Autoblog UK

I had the chance of testing the Sandero for two days and I have to say: hats off! As sceptical as I was to begin with, the Sandero is convincing (particularly with its appearance). The 7,500 euro basic price that Dacia is asking for can easily be forgotten and just discarded as bait. For that you would not even have PAS, not to mention the basic petrol engine.

For my partially kitted-out test car (86 HP petrol engine) with air conditioning, MP3/CD radio, aluminium bits in the cabin (shall we perhaps say colour-coded interior trim) and electric windows at the front as well as PAS, you would have to shell out 11,000 euros.

But for that, you would have pretty much everything needed for modern mobility. And even if it does not suit opponents of the cut-price Rumanian - the finish is better that that of some expensive small cars. The cabin is impressive both visually and in the 'touchy-feely' sense. In fact I like the cockpit a lot.

The available space in the cabin and the luggage compartment is somewhere between small car and compact car, so it's more than enough.
The direct competition of the Sandero hovers in different spheres in terms of price.
For a comparable Skoda Fabia or VW Polo I would already have to pay 15,000 euros.

Oh, this is just precious. We have no problem with Renaultsport rolling out F1-themed versions of its hot hatches because, well, they're pretty hot. Some of the hottest hatches around, actually, it's worth re-iterating. But we can't help but feel this is pushing things a little too far.

Renault's Dacia division is supposed to be a budget-oriented, no frills sub-brand. And while F1 may be working on the budget orientation, spec'ing out some low-cost econo-boxes with go-fast bits is a little much. But that's what they're doing at the Sao Paulo auto show soon to kick off in Brazil. To compound the issue, the pair of F1 Team editions of the Dacia Sandero and Dacia Logan receive no mechanical upgrades whatsoever, just a fresh coat of paint and some decals. So while driving enthusiasts may look longingly at F1 Team editions of the Clio and Megane, this is one we can do without.

My car is simply assigned the task of getting me from A to B, ideally without exasperating faults and with low running costs. The number of people who are following this line of thought is growing increasingly. Of course, you could afford more, but for what?

For people who see a car as a simple commodity, Dacia is true salvation in the light of new car prices that seem to be in an endless upward spiral.

Given the current run on the Dacia Sandero - which in the meantime has become visually acceptable - there is no-one who will doubt the success of this concept.
To conjure up at least a hint of lifestyle into the base cheap end of the market, the Sandero is supposed to be coming to Europe as a would-be SUV.

Like the VW Cross Polo, the Sandero Stepway gives a thoroughly 'crossed' impression.

But whoever finds that this is not 'cross' enough will have to wait until 2010,
because that is when Dacia will be presenting a 'genuine' SUV in the scale of a Suzuki SX4.