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The entry level does not have the cloth interior if that is an issue. Owning a Dacia proved a good deal for me as my diesel engine is still going strong after 115000 but at current prices it does not make sense. The rich cousin Clio is just 3500 more expensive like for like but you get a safer car with more warranty and better finance deals from Renault.
Strange spec I've got a 6 speed manual it's geared pretty good I use it in ECO mode around town. And on the twisties it hasn't got enough power to engage the TC and since it doesn't have stability controll it can slide a little but the new i20 is way more tailhappy even in the basic version 1.2 natasp. I'm driving the hell out of this car 170-180km/h everyday I'm always late to work so it's a time trial everyday and the car had zero issues in 40k km
JayEmm is single handedly replacing what Top Gear was all about for me. A smart, dryly humourous, interesting to listen to British bloke, who is able to mentally 'put us' inside the car and tell us what it is about. Good on you - I like this channel a lot.
@@peterking2794 Just you wait, JayEmms next Arc will be travelling the World driving Cars through Jungles, Mountains and visiting remote Tribes while britishly cursing whatever Car he's using
Good to see a reviewer realising (and admitting) that a basic car you can use 100% of is frequently more enjoyable than a 'better' (more expensive) car you can barely use a fraction of.
The Sandero used to be cheap (in the UK) compared to other cars; now, it isn't particularly. They've added fancy stuff that I personally don't want. I would like a cheap, very basic car. I'm happy to wind my own windows and happy for a/c and anything else to be an option.
I want decent tyres - safety - and crash protection. I don't care about body-coloured bumpers, screens, or tech to help me reverse - I know how to do that.
On the roads, more than 200hp is a bit of a waste. You either end up with points on your license or catching up to Mildred and being stuck. Far better off having a car you have more feel in and hence, gives more fun. Still miss my old 306 diesel. 130bhp in a car that weighed 1100kg... gave lots and lots of fun, especially on twisty roads.
@@julianevans9548 The crash protection is pretty much as most cars. NCAP said the structural resistence of the chassis is 4 stars but it got 2 stars because it can only detect other cars but not pedestrians. In a real car crash those things don't really matter and they only add an extra cost in the car's price so i would rather it lack those detection abilities and add some options that are actually useful in the real world
Dacia Duster (old and current models) but also the Sandero are insanely popular here in Germany. Apparently they're quite reliable, especially the Duster. Everyone i know who owns one had never any issue with it. It's basically great Quality for the Price. Prost & Cheers from the Bavarian Alps
@@BanterEdits I assume the subpar TÜV statistics of Dacias cars mainly result from bad maintenance. People buying a cheap car aren't very likely to put a lot of money and afford in inspections and repairs.
My wife bought one recently. I pointed her Dacia's way as she wanted something new, cheap, no bigger than her mini and with heated seats. I'm really impressed with it, when I drive it it reminds me of everything that's good about car ownership - no gimmicks, no frills but highly liberating and good fun.
A decent car for a relatively fair price. Everything you need - and nothing more. Greetings from Romania, Dacia's country of origin, where it's the national car brand.
I drove Sandero for 1year, did 30.000km and it was Petrol/LPG with 90hp. Company car, basic as it gets and I can say its really good car. When you want to push it and have some fun it can deliver. Comfortable and spacious. For 15k its the best.
Their EV seems to follow the same philosophy. Whilst every other EV car is full of high tech nonsense that drives up the price, the Dacia Spring is just a car that happens to be electric and costs €20k.
@@drunkenhobo8020 I agree, I haven't seen a single EV from any car maker that isn't full of gizmos or obnoxious gimmicks. Give people an EV that feels just like a regular car just powered by batteries instead of an engine and they will love it.
In March this year I swapped a (bought new) £40,000+ BMW XE225 hybrid for a (new) 1-litre Dacia Jogger at less than half the price because I needed lots of seats for ever increasing numbers of family members. I couldn't agree with you more about Dacia's cars. There's nothing I miss about the BMW and I take genuine pleasure in the Dacia's lack of ability to be "configured" to a never ending choice of pointless set ups; simplicity is a very relaxing feature. Sure, the actual quality of parts and finish isn't as good, but it's perfectly adequate for a consumer item that will only last twelve years or so. And the economy is utterly astonishing. I recently travelled one up from Liverpool to Cambridge and saw an indicated 68mpg. Traffic was heavy all the way so I was sort of limited to 60mph ish most of the way, and my calculations show the readings are about 10% optimistic, but even so that's over 60mpg - for a 7 seat petrol car! And the damn thing is so useful. We had to dismantle my wife's wheelchair to get it in the BMW but the Jogger takes it in one piece, plus her walking trolley and I can then get a large garden waste bin in as well plus two passengers. Yes, it doesn't handle as well as the BMW, but it's not much worse (the BMW was worse than my previous Ford C-Max), and realistically, for a people carrier performance is perfectly adequate. So far I've had zero problems, but time will tell. More and more power and more and more weight (I also drive a Caterham), with more and more complication are not a recipe for enjoyable motoring.
