A few weeks before the first deliveries, the Bigster continues to attract imitators. Indeed, at the time of writing, Dacia's large "cheap" SUV has already recorded more than 10,000 orders. This is significant for this first attempt by Dacia in the C-SUV segment, one of the most competitive in Europe, and it undoubtedly bodes well for a likely success in the future. coming.
Success or not, one question has been constantly asked since the official presentation of the Bigster last October: will Dacia's large SUV be available in a 7-seater version? According to the latest information we have been able to gather, Dacia will skip this family version, mainly for technical reasons.
7-seater Dacia? There's already the Jogger
A priori, a 7-seater version was nothing out of the ordinary on paper. The Duster, like the Jogger, is built on the same platform as the Sandero, a B-segment platform a priori, but which has been optimized to integrate issues related to the upper segment. On paper, therefore, if the Jogger exists in 7 places, nothing prevents Dacia from adding a third row to its Bigster. Unfortunately for those who hoped for this version, the reality is a little more complex.
The people we interviewed at Dacia and who participated in the development of the Bigster explain to us that such a transformation of the SUV is difficult to achieve.
The limitation is formal: the Bigster is higher and longer than the Duster and this implies a different management of masses. In other words: it's not simply a simple lengthening of the Duster that could have resulted in the addition of a third row.
With this increase in proportions, the constraints imposed on the platform also increase. In other words, a 7-seater version would have required specific work to reinforce certain parts of the structure. Feasible, but complicated and, above all, unnecessarily expensive.
A reasoned approach to the market
This is the second explanation and undoubtedly the most relevant. At Dacia, each decision is weighed with particular attention to costs. This is what allows the brand to maintain a consistently aggressive pricing position, regardless of its models. In the case of the Bigster and its possible 7-seater version, one figure tipped the decision in favor of no. 15%. This is the percentage of 7-seater vehicles sold in the C segment in Europe. This is relatively low and therefore explains why Dacia is reluctant to invest in a specific version for such limited outlets.
Still for the sake of relevance, a third reason deterred Dacia from a possible 7-seater version of the Bigster: the presence of the Jogger. Indeed, the Romanian manufacturer, owned by Renault, already has a 7-seater vehicle in its catalog, recognized precisely for this reason. In addition to the technical limitation, it is also a matter of not cannibalizing the Jogger by offering an SUV that could overshadow it.
For these three reasons at least, Dacia has decided not to market a 7-seater version of the Bigster. Could the manufacturer regret this choice? Judging by the first sales figures and a few days before the publication of the first tests of the SUV which are taking place right now... Nothing could be less certain.
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