The
Dacia Sandero appeals, but its not quite the bargain it could, or should, have been. Every value brand needs a hook, something to grab your attention – an everythings a pound or buy now pay later tagline. For Dacia, Renaults Romanian budget car brand, that hook is the Sandero supermini – the cheapest new car on sale in Britain, bar none. Acquired by Renault in 1999 and re-launched in continental Europe in 2004, the Dacia brand has made it to UK shores, and the Sandero represents the first rung on the model ladder. On offer from just 5995, this five-door hatchback is similar in size to class stalwarts such as the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and Renaults own Clio, but it undercuts those cars on price by as much as 50 per cent. Thats possible thanks to a unique sales philosophy and a relentless focus on value for money. While most new car deals are sweetened by a healthy discount off list price, Dacias are different. The price in catalogue is low – but its the price you pay, uninflated as it is by overly generous dealer margin. And while the car in the showroom is new, its built on a recycled Renault platform, and designed and equipped above all else to be singularly affordable. Not to be particularly fast, stylish, comfortable or interesting to drive but, first and foremost, to be cheap. Understand that and the Sanderos chunky, up-to-date exterior styling may actually come as a pleasant surprise. Designed in parallel with the fourth-generation Clio, the Sandero is intended to serve as the perfect counterpoint to the ritzy, effete-looking Renault. Its square-cut and substantial to behold but not unattractive. Having said that, not all Sanderos look quite like the one in our pictures. Sharing the vast majority of its components with the Logan saloon, there are two petrol engines and one diesel to choose from in the range – but more importantly, three trim levels. And if you plump for the 5995 1. 2-litre, 74bhp Access model youll get white paint, grey plastic bumpers and body trim, and 15in steel wheels, which give the car a particularly austere visual flavour. On the inside, low and mid-spec Sanderos get a two-tone fascia to lift the ambience a bit, but equipment levels are modest at best. On an Access you get the essentials - power steering, split-folding rear seats, stability control and ISOFIX child seat anchorages to go with your roomy cabin and decent boot – but theres no stereo, no air conditioning, no central locking and old-fashioned workout windows. You can have niceties like an alarm, sat-nav, Bluetooth connectivity and the like if youre willing to pay more. What you cant have is a steering column with reach adjustment – a potential bugbear for taller drivers. And you cant escape the impression that paying more for a car like this runs contrary to its raison detre. Dressing a Sandero up to the same equipment level as a 13,000 Fiesta would be an act of pretence – because, while its entirely functional, this car doesnt meet the usual supermini standard in lots of ways. Nor does it really need to. Performance levels in the 89bhp, 0. 9-litre TCe petrol and the 1. 5-litre dCi diesel are broadly competitive; those of the 1. 2-litre petrol are less so. But none of the Sanderos have the mechanical refinement, noise insulation or ride control to stand comparison with a good 12,000 supermini. Theyre adequate to drive; seldom good. The three-cylinder petrol engine is better mannered than the four-cylinder 1. 2, but the torque of the diesel is more convincing still; the diesel is also the only Sandero likely to return a 50mpg average. Grip levels are fairly slight, but handling is quite accurate, secure and well balanced, although flat and unsupportive seats offer some discouragement to spirited driving. All of which is good enough, wed advise, provided youre not paying proper supermini prices for a Sandero. Laureate-spec cars with a few optional extras can approach 10,000, which is simply too much to spend on a car whose mission statement leads it so far from the state of the art. Bought for significantly less than that, however, the Sandero is in a class of its own on metal for the money, and offers plenty of cheery competence to go with its liberating cheapness.
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