@@andrewnorris5415 Unfortunately it's no longer cheap. I've got a 2012 Swift Sport and brand new that was £13,500. Today new ones are £10,000 more. That's way above inflation!
@@TiBiAstro Renault and Nissan shared markets but left US market for Nissan only. If this car will arrive in the US will probably have a Renault bage but I doubt.
Most people except romanians. They hate this brand no matter how the car looks like or what it has to offer. They prefer old used german cars from the early 2000s
As a mechanic at a Renault/Dacia dealership in the Netherlands, I have worked on and driven a lot of these Sandero's. I think these are one of the most sensible cars to buy new. You never really get the feeling that you're missing features and they're very user friendly. The Sandero also seems to be very reliable as we haven't had many problems with them.
Your first car, your fleet car, your favorite car. All of what you need, none of what you don't. Cheap to buy, cheap to run, fun to throw around. A car not to be operated, but a car to drive.
I think the Dacia extreme models of the sandero, duster and jogger are exactly the basic utility vehicles that Land Rover should have been producing instead of their overly complex crap that they've ended up with. Unfortunate that since covid Dacia has had supply issues and I think this has really seen prices increase.
I agree with every word who have written. Land Rover chose their market a very long time ago & went for elitist & the whole upper class market. They have forgotten how to build a workers mule.
Heh, more like car manufacturers as a whole have decided to kill new cars for the below median worker. Who tf needs painted bumpers and mirrors, electric windows, etc etc...
It's not about covid actually. The price increased since the war started in Ukrain because they had a lot of parts being produced there. I ordered mine 1 month before the war started and i had to wait 11 months for the car to come because of it and the dealership said that was the reason and now they are more expensive because everything got more expensive since that stupid war started. Also even without inflation you could have expected them to increase the price anyway because the new models look way better and have way more options than what the previous models had to offer and i'm saying this as someone who had all the previous full option models and now a full option Logan 3
@@Mirra2003-f9shmm, dealer was telling you stories... no car parts were being produced in ua... worldwide inflation started before covid and accelerated as a result...
Picked up my Sandero Stepway Journey just over a week ago. First impressions are very good. Running smoothly, no weird noises or rattles anywhere. Do think it was worth it going up to the higher trim version, just slightly more refined than the base version in some areas. Glad to see they added wireless Android Auto back, after it being removed for a while, now I just need a phone that actually supports it. Traded in a MG HS for it and quite frankly, for the limited amount of driving I do these days, not having all the over-the-top active safety features and warning bleeps is an improvement. It does have proximity sensors, but they just give a quick 'bleep' if you get close to something and let you decide for yourself if you want to do anything with the information, unlike the MG that would happilly start braking for you. It does what it needs to do, is relatively comfortable and economical to run and is a pretty fun drive. Probably would not buy one if I was doing constant long drives, but for short trips and the occassional long haul, it's more than fine. It is lacking a bit of power for accelarating, but it gets there eventually (though it is already a lot better than the 64 reg Sandero I owned briefly before). Buying process could have been better though, as I had to wait nearly 6 months for the car, that was supposed to have a 2 month lead time. First car allocated to me never made it to the dealership, probably some issue while it was in transit, but had to wait for a new one to be built and shipped from the factory, again. Odd observation... the automatic wipers and lights on the Dacia actually work pretty well, while on the MG, that was nearly double the price, they could never make up their mind what to do. Used to go mad in light rain and then switch off in a downpour :) Also, the increase in price and mostly thanks to increased government/EU safety requirements for cars, meaning it is near impossible to build a cheap car anymore if you want to comply with all these regulations.
