New Dacia C-Neo concept previews sub-£25k Skoda Octavia rival to arrive this year
Dacia will bring a new value-focused family car to the UK this year...
On sale Summer 2026 Price from £24,000 (est)
With a host of Dacia-badged value-focused small cars and SUVs already firmly established on the market, it makes sense that an affordable family car is next on the Romanian brand’s radar. Enter the Dacia C-Neo: a rugged estate car pitched against the likes of the Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Golf, with a very keen expected starting price.
It’s important to note that the Dacia’s next offering, shown in our artist's impression, won’t actually be called the C-Neo – this is its internal codename. The model’s actual name is expected to be unveiled as the full car is revealed later this year. It comes in the wake of the popularity of the Bigster: Dacia’s family SUV that amassed 67,573 sales last year.
Dacia has effectively imagined the production C-Neo as an alternative for buyers who need space but prefer the lower driving position and efficiency of an estate car over high-riding SUVs like the Bigster.
It will, however, still use the same rugged, outdoorsy styling as other Dacia models, with raised suspension and body cladding.
The C-Neo production car is expected to be technically related to the Bigster and the Renault Clio, with a choice of three power options: two mild hybrid engines (offering 128bhp and 138bhp) and one full hybrid set-up offering 153bhp. The Bigster also comes with the option of four-wheel drive, though it’s unclear if the production C-Neo will get the same. Unlike with the Skoda Octavia and VW Golf, no diesel variant will be available.
We’ll have to wait and see what the C-Neo is like inside once it’s fully revealed, but if it’s anything like the Bigster, it should receive a large central infotainment touchscreen and a digital driver’s display behind the wheel, complete with standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring and a number of physical switches for important functions like climate control.
Given its low-budget model, many of Dacia’s cars feel low-rent inside with scratchy plastics – but the Romanian brand will have to step up its game with the C-Neo if it wants to compete with the high-quality Octavia.
Dacia officials have confirmed, however, that the C-Neo will use a similar pricing policy to the Bigster, which means lower trim levels will be utilitarian and void of ‘non-essential’ equipment to keep costs low.
With that in mind, we’d expect the C-Neo to start at around £24,000, which would significantly undercut the Octavia and most other rivals.
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