New Dacia MPV Spotted Testing on Romanian Roads

We already knew the Romanian carmaker is planning to introduce a new MPV to its product line-up as early as next year, but so far we hadn’t had the chance to take a good look at it. All that’s about to change, as Dacia’s commercial vehicle prototype was spotted testing on the The Transalpina (DN 67C) road in the Romanian mountains.

The adjacent images show us that the new Dacia-branded vehicle, which is likely to hit the market under the Popster name, retains the classic MPV shape. It is expected to sport rear side windows, like the ones on the Logan MCV, but a EUR2,000 cheaper version is also rumored to come in the form of a commercial vehicle.

Despite the fact that the new Dacia MPV will be based on the Logan platform, this will be even wider the than Renault Grand Scenic, which means it is mostly focused on the interior space, as with the brand’s best-selling model.

What is really interesting is that Renault has no plans of manufacturing the new Dacia MPV in Romania. The French automaker in fact plans to focus more on the West European markets, where the segment is much more developed.

The company wishes to make the ‘Popster’ one of the most affordable MPVs, but with a more comprehensive standard equipment than the current Logan model. Pricing for the MPV is expected to be around €14,800 on the European market, making it about €6,000 cheaper than the entry-level Renault Scenic, which has sliding rear doors.

The Popster lineup will likely offer small-capacity four-cylinder engines, in both petrol and diesel form. Although the base model should have a manual gearbox as standard, an automatic transmission is also to be taken into consideration.