Dacia Sandero

The third generation Dacia Sandero could very well completely change the way you think about budgeting for a new compact family car. Jonathan Crouch reports.

Ten Second Review

Wouldn't it be good if the Dacia Sandero could feel properly modern as well as being properly cheap. Well, we're promised that this MK3 version is. Really modern that is. It still pretty cheap too - still the cheapest family car you could choose - but at the same time as being a far better quality hatch in this rejuvenated third generation form. If you're just about to buy a mainstream brand city car, supermini or family hatch, you need to stop right here and read on....


From Renault's point of view, it was a great concept. Buy a struggling Romanian car brand using factories with cheap labour. Then take a last-generation Renault hatch design, freshen it up with modern styling and a different badge and sell it at the kind of super-cheap prices that all of these short-cuts could facilitate. So was born the Dacia Sandero in 2013, which was then - and still is now - by some margin Britain's most affordable compact family hatch. With the original version, lightly freshened in 2017, you very much got what you didn't pay for, but loyal owners didn't care.

Some of us though, wondered whether this car's sales prospects wouldn't be considerably improved if just a fraction of that affordability could be sacrificed in favour of creating more modern, efficient engineering. In a cabin that didn't feel quite so much like a Bulgarian thrift store. The rather more palatable product we were picturing has arrived. And this is it, the rejuvenated MK3 model.

Driving Experience

This MK3 model's stiffer, more sophisticated CMF-B platform means it can deliver some better engines too. The entry-level unit is a 1.0-litre three cylinder powerplant producing just 64bhp, badged 'SCe 65' and mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The Sandero's low pricing though, should mean that you can at least stretch to the powerplant we'd recommend, the 89bhp three cylinder turbo petrol TCe 90 unit, which is available across most trim levels and can be had with either 6-speed manual transmission or a CVT automatic gearbox.

Dacia isn't bothering with a diesel this time round, but if you're looking for something super-frugal, you can have the TCe 100 petrol unit in LPG form, with a dual fuel tank situated where the spare wheel would normally sit. With both the petrol and the LPG tanks filled, you'd have a range in this eco-variant of over 800 miles. Dacia promises that all Sanderos will be easier to use around town too, thanks to the fact that the steering is now electrically assisted.

Design and Build

Smart looks and an old nail of a platform wouldn't have sufficed for this MK3 model. We've had that with the Sandero before. But that's not what's being served up this time round, the fourth generation version of this car riding on the same CMF-B platform as a far pricier (and smaller) Renault Clio. As before, there are two versions of the single 5-door hatch body shape, the standard model and the high riding crossover-inspired 'Stepway' version, which is slightly more differentiated this time round with flared wheel arches, 16-inch wheels, roof bars, plastic body cladding and body-coloured skid plates. Both Sandero variants are a touch bigger than before, noticeably wider and 19mm longer. The look's less anonymous too, thanks to a Y-shaped LED front lighting signature.

Inside, it's much nicer than before, with a more modern dashboard, embellished on plusher models with fabric finishes. Infotainment's taken step forward too and access to the rear is easy, with wide-opening doors and reasonable knee room; you could seat a couple of adults there more comfortably than in most other superminis. The boot's a bit bigger too, rated at 328-litres, which is 18-litres more than the old car could offer.

Market and Model

So how much are you going to end up paying? Believe it or not, from well under £9,000. That makes this Sandero still the cheapest car you can buy. It undercuts smaller city cars like the Fiat Panda and the Kia Picanto by around £2,000 and offers lots more space inside than both. It really is hard to argue with this kind of value proposition. There's only a single five-door hatchback body style but it does come in either standard form or as the 'Sandero Stepway', a variant that dresses up this design with a bit more SUV-style attitude and offers a 41mm higher ride height.

Three interior media infotainment options are available, the most basic system - called 'Media Control' - includes Bluetooth and a DAB radio, but no screen. Instead, you get a dock for your smartphone which can run a purpose-designed app for in-car use. Further up the range, you get two options based around an 8-inch touchscreen; 'Media Display', which incorporates 'Android Auto' and 'Apple CarPlay' smartphone-mirroring. And 'Media Nav', which has built-in sat nav with Wi-Fi-based smartphone access. Optional extras if you want to plush up your Sandero include automatic air conditioning, heated front seats, a reversing camera, auto wipers and a power operated sunroof.

Cost of Ownership

Expect a decent step forward in efficiency figures, thanks to this third generation Sandero model's more modern engines and lighter, more sophisticated CMF-B platform. The base SCe 65 normally aspirated petrol variant gets up towards 50mpg on the combined cycle and under 120g/km of CO2. But the three cylinder turbo 1.0-litre TCe 90 turbo unit we think you'll prefer should better those figures by about 10%. And it's useful to have the rare option of LPG power for the TCe 90 engine, should you be prepared to consider it.



If, for you, a car is simply a functional implement, a domestic tool that, like any other, must justify its expenditure, then this one now fits the bill perfectly. Solid, spacious and family-friendly for the kind of money you'd pay for a tiny city scoot, it offers pretty much everything you need and nothing you don't. Yes, products from the established market players are still more sophisticated - but the gap isn't huge. Except, of course, when it comes to what you have to pay.


CAR: Dacia Sandero

PRICES: £8,500-£13,000 – on the road [est]



CO2 EMISSIONS: 115-120g/km [est] (WLTP)

PERFORMANCE: [0.9 TCe] 0-60mph 12.5s / Max Speed 115mph [est]

FUEL CONSUMPTION: [0.9 TCe] (combined) 50mpg [est] (WLTP)

BOOT CAPACITY: [litres] 328

WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width mm 4,088/1,848 mm