Dacia Sandero Review & Prices

As cars get more complicated and expensive, the Dacia Sandero’s no-frills approach is quite refreshing. It’s a budget small car which you could consider instead of the Renault Clio or Vauxhall Corsa, but it’s much cheaper than either of them.

It’s a bit like comparing a white T-shirt from GAP to one from Asda George - both do the same job, neither will turn many heads but one is way more affordable.

Just like a white T-shirt, the Sandero is a smart-looking thing, but it won’t make you stand out in a crowded car park. If you do want to add a splash of colour, you’ll have to pay extra for any shade beyond white.

If you want to elevate your Sandero even more, both figuratively and literally, there’s a jacked-up Stepway version which has a faux-SUV vibe about it. No matter how you look at it though, it’s not as exciting as the stylish Peugeot 208.

You’re in for a pleasant surprise when you step inside, because the Dacia Sandero has a nice interior for such an affordable car. There’s no disguising its budget roots thanks to the swathes of hard black plastic, but the clever fabric on the dashboard lifts things nicely and it feels really solidly built.

It’s a spacious cabin as well. The driving position is spot-on and gives you a great view out, although the seats aren’t all that supportive so you may get a touch of backache after a few hours behind the wheel.

There won’t be any complaints from your rear seat passengers either, because there’s plenty of room back there for such a small car. The Sandero’s boxy profile allows for good headroom, although a Skoda Fabia is slightly more spacious. The same goes for the boot, which is about average for this sort of car, but it falls short of both the Fabia and the Volkswagen Polo.

Basic versions of the Sandero are pretty spartan inside. There’s no central screen, just a mounting point for your phone, and it gets steel wheels as well. You do still get cruise control and a DAB radio as standard, but you’ll probably want to step up to the mid-spec version to get a touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Out on the road the Dacia Sandero will ferry you from A to B with minimal fuss. The steering is a bit vague, but it’s really light which makes the car easy to slot through tight car parks. It’s also comfortable on the motorway with an acceptable amount of wind and road noise for a car at this price point.

Choosing an engine for your Sandero is easy, because there are just two of them. The entry-level 90hp 1.0-litre petrol is peppy enough and will easily return 50mpg in the real world, and there’s also a 100hp option which can run on LPG - a cheaper fuel than petrol.

All cars get a slick five-speed manual gearbox as standard, and a CVT automatic is available on top-spec Journey models. It’s an adequate gearbox, but the manual is better for extracting as much performance from the Sandero as possible.

The Dacia Sandero may not be the most stylish small car out there, but there’s a refreshing honesty about it which makes it very easy to like. This is an affordable car which isn’t pretending to be anything but, and it’s spacious and good to drive.

If the Dacia Sandero tickles your fancy, browse the latest Sandero deals to see how much you can save. You can also check out used Sanderos, the latest lease deals or have a look at the best Dacia deals. If you need to sell your car, you can do that through Carwow as well.

The Sandero is currently the cheapest new car you can buy in the UK. It's a couple of thousand pounds cheaper than the smaller Kia Picanto, and the MG3 is also a fair whack more expensive.

Alternatives like the Volkswagen Polo, Renault Clio and the Ford Fiesta may offer more refinement, but they all cost considerably more in base trim. With such a massive saving, we would opt for a Sandero in top Expression trim which adds just £1000 to the base price and includes some desirable features like keyless entry, 8.0-inch media display and electric rear windows.

The Sandero offers decent performance around town and the soft suspension copes well with rough road surfaces, but it’s not one for the more enthusiastic driver

In town

The Dacia Sandero is a great choice for trips around town, it has light (if slightly lifeless) steering, a comfort-orientated suspension set-up and enough poke to zip into gaps in traffic. The driving position is good, with decent visibility, and the optional automatic transmission helps take the stress out of the daily commute. Rear parking sensors and a rearview camera are standard on the top Expression trim, but the car is compact enough not to need them.

On the motorway

The new Dacia Sandero is a step up from its forebear, with much-improved refinement at motorway speeds. You do have to work the engine to get up to speed, and it can be quite noisy as the revs rise, but it settles down nicely once you're cruising along. There's a bit of wind noise, but nothing unbearable.

You’ll get a quieter ride in some pricier alternatives, but the Sandero copes well on long journeys and is spacious enough to accommodate four adults and a few small bags at the same time.

On a twisty road

The soft suspension settings that give the Sandero its forgiving ride quality around town mean that enthusiastic cornering is not its forte. It grips the road well but the body will lean in the bends when taken at speed, something that you’re not exactly likely to do in this car anyway.

