Dacia Bigster vs Renault Espace: family feud of the future
These two 7-seater SUVs will form a powerful duo due to their complementarity within the Renault group, in a few months. What is the difference between them?
Dacia Bigster vs Renault Espace – Peugeot 5008, Nissan X-Trail and Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace type 7-seat SUVs cannot be catered for now, the Renault group is currently working, behind the scenes, to invest in this part of the family.
On the one hand, the Renault Austral will offer a frontal response to the general SUVs mentioned above, by a variant lengthened by about twenty centimeters and possibly called Espaceits launch is likely to happen in 2023. On the other hand, charge Dacia to respond to all these beautiful people a cheaper proposition, not to say low cost, with the Bigster which, in 2025, will assert itself as an extrapolation of the Duster 3 expected last year. Two opposing views of the category that, despite their apparent compatibility, can lead to a difficult inner life.
Modularity
The future Renault Espace, if this surname is retained, will promote first-class modularity, its younger sibling Austral is already a good student in the 5-seater compact SUV segment, where the latter usually uses a simple 2/3-1/3 split bench seat. It opposes them with a sliding seat, divided into two parts, which only the Citroën C5 Aircross resists, the Chevrons who decorate their SUV with three independent seats. A must! We bet this will be the interior architecture that the future Espace will retain, to hopefully worry its main rival, the Peugeot 5008.
For its part, the Dacia Bigster won’t necessarily offer as much. He who, at the entry level, will only be delivered in 5 places, can ignore a second row mobile, whatever happens, to save his prices. On the other hand, regarding the third column, it’s hard to see how this could be done without a folding seat under the floor. Dacia, which requires Jogger owners to put away the two (very heavy) seats placed in the trunk, to take advantage of its full volume, should not impose such a gymnastic session on future Bigster buyers . But in general, its level of modularity will probably only approach that of Espace.
equipment
In terms of equipment, again the Renault Espace 2023 will surpass its cousin from Romania. heredity Austral’s cockpithe will benefit from a state-of-the-art multimedia system, as evidenced by a duo of inverted L-shaped screens displaying a 4K resolution, and integration of a very good software environment developed by Google, capable of being constantly updated. Without forgetting all the comforts that a Renault can benefit from (electric, massage, ventilated seats) or even the level of finish, which has been very fine lately. But At what price?
It will be different for the Dacia Bigster which can be done without a central touch screen, at the entry level, it is preferred to assign the infotainment mission to its owner’s smartphone, reserving a place to choose, on the dashboard. again, Dacia will keep only essential equipmentprobably ignoring the electric adjustment of the seats or even the motorization of the tailgate, among many other comfort elements that will be available (at a high price) in the future Espace. However, its interior should be filled with practical aspectsas promised by Dacia Manifesto concept car announced at the Mondial de Paris.
Motorization
Finally, the two will take different paths under the hood. Space, sixth in the name, is probably dependent on various hybridized Austral blocksthrough electrified thermal blocks at 12 or 48 V at the entry level, while the200 hp classic hybridization, which allows several kilometers of 100% electric driving will be included. A hierarchy at the top of which will come to be enthroned a 280 hp rechargeable variantaccording to some rumors.
None of this will fuel the Dacia Bigster, unless it inherits the Austral’s entry-level 12V hybrid engine. This is likely, due to restrictions on CO2 emissions put in place by the European Union. More precisely, the Bigster, which is based on a platform closely derived from Clio, Captur and Arkanawill strengthen their classic hybrid block 145 hp which will soon take place aboard the Dacia Jogger. Eventually, he will bring his charms too rechargeable version, provided for 160 hp. But nothing is more certain.
Price
Our two companions will therefore not evolve in the same register. Furthermore, the Bigster should not prove to be as spacious as Space, the Romanian limits its total length to 4.60 m, when the Diamond representative should take advantage of the additional ten centimeters, in favor of habitability. A disadvantage that the Dacia SUV cannot compensate for is the logically lower total mass, thus ensuring a lower level of consumption. But it will shine above all through it unbeatable prices, with an entry ticket we can expect to oscillate around €25,000, in 5 places. On the contrary, the future Espace should not be below the 35,000 € mark. The good news, in the end, is that the Renault group will offer a family SUV solution for all budgets in the coming months.
News from Renault and Dacia:
Renault Austral E-Tech 200 test: back to racing?
Dacia Fastback: what if the brand dared to lift the sedan?
Dacia Bigster Concept: all information (release date, dimensions, etc.)
