“What we want to do in the C-segment is what we’ve done in the B- or the B- plus,” said Marotte. “We have identified that with the C-SUV particularly. But even the C-hatch is probably a segment where the prices have gone up the most in the last five years. You see the increase in monthly instalment or in prices in that segment. It’s massive.”
Dacia will pursue a similar pricing policy with the C-Neo, leaving out what the company perceives to be ‘non-essential’ equipment in order to maintain a lower list price than its core rivals.
The Bigster, for example, starts from around £25,000 – £5000 cheaper than the same-sized Nissan Qashqai and £9000 less than the Ford Kuga.
The C-Neo, then, is likely to come in around the £20k mark, commanding a premium over the smaller, £15k Sandero but still being significantly cheaper than the £27k Seat Leon and £29k Octavia estates.
Being based on the same Renault Group CMF-B platform that Dacia uses for all its models except the Spring EV, it’s expected to be all but technically identical to the Bigster, with a choice of mild- and full-hybrid petrol powertrains ranging in output from 128bhp to 153bhp – although it remains to be seen if it will follow its SUV siblings – and its Skoda rival – in being offered with four-wheel drive.
Either way, the C-Neo will stay true to Dacia’s ‘rugged’, activity-focused ethos by virtue of its raised suspension and body cladding – a similar treatment to that on the range-topping Sandero Stepway, which design boss David Durand said “is a bit ‘outdoors’ too”, despite being front-driven.
He said: “In this case, it’s just ground clearance and high tyres that make you confident to go on a rocky road with no fear – and you use it every day, and you [fill] it with anything you want.
“It’s a tool. It’s not an object that you show off in front of your house and that represents your social level. It’s something that you are really using every day, with the kids, with adults. You have big roominess. So it’s this slightly different ‘outdoors’ way that we can explore.”