SCOOP Dacia's £20k estate

COMING SOON Dacia intends to use its forthcoming C-Neo to populate an area of the market largely abandoned by rivals

- Phil McNamara [e-mail]

DACIA'S push into the family car market steps up a gear in 2026 with a bargain-priced, rugged estate. Referred to internally as 'C-Neo', the five-door wagon will slide into the range alongside the Bigster SUV and seven-seat Jogger.

Expected to go public in spring 2026 with UK sales following in the autumn, the C-Neo will stay true to Dacia's tried-and-trusted blueprint of offering excellent value for money, space and hybrid power. Expect the car to cost from around £20,000, which would comfortably undercut its closest rival, the £26k SEAT Leon.

Prototypes are already out testing, revealing the beefy proportions. A long rear overhang will free up plenty of boot space: expect around 600 litres. The rear seats will fold to ensure this is the perfect vehicle for trips to IKEA, supplemented by that Dacia essential: roof bars.

Nonetheless, the C-Neo is far from a utilitarian tank: the arcing roof and slanted rear hatch give it a very different profile to the Jogger's rigidly straight lines. The wheelbase appears similar to the 2.7m-long Bigster's, and the two vehicles will likely share a footprint around 4.5 metres long.

Our exclusive images capture the C-Neo's mix of sleek profile but robust body: plastic paint protection is a given. And the surfaces will double down on Dacia's design philosophy, which was outlined to Auto Express by vice-president of design David Durand.

“We try to express our car’s robustness in our formal language. That means clean surfaces, and nice intersections of big blocks that are very pure and simple,” he explained.

Under the C-Neo is Dacia’s CMF-B architecture, capable of supporting front and four-wheel drive. This platform unlocks real economies of scale baked in by Dacia's 'designed-to-cost' philosophy.