Best new Dacias coming soon
Good news, Dacia is expanding its wallet-friendly range even more, with cars big and small in the pipeline
It’s hard to believe that Dacia only arrived in the UK back in 2013, when it offered the Sandero for just £5,995 and we were first introduced to the now-beloved Duster. Since then, the brand has sold more than 250,000 cars in Britain alone, establishing a reputation for making affordable, great-value vehicles, and it now has a line-up of six different models. But excitingly, there’s still more to come.
Dacia Bridger
A boxy silhouette, tall and square bonnet, pronounced wheelarches, sheer edges and a vertical rear end perfect for mounting a spare tyre. All of these are design traits of the iconic Land Rover Defender, but also this chunky new compact SUV that Renault will be launching in India in 2027, but could be headed to Europe as a Dacia.
Over in the sub-continent, this butch baby SUV – the concept model of which was unveiled back in the spring – will be called the Renault Bridger. Partly because its bold and chunky design is supposed to bring to mind the strong and robust construction of a bridge. Oi, don’t laugh!
Questionable naming aside, this handsome ‘urban’ SUV measures less than four metres long, meaning it’s quite a bit smaller than the latest Dacia Duster, which is more than 4.3 metres from tip-to-tail. Instead, the Bridger will be about the same size as the new Fiat Grande Panda, which would likely be a key competitor, and it could be offered with a similar choice of hybrid engines or all-electric power, because it’ll sit on the same platform as the next-generation Dacia Sandero.
Really, the only question left is whether Dacia loves us enough to bring the Bridger here and we very well much hope so. Just look at it!
Dacia Hipster
The utterly outrageous but undeniably cool Dacia Hipster may have just seemed like a fun school project when the cubic concept was presented in October 2025, and not something actually destined for the road. However, as we understand it the brand is considering putting the tiny tearabout into production because Europe is crying out for super-cheap EVs just like this.
The Hipster may be just three metres long, which is the same as the original Mini Cooper from the sixties, but its porta cabin-esque shape and flexible interior allows it to offer seating for four people, amazingly. To match the tough 4x4 look, the driving position is nearly as tall as it is in the Bigster SUV, so should give occupants a reassuring and quite commanding view of the busy streets.
Its compact size would meet the proposed criteria for the European Commission’s ‘M1E’ affordable electric vehicle class – the same legislation that’s leading to the rebirth of the Citroen 2CV, which will be a retro rival to the futuristic Hipster. Manufacturers who build these types of EVs will qualify for super-credits towards their emissions obligations, making it a win-win for us and them.
Dacia Sandero
The future is looking very bright for the Dacia Sandero. For starters, the humble supermini – which refuses to relinquish the title of the best-selling car in Europe – has recently received some impressive upgrades, including its first hybrid system. It’s the same Hybrid 155 set-up found in the Duster, which is as punchy as it is efficient, and hopefully should be available to order soon.
Plus, work has already begun on the next-generation Sandero, which is set to be unveiled next year, and, very importantly, Dacia’s CEO Katrin Adt promised us it will be “a value-for-money champion”, just like the current model. It’s also going to embrace electrification even more, because we’ve been promised there will be a range of powertrains, including hybrid and pure-electric versions.
The Dacia Sandero is the car that this brand built its name on and has been the cheapest car on sale in the UK, pretty much, from the day it hit our streets. We’ll be interested to see if the new model manages to be as affordable as the current one, which right now is available from just £14,765 – more than £2k less than the significantly smaller Kia Picanto.
Dacia Spring
The Dacia Spring only arrived in the UK two years ago, but an all-new, second-generation of the cut-price EV is already being primed for launch and should be revealed within the next few months.
Our exclusive image shows what the new Spring could look like. It will be more of a small SUV than the current model, with a boxy shape plus chunky wheelarches and a good amount of cladding. Meanwhile underneath, it will be based on the adorable Renault Twingo and, most likely, will feature the same powertrain that includes a 27.5kWh battery, good for about 150 miles of range.
Dacia claims it engineered the new Spring in just 16 months – a feat made possible by using an existing platform and the car being jointly developed in China and Europe. However, very importantly, the new one will be built in Europe, so it can avoid the hefty tariffs that the outgoing Spring faces because it’s made in China.
Dacia Striker
There are ballistic missiles with less intimidating names than the Dacia Striker, and if this were any other car we’d think the name was rather melodramatic. However, this jacked-up family estate car is part of the value-focused brand’s assault on the critical C-segment market, and hopes to strike fear into the hearts of the Skoda Octavia, Citroen C5 Aircross and Nissan Qashqai. So maybe it's appropriate after all?
Aside from having the best name of any car launched in 2026, the Striker is the biggest Dacia to date; at 4.62m long, it’s around 50mm longer than the Bigster SUV. It also opts for a sleeker, bolder and more desirable look, compared with the usually utilitarian styling of Dacia’s models.
But while it may have a swooping roofline and chiseled bodywork, the long wheelbase and rear overhang should provide plenty of space for the whole family and their stuff. We hope so anyway, because we’re still waiting to get a look inside the new Striker and learn some key technicals. But it should get the brand’s Hybrid 155 powertrain, which spends 80 per cent of time in EV mode around town, and should cost about £22,000.
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