This is Britain’s cheapest new car. At £5,995 the Dacia Sandero costs less than some watches, less than what the average UK family owes in unsecured borrowings and at £69 per month it is available for the same price as what some people pay for gym membership.
But is it any good? It is Britain’s cheapest car, so don’t expect miracles, but it’s not bad, even if it is no-frills (or thrills for that matter).
But is it any good? It is Britain’s cheapest car, so don’t expect miracles, but it’s not bad, even if it is no-frills (or thrills for that matter).
The Dacia Sandero - Renault’s Romanian budget car - is available with three engine and in three equipment grades. Two petrols; a 74bhp, 1.2-litre, four-cylinder base model with the headline price, as well as Renault's most modern 89bhp, 898cc, turbocharged three-cylinder starting at £7,395. The turbodiesel is Renault's highly commended 89bhp, 1.5-litre four-cylinder for a minimum of £8,395.
Trim levels start with Access, (15-inch steel wheels, power steering, but no radio or painted bumpers). Another £600 gets you into an Ambience with a radio, USB slot, remote central locking, electric front windows, painted bumpers and wheel trims. Two thirds of buyers fork out an extra £2,000 for the top-spec Lauréate trim (air-conditioning, electric door mirrors, cruise control and rear electric windows).
Buying a Sandero is a bit like booking a flight with EasyJet - prices are cheap and what you get is basic. Anyone wanting extras (radio, extended warranty, alloy wheels etc) have to pay a small premium, in the same way those flying on-board an orange 737 can hand over additional sterling for extra leg room.
The problem with buying all these extras is you could quite easily end up buying an ‘expensive’ cheap car.
For example, if I opt for a Dacia Sandero Lauréate with a dCi 90 engine (£9,795), choose the extended five year warranty (£395), upgrade my steel wheels to 15” alloys (£425), get rear parking sensors (£250) and have it in any colour other than white (£470) and my Romanian runaround now costs £11,335. The equivalent of shopping at Primark and walking out with a Hugo Boss suit.
Nevertheless a staggering 64 per cent of Sandero buyers (elsewhere in Europe, presumably, as it's only been on sale in the UK for a few weeks) choose the top spec Lauréate, but what surprises me even more is that only eight per cent go for the Access, the one that costs £5,995! I imagine many more customers go to the Renault dealership thinking they are going to buy a B-segment car for less than £6K only to end up spending more.
Those who have not spent a fortune on extras and accessories are in for a good deal.
There may not be a huge amount of poke in any of the engines and the materials used on the gearing stick knob and steering wheel will constantly remind you you’re driving a budget car, but it is quiet and refined.
The ride is comfortable and as long as you drive it in the manner you’d expect Dacia Sandero drivers to drive then it’s pretty decent.
Dacia’s advertising slogan is ‘You Do The Maths’ and as long as you make sure you do just that when buying a Sandero you will leave the dealership a happy person. Spend too much on extras and you might as well have bought a Renault Clio.
By Richard Jones
Trim levels start with Access, (15-inch steel wheels, power steering, but no radio or painted bumpers). Another £600 gets you into an Ambience with a radio, USB slot, remote central locking, electric front windows, painted bumpers and wheel trims. Two thirds of buyers fork out an extra £2,000 for the top-spec Lauréate trim (air-conditioning, electric door mirrors, cruise control and rear electric windows).
Buying a Sandero is a bit like booking a flight with EasyJet - prices are cheap and what you get is basic. Anyone wanting extras (radio, extended warranty, alloy wheels etc) have to pay a small premium, in the same way those flying on-board an orange 737 can hand over additional sterling for extra leg room.
The problem with buying all these extras is you could quite easily end up buying an ‘expensive’ cheap car.
For example, if I opt for a Dacia Sandero Lauréate with a dCi 90 engine (£9,795), choose the extended five year warranty (£395), upgrade my steel wheels to 15” alloys (£425), get rear parking sensors (£250) and have it in any colour other than white (£470) and my Romanian runaround now costs £11,335. The equivalent of shopping at Primark and walking out with a Hugo Boss suit.
Nevertheless a staggering 64 per cent of Sandero buyers (elsewhere in Europe, presumably, as it's only been on sale in the UK for a few weeks) choose the top spec Lauréate, but what surprises me even more is that only eight per cent go for the Access, the one that costs £5,995! I imagine many more customers go to the Renault dealership thinking they are going to buy a B-segment car for less than £6K only to end up spending more.
Those who have not spent a fortune on extras and accessories are in for a good deal.
There may not be a huge amount of poke in any of the engines and the materials used on the gearing stick knob and steering wheel will constantly remind you you’re driving a budget car, but it is quiet and refined.
The ride is comfortable and as long as you drive it in the manner you’d expect Dacia Sandero drivers to drive then it’s pretty decent.
Dacia’s advertising slogan is ‘You Do The Maths’ and as long as you make sure you do just that when buying a Sandero you will leave the dealership a happy person. Spend too much on extras and you might as well have bought a Renault Clio.
By Richard Jones
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