The seven-seater Renault Bigster will be underpinned by the familiar CMF-B architecture and it will have larger proportions
Recently, Renault unveiled the new generation Duster globally. The midsize SUV used to be a stablemate in the segment in India before the French manufacturer decided to pull the plugs. The new model is widely reported to enter our domestic market in a year or two but no official confirmation has been made yet and it will spawn a seven-seater iteration as well.
The seven-seater Bigster has now been spotted testing and it will be underpinned by the familiar CMF-B architecture. It will have a longer overall length of around 4.6 metres and the wheelbase will be longer as well to accommodate the larger rear overhang and the longer doors. The design of the rear section will be slightly different compared to the regular Duster.
The upcoming three-row midsize SUV will have several commonalities with the new Duster to achieve economies of scale and bring the production costs down as body panels, mechanical bits and powertrain options will be shared. It will have a more robust exterior appeal and new features are expected to be included to pitch it in a more premium manner.
Upon arrival, it will compete with Mahindra XUV700, Tata Harrier-derived Safari, Hyundai Creta-derived Alcazar, MG Hector Plus and Citroen C3 Aircross seven-seater. It must be noted that the segment will witness the arrival of the seven-seater Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder in the first half of 2025 in India.
The global-spec Duster features a range of engine options to cater to different markets and driving preferences. These include a 1.0L turbo petrol, a 1.2L petrol engine with a 48V mild hybrid system and a 1.6L petrol engine paired with two electric motors in its hybrid configuration. Customers can choose between manual and automatic transmissions with 2WD and 4WD choices.
All three powerplants could be offered in the Bigster as well. The equipment list will comprise a freestanding touchscreen display, a fully digital instrument console, a flat-bottom steering wheel, Type-C charging ports, electric parking brake, wireless smartphone charging, automatic climate control, and so on.