been a fire nearby. The only detail we can make out from them is a set of Y-shaped tail-lights, which are exactly like those on the latest Dacia Duster.
Thankfully we already have a clear idea of what the new model looks like, because the Bigster Concept was shown way back in January 2021, and introduced a new era of design for Dacia. Prototypes of the Bigster have also been spotted testing, and we can see that the production car has at least stayed true to the concept’s blocky shape.
There’s not long to go before the covers are torn off the Dacia Bigster, but in the meantime, here’s everything we know about it…
Dacia Bigster price and release date
This being a Dacia, the Bigster will be priced to undercut several of its family car rivals when it goes on sale in 2025. The Nissan Qashqai, for instance, now starts from £30,135. The Kia Sportage has a slightly cheaper starting price of £29,390, while the Ford Kuga gets under way from £32,095. Based on that, the Dacia Bigster is likely to have a starting price of well under £30,000.
Speaking to Auto Express last year, Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot said: “[the Bigster] is for the many.” He added: “We are Dacia; we don’t forget this. Let’s say that you and your wife, you bought a crossover for £28,000 a while back. Then after five years you renewed, at £30,000. Then you renewed again, maybe at two years, at £37,000. The joke begins to be real, huh?
“From £28,000 to £37,000? Your salary doesn’t move that fast. And the next time it could be £41,000.”
How big is the Dacia Bigster?
The Bigster is not Dacia’s first SUV of course, as the Duster has been around for a long time now and has proven very popular with UK car buyers. However, the Duster is smaller than the Bigster – a rival for the Nissan Juke rather than Qashqai, in terms of price if not physical size – while the new car will fill a gap in the brand’s range for a larger, more family-orientated model.
The Dacia Bigster will probably measure in at around 4.6 metres long, which is a notable increase over the 4.3-metre long Duster, and about the same size as the latest Ford Kuga, Volkswagen Tiguan and Vauxhall Grandland. It will undercut all of those models on price – some more than others – but offer nearly as much equipment, if Dacia’s other models are anything to go on.
We can see that the prototype spotted in testing has a set of slim LED headlights and those Y-shaped tail-lights, just as with the concept. However, the concept’s flared wheelarches and chiselled bonnet design appear to have been toned down for the road-going version.
The Bigster’s size and shape should help deliver the spacious interior we’ve been promised. However Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot has confirmed to Auto Express that it will definitely not be offered with seven seats.
Dacia Bigster interior and technology
Expect the Bigster to use the Duster’s new 10.1-inch central touchscreen, seven-inch digital instrument panel and Dacia’s new ‘YouClip’ system: various handy accessories such as cup-holders and lights can be attached to various mounts dotted around the cabin.
Underneath, the Bigster will sit on the same CMF-B underpinnings Dacia has used for the Duster compact SUV, Sandero supermini and Jogger seven-seater. The Bigster will be the largest model Dacia has put on this platform, but doing so will help make the price more affordable compared with rivals.
We know the CMF-B platform can accommodate hybrid technology. The Duster, for instance, is available with a mild-hybrid TCe 130 set-up that produces 128bhp, and can be equipped with two or four-wheel drive. Meanwhile, its Hybrid 140 system pairs a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with two e-motors, and allows cars with the full-hybrid powertrain to drive up to 80 per cent of the time on pure-electric power when in the city.
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