Dacia has published first pictures of the new Sandero, which will be the third generation of a model that has remained ‘the cheapest new car on sale’ in the UK for the duration of its existence since 2002. It’ll be revealed in full at the end of this month.
For now all we get are these exterior images of the standard car and the Stepway version, the Stepway being a pseudo-4×4 model with raised ride height, black plastic cladding, roof rails, chunkier tyres and a generally “rugged” vibe. But not an actual all-wheel drive setup. Hey, what do you expect for this price?
This price being…we’re not sure. It’s too early. But the Stepway model is currently priced at a shade over £11,000 in the UK, which is remarkable value in itself, until you set it against the starting price of the Sandero without all the SUV bits stuck to it: £6995. Yep, that’s why it’s the cheapest new car on sale, and not because it’s the smallest either. The Sandero is about the size of a Ford Fiesta.
We can already see based on the pictures here that the Sandero will have a less ‘basic’ look, with a set of what appear to be LED DRLs at the front, and LED brake lights at the rear – the rear styling having more than a hint of SEAT Leon about it, to our eyes.
It looks bigger too, and although Dacia hasn’t said anything of note about specification or drivetrains, we are promised more equipment across the board (today’s basic Sandero doesn’t even come with a radio), but with the same focus on simplicity, reliability and value; the cars you see in the images here are almost certainly top spec cars, and those LEDs almost certainly optional.
Based on the Renault Clio platform – Dacia is owned by Renault – it could be that we see even more parts sharing between those two models, which means the cabin quality will be vastly improved in this third generation car. We can also guess that the car will feature petrol and diesels from the most basic end of Renault’s engine factory, meaning a three-cylinder SCe petrol with 74bhp and a TCe turbo version with 99bhp. A 1.5-litre diesel with 83bhp from four cylinders is likely too, returning a good 50mpg in the real world.
The new Dacia Sandero is officially unveiled September 29. We’ll get you all the details then.
Keyword: This is your new Dacia Sandero, now less cheap...probably