The Dacia brand clearly means many different things to those in the automotive space. To some, it's the spiritual home of the good news bit from Top Gear, while to others it signifies an automaker committed to producing dependable and honest cars for the masses. Regardless of which position you fancy, the Romanian automaker is planning a new car.
Marc Suss, boss of Dacia products, understands that the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) form factor is no longer as popular as it once was. With a transition to the SUV, this leads to the demise of the Lodgy – a Dacia minivan that dates back to 2012.
For a manufacturer that prides itself on simple and reliable vehicles, the new 7-seat concept certainly sets itself apart from the crowd. Apart from being the first Dacia hybrid, it will be based on the underpinnings of the Sandero. Along with its new powerplant, it also carries a myriad of safety features like automatic emergency braking, blind-spot detectors, hill start assist, an electric parking brake, and many others.
Available under the hood will be a 1.6-liter hybrid powerplant which will put out around 140 horsepower (104.3 kilowatts). With proven reliability under the hood of the Renault Clio, the engine will feature a less complicated hybrid system to keep costs down – it looks like it won't be able to recover energy during braking. Apart from Dacia's first foray into hybrid vehicles, it's equally big news that there won't be a diesel option.
Semantics aside, it's good to see the Romanian automaker sticking to its simple ethos, even as they are set to release one of their most advanced vehicles yet. Scheduled to debut in mid-2021, it will be interesting to see how it performs when it hits the showroom.
