The new Dacia Bigster SUV is available to pre-order now for less money than a Volkswagen Golf.
The Romanian firm's largest model yet starts at just £24,995 - nearly £3000 less than the cheapest Golf and far below the list price of many of its closest rivals.
The Nissan Qashqai, for example, starts at £30,135, the Ford Kuga at £33,395 and the Skoda Kodiaq at £38,720.
The Bigster is priced closer to the likes of the smaller Vauxhall Frontera, MG ZS and Omoda 5.
The headline-baiting entry price is for Expression trim, which includes 17in alloy wheels, a 10.1in touchscreen, dual-zone air con, a multi-view camera and front and rear parking sensors.
Mid-rung Journey trim bumps the list price up to £26,245 for its larger 19in wheels, electric tailgate and bespoke interior upholstery, while Extreme comes in at £26,494 with its panoramic sunroof, modular roof bars, washable microfibre upholstery and rubber floor mats.
Both Journey and Extreme trims provide a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, wireless phone chargers, adaptive high-beam headlights, electric door mirrors, rear privacy glass and the option of a contrasting black roof.
The Bigster is available with a choice of three powertrains: the pure-petrol TCe 130, mild-hybrid petrol TCe 140 and Hybrid 155.
Prices top out at £29,495 for the Hybrid 155 Extreme, keeping the entire range under £30,000.
Speaking to Autocar ahead of the Bigster's price list going public, Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot explained the rationale behind pricing the Bigster so attractively.
"If you take the C-segment SUV market today in Europe, these cars are trading now for €35,000-36,000 as an average real price paid by the client, and it was below €30,000 five years ago," he said.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Hard to argue against the Bigster (other than its name... and even that brings a bit of a juvenile smirk). Quite amazing value for money. If we don't start seeing these all over the place, I'll be well surprised...
Incredible value for money demand for it is bound to be very high
I'm sure there are plenty of people who need a 7 seater, but, equally, the people I know who have owned one realised they hardly ever used the full capacity, and went for a 5 seater when the time came for replacement. I don't think this will be too much of a handicap for this model.