The 90hp petrol engine is willing but not really suited to this sort of more enthusiastic driving; a SEAT Ibiza is far more fun on a twisty road.

The Sandero is spacious enough for four adults although it’s not quite as practical as a Skoda Fabia

The driver won’t have any trouble getting comfortable behind the adjustable steering wheel, and although there aren’t any electric controls here, the seats offer plenty of movement to find a good spot. The front passenger seat doesn’t offer height adjustment, but there is a small armrest and plenty of head and legroom.

A set of cupholders are built into the centre console and there’s space for a mobile phone ahead of the gear lever, but the door bins are pretty small, as is the glovebox.

Space in the back seats

The rear seats are comfy, too, with enough space for two adults or a set of baby seats which can be affixed to the two outer ISOFIX mountings. Headroom and kneeroom are surprisingly good, and although the middle rear seat is a bit tight for larger passengers, three kids will fit across the rear bench. A solitary cupholder is provided for passengers in the back, although there are a couple of USB points to charge your phone.

Boot space

You get 328 litres of boot space with the rear seats up, which is more generous than the 286 litres you get in the Toyota Yaris, but slightly less than the Skoda Fabia's 380 litres. Fold the 60:40 split rear seats down and you get 1,108 litres in total – again falling in the middle of its class.

The boot opening is wide but there is a hefty lip to lift heavy things over, plus the boot floor isn’t completely flat either. You do get a few handy hooks for bags, though, and there is a space under the boot floor for the optional spare wheel.

A modern interior and some stylish touches belie the Sandero’s budget market positioning, but there's no hiding the sea of black plastics

Because of its price, you might think the interior will feel cheap and incredibly dated. However, even the entry-level Essential trim looks a tad more upmarket than you might expect, with clear analogue dials, sharp horizontal lines across the dashboard and a decent level of fit-and-finish. There are still vast swathes of hard plastic throughout the cabin, but it manages to avoid looking like it has been built down to a price.

The Expression trim adds a leather-covered steering wheel, funky-looking fabric on the dashboard, plusher seat material and an 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen – the base model requires you to use your smartphone instead. The screen incorporates a rear camera to go along with the parking sensors that are also part of the Expression trim. The system is simple enough to use and offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity if you prefer to use your own apps. 

Smart rotary knobs control the heating and ventilation system and the steering wheel is equipped with buttons for the cruise control, while the audio system gets its own stubby adjustment stalk below the wiper controls. A 12-volt socket and USB port are located below the temperature controls and the top trim even gets keyless entry.

You have a choice of two engines; a petrol and a petrol/LPG bi-fuel option. Both are 1.0-litre units that are priced the same, with similar performance and economy, so choosing between them essentially comes down to whether you think you're likely to ever fill up with liquefied petroleum gas.

There's a second tank for the LPG and you can switch between the two fuels. LPG costs less than petrol, but it's not always easy to find.

Want more specifics? Of course you do. Well the bi-fuel model has a bit more power, running at 100hp on LPG, while both make 90hp on petrol power. Top speeds are about 110mph following a leisurely 0-60mph time of around 12 seconds, which isn't terrible for a car in this segment.

You're also looking at around 53mpg, so running costs will be low regardless of which engine you go for, while the circa-110g/km CO2 emissions mean first-year tax rates aren't too bad either.

The latest Dacia Sandero is a big step up from the previous model, not least because it’s now based on the current Renault Clio underpinnings. You might expect this to mean that it would achieve the same five-star Euro NCAP safety rating as the Clio, but unfortunately the Dacia Sandero Stepway (the high-riding version of the Sandero) scored a lowly two-star rating. The regular Sandero hasn't been tested, but it's identical in most ways.

While the 70% and 71% adult and child occupant safety ratings are passable, the poor 42% score for advanced driver assistance systems let it down. For what it’s worth, were it not for the limited efficiency of the automatic emergency braking system, the Sandero Stepway would have received a four-star rating.

All Sandero models come with hill start assist, advanced emergency braking (although only effective in avoiding other cars and not pedestrians or cyclists), six airbags and cruise control. The Expression trim adds keyless entry, a rearview camera and rear parking sensors.

The tried-and-tested components used in Dacia models have meant that they tend to be reliable cars. Reliability surveys have seen the Sandero score very highly, often in the top three positions, putting it ahead of far posher brands.

All Dacia Sandero models are covered by a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, but if you continue servicing your car at a Dacia approved retailer than you can unlock up to seven years and 75,000 miles of cover, in a similar vein to Toyota's 'Relax' warranty. That offers up to ten years of cover, though, while MG and Kia both have seven-year warranties with no service-linked requirements.