Dacia, already Europe’s leading B-segment brand, is entering the C-SUV segment with Bigster. This all-new vehicle illustrates Dacia’s core values: essential, eco-smart, robust, and outdoor. It will also be a lot cheaper than its main rivals.

The all-new Bigster is tailored to the specific requirements of a still-growing SUV market. “Spiraling costs are an issue for many C-SUV segment buyers who want to buy a new car without compromising comfort, performance, and space,” says Dacia.

“Since Renaulution in 2021, we completely revamped the brand with the New Brand Identity: new colors, new logo, new territory, new showrooms,” says Denis Le Vot, Dacia’s CEO. “While remaining true to ourselves, we made Dacia more desirable and aspirational than ever, and it is still the best value for money. Today with Bigster, Dacia meets more than ever C-segment customers’ expectations.”

Dacia is entering the C-SUV segment with a carefully planned product strategy. The all-new Bigster will be followed by two other vehicles.

Robust styling

“The design of Bigster showcases its robust styling and ability to support customers in their work, leisure, and family activities. Generous dimensions are accentuated by taut, geometric shapes and volumes whose simple lines go straight to the essentials,” says the press release.

“The large wings over the wheels and the position of the headlamps and rear lights at the far edges of the vehicle reinforce Bigster’s assertive on-road stance.”

As with its smaller brother, the Duster, the Bigster’s front and rear skid plates are dyed in the mass, making them more durable and resistant. The protection around the body, on the sides, wheel arches, and lower part of the bumpers, is made from the so-called Starkle.

Dacia is using this material for a more sustainable approach. Developed by brand engineers and incorporating recycled materials, Starkle is used in untreated, unpainted form.

Interior space

Inside Bigster, the designers focused on the essentials: space, ergonomics, and comfort. The high-mounted vertical dashboard increases the space available for passengers at the front.

David Durand, Design Director Dacia: “Regarding interior design, we wanted to underline one of All-New Bigster’s major assets: its exceptional interior space. We’ve gone for simplicity, with geometric lines that echo those of the exterior, while delivering the quality expected by customers in the C-SUV segment.”

Compared with Duster, at 4.57 m, the Bigster is 23 cm longer and 5 cm higher(1.71 m), with the same width. The 2.70 m wheelbase is a 4 cm increase; the trunk can now hold 667 liters, 150 more than in the Duster. Like Duster, Bigster will be available in four variants: Essential, Expression, Extreme, and Journey.

All electrified

The new Bigster will always be electrified and available with four different drives. Three are mild hybrids; the fourth is Renault/Dacia’s full hybrid system.

The latter is the top of the range, called Hybrid 155. Compared with the Duster hybrid, the four-cylinder gasoline engine now has 107 hp and is aided by two electromotors, a 37 kW/50 hp one, and a starter/generator.

The battery has a 1.4 kWh capacity, and the clutch-less automatic gearbox has four gears for the gasoline engine and two for the electric motors. This gives 155 hp and an augmented towing capacity of up to one ton.

The standard Bigster is the TCe 140, with a 48 V mild hybrid system and a 1.2 turbo three-cylinder developing 140 hp, coupled to a manual 6-speed gearbox. This car also has a bi-fuel version called Eco-G 140, which can use gasoline or Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG). With its two fuel tanks (50 liters gasoline, 49 liters LPG), the Eco-G 140 ranges up to 1,450 km.

Last, there’s also an all-wheel drive version, TCe 130 4×4, which combines driving the four wheels with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Technically, it’s the same as in the Duster 4×4, except for the mild hybridization with the 48 V system and the 0.8 kWh battery.

Very competitive

The exact pricing and when deliveries will begin haven’t been communicated yet. But despite the Bigster being more luxurious and comfortable than its older colleagues inside the portfolio, Dacia has also applied its ‘design to cost’ principle. It means that from the beginning the design, the technical development and the suppliers are bound to a fixed budget determined by the projected selling price.

Dacia’s promise is combining economy and ecology. The Bigster is 150 kg lighter (some 10%) than its main competitors and in combination with its mild hybridisation or with its full hybrid model it should also be more economical in fuel consumption. Burning LPG instead of petrol as fossil fuel is also more ecological.

According to the French newspaper Le Figaro, the Bigster should start with a price tag just under €25,000 while the most expensive ‘full hybrid’ version turns around €30,000. That’s only 5,000 to 7,000 euros more than the much smaller Duster.

“In five years, the average price of an SUV in the C-segment has risen from €29,000 to €38,000,” notes Xavier Martinet, marketing and sales responsilbe at Dacia. “Every year, 2.8 million C SUVs are sld in Europe. This means there is room for an SUV like ours.”