In a nutshell:
- New Sandero and Sandero Stepway revealed, with Dacia saying it’s more ‘grown up’ than ever.
- Better looking exterior, improved interior, more space and smarter tech makes for an attractive package.
- It’s still as cheap as ever, with Dacia calling the Sandero the ‘the most affordable new car on sale in the UK’.
Say hello to the cheapest brand new car you can call your own in the UK - the humble Dacia Sandero.
This is a car that’s not just cheap to buy outright but it’s also incredibly affordable to lease, with prices starting from just £124 per month**.
And thanks to a new facelift for 2021, the Sandero now boasts better equipment, more space, and improved looks, bringing a feel-good factor to both your bank balance and your driveway.
The new Sandero, priced from £7,995, comes in two different forms - the standard hatchback and a more rugged Stepway version.
The Dacia ethos here is, ‘simple, no frills, quality motoring with everything a driver could need at an affordable price.’
And the new Sandero has been pretty much re-engineered from the ground up. It now sits on a larger CMF (Common Module Family) platform. In plain English, that means it shares lots of parts and the same chassis as other, slightly more upmarket, vehicles from Nissan and Renault.
Styling wise there are more pronounced wheel arches, smoother lines, a lower roof and more rakish windscreen, which makes the Sandero appear as if it’s sitting lower to the road.
There’s an electric boot release mechanism, LED lights, and Dacia says it has worked hard to reduce wind noise in the cabin.
Meanwhile the Stepway still sits higher than the regular Sandero - 174mm taller - and features roof bars, wheel arch cladding and textured reinforced lower door sections.
Step inside the Sandero and there’s a brand new dashboard design, including a sleek new air vent design, new seats, smaller gear lever and more adjustable steering wheel, which Dacia hopes will make the Sandero ‘feel more upmarket’.
All versions also offer smartphone connectivity, thanks to a new ‘Media Control docking station’ that sits neatly on top of the dashboard, and includes Bluetooth and USB connection.
And one of the biggest areas of improvement for the Sandero is to space.
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The boot is a generous 328 litres - not bad when you consider a Skoda Fabia is a similar 330 litres - while the rear bench is 1/3-2/3 split-folding.
There’s some smart tech fitted as standard, too.
All Sandero and Stepway models get Automatic Emergency Braking System (AEBS) that identifies the distance to the car in front and triggers an audible and visual warning if there’s a risk of a collision.
Brake force can also be applied if not enough action – or none at all – is taken by the driver to slow down.
A spokesperson adds: “The first Dacia to be based on the CMF modular platform, all Sandero and Sandero Stepway models now offer superior strength and structural rigidity, increasing protection in the event of a collision. The structure is reinforced and collisions can be detected more quickly, deploying new curtain and side airbags more rapidly. An E-Call emergency call system is also standard on all models, operated using an SOS button placed next to the interior light.”
The range of engines on offer is also vast, the most eye-catching being a 100 PS, 1.0 litre three-cylinder ‘Bi-Fuel’ mill that uses both petrol and LPG to return up to 53 miles to the gallon while emitting as little as 109 g/km of CO2.
It’ll also get from 0-62mph in a respectable 11.6 seconds.
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