I have recently purchased a nearly new Dacia Duster 1.3 turbo in top spec and I have been blown away by it. I love it and after owning near twenty cars of all brands over my 55 years of age this has truly made me convinced the other car manufactures and especially the premium brands are really taking us all for a huge ride. No car should be this good for the money they ask. I know one thing my next car will defiantly be next years Duster Mk3
I had the mk1 Duster with a 2.0L 4 cyl and 4 speed auto. While the automatic was... not geared well and a bit clunky, it was a really good car for 8 years and 150k km of use. Your mk2 has the engine I really like, unfortunately we don't get those, where I live. We only get the Mk2 Duster with old engines.... the rest of the car is an improvement however.
Great video, no need for alloy wheels, use steels and hubcaps, quick to fix when damaged. Dont want leather, don't need anything to do with keyless- more robbery and more to go wrong. A real handbrake. This is what 90% of people NEED to drive to the shops and to and from work/school. Noone can drive fast now, and when done, it is just for a few minutes at a time. Who needs 300bhp, and when can it ever be used? A car sits on the drive for about 90% of its life, so why pay to watch a tin box gently lose money. Dont buy a new one though. The problem is what people WANT for their egomanagement. Well done, James.
I got one new for £10,200 (albeit the essential vs comfort trim but bi-fuel) before the price hikes began and it was a great car. Comfy for a tall guy like me so fine for long trips, £20 for 300 miles on LPG and space for the occasional passenger and dogs. I extended the warranty to 5 years for £200 and got a 3 year service pack for £299 direct from Dacia . I got rid of it for £10k after 2 years and the only reason that I did was to use a work lease vehicle when I changed jobs. Shame about the current pricing but hopefully they will start to come down again as I couldn’t fault it - no issues at all
Another great thing about Dacias is the low depreciation. We got a almost fully optioned Logan 2016 new for 12.500€, sold it 6 years later with 35k miles for 6500€. They are however not suitable for winter if you have much snow, because you can't disable traction control. We upgraded to a 22 Duster and the difference is huge, feels much better in every aspect.
We bought a new Stepway lpg model for the wife 2 years ago, done 20000 miles without a single fault, on LPG it really is noticeably nicer , the gearing is spot on to make it feel fast enough. It's 6 speed too. I've has many cars costing twice as much that are only 10% better ! Loved the review.
I have a 21 plate dacia sandero and did a hire purchase deal over 4 years for £253 a month. It has been the most reliable and fun little car I've ever had. I've not had any of the issues you mentioned in the video above and think you must have a got a car with issues this time as I have not had any problems with my Sandero. Its cheap on fuel, a good family car and first car for beginners. Now that the Ford fiesta has been scrapped I can see a lot more people looking at these to replace their next cars and it's also still £4-5k cheaper than a Fiesta and still has everything you need in a car and more. It's so light and the steering is great in town too. I love mine and can't see why people would buy a Kia or BMW model for £15,000 more brand new when you could effectively have two of these comfort model Sanderos for the same money with warranty, a service plan and more etc.
Thank you for your brilliant honest and fair review. Yes the prices have climbed considerably the last two years. I ordered mine in August 2021 in mid spec essential trim and it was 9995 on the road with the 1 L turbo engine and six speed gearbox which I think they’ve just dropped. I put down £3000 and I’m only paying £61 a month. For me, personally, the choice was repair my knackered 17-year-old Passat estate which needed a shed load of work for the MOT. And a quote for over £2000 or take out finance on a Sendero with a long warranty. It was a no brainer.. and yes, the speaker grill rattles a good thump on the top of the dash does resolve it. Two years in it’s a perfectly acceptable car that just does the job.
The steel wheels with mock alloy trims are the big attraction to me! I'm fed up trying to keep alloy wheels looking like new and not kerbing them. I see a car as a means of getting from A to B in reasonable comfort at the best price I can find. The mpg you got on your journey to Scotland is very impressive and I'm sure that car will be in a low insurance group. I just might give it serious consideration.
