Renault Duster’s plus-sized Bigster sibling spied for the first time

Ahead of its world debut at the end of the year, a short spy video, posted on social media, has confirmed that Renault-owned Dacia has started with on-road testing of the all-new Bigster SUV.

What to expect

Showcased alongside the then-still concept Renault 5 three years ago as part of Renault’s “Renaulution” restructuring plan after the pandemic, the Bigster, as its name points out, will be positioned above the Duster and in effect, become the Romanian-brand’s flagship SUV and model when it debuts.

Also poised to become the priciest Dacia ever made, the Bigster will have a reported length of 4.6 metres, ride on the CMF-B platform that underpins every current Dacia model, and have seating for five or seven with the standard availability of front-wheel-drive or optional four-wheel-drive.

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While neither Renault nor Dacia has confirmed intricate details, Dacia CEO, Dennis Le Vot, provided the biggest hint of the Bigster’s pricing by telling Britain’s Autocar last year that a sticker of way less than €40 000 (R817 805) will be slapped on the newcomer.

“Less than 10 years ago, you bought something for €33 000 (R674 689), and then you go to the same dealership [for your new car], and they say the new car is €40-something thousand. Then lots of people will say: ‘Oh, no, I’m not doing that. It’s too expensive,” Le Vot told the publication on the sidelines of the new Duster’s reveal.

“This is where Dacia makes sense, because we’re coming with, in the case of a C-crossover, the Bigster, and it’s not going to start with a four”.

First showing

In the latest development, the mentioned spy video shows a pair of heavily disguised Bigsters driving into a parking lot during testing at the Balvanyos Resort in Romania.

Videoed and then posted onto the Dacia Duster Trails & Technical Facebook page, the six second clip sees the Bigster with the same rounded silhouette as the concept, in addition to the same Y-shaped taillights Dacia subsequently installed on the Duster in a slightly slimmer design.

While the video doesn’t provide any further detailed hints, expectations are the Bigster will eventually resemble a sized-up version of the Duster, whose styling language draws heavily from its senior sibling anyway.

No diesel

Inside, the mirror image is expected to continue, albeit changed in some areas to accommodate not only the third-row seating, but also more equipment currently either not available or optional on the Duster.

Up front, the Bigster’s choice of engines will most likely also be identical to that of the Duster, meaning both a conventional petrol engine, a mild-hybrid and a self-charging hybrid under the E-Tech banner.

A diesel engine is, however, not expected, though a manual gearbox will most likely be on lower-end trim levels as a way of supplementing the pair of the provided automatic.

A Dacia and Renault?

Aside from it being unknown as to whether Dacia will use the Bigster name for the production model, or go with another moniker, the verdict remains out on whether the newcomer will be sold under the Dacia and Renault names depending on the market where the respective brand is stronger.

This comes after former Renault Head of Design, Laurens van den Acker, told Autocar in 2018 that apart from the Duster, the time for rebadging Dacias as Renault has come to an end.

“Cars that are Renault derivatives of Dacias, I want that to stop. I can’t argue with the business sense to do it, because Renaults were expensive for some markets and Dacias were relatively modern cars that were reliable and affordable, so we rebadged them. But now we will start to differentiate,” van den Acker said.

While the Renault badged Duster has already emerged in some European markets ahead of its eventual exportation to amongst other countries, India and Brazil, Renault, it remains to be seen what the decision will be when the Bigster goes on-sale early next year.

New Duster wanted in South Africa

Meanwhile, Renault South Africa has confirmed it’s investigating the new Duster for the local market, with sales only set to start in the final quarter of the year should approval be given.

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