The Dacia Sandero: Cheap and Cheerful?

Unless your daily commute involves dodging cows and the badge between your hands says Tata, buying a new car often isn’t cheap. Or is it? Well Romania has come to town with an answer, and it's worth just £5,995.

Photography: Nikolai Attard and Phillip Morton

Meet Dacia, the subsidiary of Renault that comes from the Eastern European country, and their budget offering, the Sandero. Priced at the same value as a five-year old Vauxhall Astra, Dacia's Sandero is officially Britain’s cheapest new car. How does it compare against its pricier rivals in the well-populated hatchback segment then?

On first glances, prospects look bleak. Unpainted plastic bumpers, steel wheels and a white-only exterior that offers little more than a simple two-box design, the Sandero certainly isn’t a looker. The same can be said for the interior, where grey plastics accompany a whole-lot of nothing. Our model is fitted with an optional radio but entry level cars feature little more luxuries than a heater and rev-counter, so stepping inside can feel a little like rewinding time, by a decade or three. Emphasising this is a lack of central locking and wind-up windows – properly old school.

Black plastic bumpers dominate the exterior

Cues to the car’s underpinnings – shared with the Mk2 Clio that went on sale way back in 1998 – are evident throughout. Outside the wheel base matches a Mk2 Clio, whilst an upright seating position and even the steering-column cover is identical to what you’d find in the old car – though the Access Sandero does without the height adjustment arm and therefore remains fixed. The electrics are undoubtedly Renault parts-bin sourced too, with the auto-engaging rear-wiper and even gear-change light being identical to those found on old French hatches.

But it’s not all bad news. The car possesses four airbags (driver, passenger and front side-impact) enabling it to achieve a respectable four-star Euro NCAP rating. The positives continue once the key is turned too, as our car’s 75bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine ticks-over silently, the only evidence of its existence coming from the slightest hint of vibration through the gear-knob.

A simple interior contains only the essentials

Pootling around central London at close to the capital’s average top speed (only just nudging double figures) the Dacia remains a calm, composed place to be. Effortlessly light steering gives a good amount of confidence whilst soft suspension, a featherweight clutch and instant brakes make driving through one of the world’s densest cities easy. Parking the Sandero is a doddle too, the van-like door mirrors and high seating position offering a wide range of visibility. The Sandero does slow, urban driving well then.

The same can’t be said about anything remotely fast however. Venturing onto a dual carriageway requires a scary amount of rolling-up (lorries and OAPs have never looked so fast), whilst even pulling out of junctions requires you to spin the needle up the rev-counter far more than you’d expect. Ignore the dash’s eco change-up light, you’ll need far more than its recommended 2,000rpm to speed up to 60 in anything under 20 seconds. Once moving at over 60 the Dacia’s once silent engine becomes a bit of a growler, providing a permanent hum in the background at all times. It isn’t helped by the urban-gearing of the five-speed ‘box either, resulting in a significant 4,000 revs being required to sit at 70.

The Sandero thrives in town

Despite this the car still returns good fuel economy, with our 350 mile round trip across urban and extra-urban roads requiring little more than half a tank of fuel. But even with such a small dent in the wallet, the under damped suspension and vague steering that presents itself at motorway speeds could leave you spending your savings on aspirin; a bouncy motorway experience requiring constant focus to remain between lane-lines. Unsurprisingly, it’s not even worth mentioning the Sandero’s high-speed cornering ability, though thinking of a Citroën 2CV might provide some idea..

All in all, at speed the Sandero really struggles. With such a high level set by today’s range of hatchbacks the Sandero feels as though it’s 20 years behind, especially once outside the boarders of suburbia. Within them however, the Sandero is a strong performer. It offers good leg room both front and rear, five doors as standard, whilst storage space, cup-holders and a class leading 320-litre boot mean the Sandero would make the perfect car for taking the kids to school, doing the weekly shop or popping to the post office; all this for a fiver less than £6,000.

Sampling London's tight streets

In all honesty paying an extra £1,600 and opting for the better specced Ambience fitted with the 898cc TCe engine would be our choice, that engine providing all round better performance and cheaper tax (£30 a year to the 1.2’s £105). But even at £7,595, this more luxurious Sandero still undercuts rivals like the Kia Rio by a substantial £2,400. And when you put it like that it’s hard to disagree, the Dacia Sandero is nothing short of a bargain. So it turns out Romania does have the answer, thanks to a little help from the French.

Specs

Engine 1149cc, 4cyl, FWD

Gearbox 5-speed, manual

Power 75bhp @ 5500rpm

Torque 79lb ft @4250rpm

CO2 135g/km

Top speed 97mph

0-62 mph 14.5secs

Combined mpg 48.7

Manufacturer’s OTR price £5,995 (+ £250 for optional radio as tested here)