Central to Dacia’s latest product drive is a new platform strategy, with every Dacia now set to use the same CMF-B underpinnings. The brand’s new Sandero is based on this platform which allows the company to enter larger vehicle segments with the affordable pricing that it’s known for.
The Sandero uses the same platform as the Renault Clio, this is far from a bad thing. When you consider the price of the Dacia and how accomplished it feels, it’s an achievement that some manufacturers need to study more closely.
The Sandero Stepway comes fitted with 16” alloys, LED headlights, keyless entry, automatic air con and wipers, an 8” infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay, reversing camera, full suite of parking sensors, cruise control and heated wing mirrors. A long list of kit on a car costing so little.
It’s powered by a 1.0-litre 3 cylinder turbocharged petrol engine paired to either a 6 speed manual or a CVT automatic gearbox. The gearbox isn’t very sophisticated, and quite slow to react, but it suits the Sandero’s laid back nature.
For such a low price point, has Dacia has skimped on quality? The points of the car you touch the most, the doors and dash, are covered in a very nicely textured material. It also looks pretty good and is a marked improvement over the swathes of hard plastic you’ll find in a Hyundai i20 – a car costing much more.
Of course, there are hard plastics used on lower sections of the centre console, top of the dash and sections of the doors, but nothing that you see and touch often. More likely these harder plastics will be the recipient of many shoe kicks and brushes with tougher man made objects that tend to get thrown into cabins.
It’s such a simple but logical way to design a cabin on a budget. This common sense approach extends to a few other simple touches like the cupholders, located deep in the centre console so you can store a couple of drinks without interfering with the manual gear change (VW hasn’t gotten this right for now in the latest Golf). And the cleverest detail we’ve seen in a while is the integrated mobile phone holder to the side of the infotainment system, right next to a USB port.
There’s plenty of space up front, loads of head room and a couple of adults will be more than comfortable sitting in the back. The 328-litre boot is a great size, although there’s a pretty chunky loading lip to get over.
That headline grabbing entry-level Sandero model is what gets Dacia’s customers attention but we think it would be worth while also looking at spending a bit more on the Stepway if budget allows. Otherwise the entry level Sandero does everything you would expect for a brand new car priced at €12,990. The car we have here – the range topping Sandero Stepway in Prestige trim is actually far more reflective of what Sandero buyers might be interested in.
The step up in quality, refinement and technology is huge, to a point where it can compete with established rivals like the Corsa and Fiesta in key areas. You’d expect that jump in quality to be reflected in the price, but it isn’t. The Sandero is price conscious and is a class challenger.
Model: Dacia Sandero Stepway Prestige
Price: €19,290
Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl turbo
Transmission: Manual, front wheel drive
Power/torque: 90bhp/142Nm
0-100 km/h: 11.9 seconds
Top speed: 162 km/h
Economy/CO2: 45.6mpg/139g/kmOn sale: Now