Seven thousand of Her Majesty's pounds doesn't buy you a lot in the British automotive industry, not when Aston Martin charges £29,000 for a bottle cooler. You could also have a couple of bottles of Bentley perfume for that kind of money. But that's precisely why the Dacia Sandero is so popular with the thriftiest of UK buyers, and now there's a revised model, which Rebecca Jackson decided to review.
The 5' 2" and-a-half presenter became famous when working with Mat at Carbuyer. But now, she films most of What Car?'s video reviews. Like the rest of the Dacia range, the Sandero just received a modest update. So it's time to find out again if the cheapest car you can buy in Britain is worth owning or if it's a worthless bucket of bolts.
Comparing it to the Skoda Fabia, Ford Fiesta and VW Polo is a bit unfair. The Sandero is more like a spacious alternative to the Ford Ka+ or the Suzuki Celerio. We think the 2017 model looks all grown up, thanks to new taillights and LED daytime running lights at the front. Simple design is what Dacia is best at.
In Britain, there are only three engine choices, the base 1-liter SCe, which is new for 2017, followed by the 0.9-liter turbo and the 1.5-liter diesel with the same 90 hp output. Rebecca says she'd avoid the dCi because it's noisy, but it's the one we'd go for.
The updated hatchback loses points for not having reach adjustment on the steering wheel and height adjustment for the seat. However, we'd note that the steering wheel is a new design and the infotainment system on the top model is a nice touch. As Dacia's clever new commercial recently points out, a reversing camera is a useful option.
The Sandero is one of the roomiest cars in the small car class, both for people and their luggage. It's also the cheapest regarding the cost of ownership for the first three years. Dacia was bought by Renault in 1999, and they came to the UK in 2012. In the past year, they have begun offering thigs like auto gearboxes, so if you want to treat buying a car the same way as the purchase of a refrigerator, the Sandero is all the "white goods" you'll need.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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