Yeah this is really nice, you have the same thing on Clio 4-5 and Megane 4. People think I’ve got real wheels and I got 4 replacement plastic covers for like 50€ on ebay so I can park safely without caring too much!
felt the need to come in on this. due to a change in marital circumstances for my daughter, we ended up doing a lot of running the 5 and 8 year old grandkids about. we have three cars between us (911 turbo, m4 comp and mini jcw convertible - none of which i am sure will agree are useful for the purpose mentioned) and needed something more practical. excel revealed that the sandero stepway lpg could be a fit. we investigated, looked at it and decided it could really work. delivery dates were an issue but we eventually got it at the agree price of £12785 and off we went. it has been a total revelation. we load any old shit in it, leave it wherever we want, it does 120 miles to a tenner...and its a riot to drive. the other vehicles have been lucky if they have clocked up half the miles that the dacia has done since we got it. it really really works. i think the price rises are getting a wee bitty high bringing other options in, but at least there are some deals. i agree with the presenter, the interest rates are also a wee bit high and they are stretching what aligns with what the car is worth. wouldnt dream of getting rid of it and has made me realise that it really is all that you need...as long as things you want as well. love the dacia.
I’m a driving instructor and have one of these. I agree with everything you’ve said about this unassuming, unpretentious little car. Yes, it has a few “quality” foibles such as the fore mentioned misaligned steering wheel and the odd minor trim rattle, BUT, it’s actual qualities far out value the price. It is great fun to drive (being based on the Clio the chassis can definitely handle more than 90BHP), it’s well equipped, economical, very comfortable and in my tenure has been ultra reliable. What rattles hasn’t got worse, nothing’s fallen off or broken and it’s stood up to countless learner driver bashings. I’ve done 22000 miles since April in mine and it’s 90 horses (actually 100 as mine is the LPG) have stretched their legs nicely, which, when i’m driving, surprise many a BMW and Audi “bumper rider” who then feel the need to re assert their manly dominance by overtaking with a burst of exhaust farts. Yes, the Dacia headline finance deals might seem to make the car look pricey, but i funded mine on a 25 KPA PCP with nil deposit and the monthly cost for a £15k car? Just £265. I’m ex motor trade (21 years) and as nice as the Polo might be, you really NEED to WANT one to justify spending another £150 to £200 a month for one. Sandero a poor choice? Not at all, but it could be a very smart one if you’re open minded to the possibilities
@@neilturner6749 - not for 25 KPA they’re not - remember, I’m ex motor trade and know exactly how a manufacturer can make their cars seem affordable, but then you find out the mileage restrictions and the deposit requirements which paint a whole new picture. I considered a Polo as my friend works for a VW dealer and that’s the quote I was given 👍🏻
I saw one of these Dacias on the motorway about a month ago and loved its looks. It's a far nicer looking car than the awful looking behemoth SUVs that are too big for most carpark spaces these days.
Just found your channel, you sir are a breath of fresh air , a review which as Dacia say "IS EVERYTHING YOU WANT AND NOTHING YOU DON'T " absolutely on point ,thank you
We had ours for four totally faultless years. N Yorks to Spain twice and sold it to a suoermarket dealer for just 500€ *less* than we bought it for with 80k kms on its clock. Its the R4 of the new century, at least in spain!cheers!
I had a new Sandero rental car while traveling in Croatia this year. and I agree! I had low expectations, but for the money, you won't find anything better. And today I like Dacia's design more than VW's.
I would be happy if they include a 1.3 engine. Soon, if you want to drive a decent car, move outside Europe! Jogger is coming soon as hybrid and 1.6 engine.
I live near the factory and I study automotive engineering at a university with close ties to Dacia and Renault. With sadness, I can say that an R.S. version for Europe is out of the question. I've talked to many engineers, some would like that to be a thing, but it seems Renault doesn't wanna risk anything with Dacia. After all, Dacia is what saved them from a huge debt back in 2021. I have always dreamt of a Sandero with the tricked up suspension of the Clio R.S. and the 1.6 turbo engine from the Megane GT. I believe it is doable, especially since now that the Clio RS is pretty much extinct, there wouldn't be any sort of cannibalization, and there could be a market for it, but maybe I couldn't explain it to them that well, because they just seemed so tone deaf. Renault wants Dacia to make cheap cars and that's it. It's just sad.
One car I'd really want to see your opinion of is the Dacia Jogger. Basically this, except even more sensible and with a bit extra power. For some reason that car is one of very few cars that I as a car enthusiast would actually consider as my daily.
Yep, I've got a Jogger. Sat alongside a Lotus elise and peugeot 306 rallye in my garage. Its a combination that works for me. Jogger is far better than I thought it would be.
I loved my wife's 2CV years ago. The suspension, having to anticipate hills. And the gear change 2-3-2 was amazing. Unfortunately she didn't appreciate the windscreen icing up on the inside on winter school runs.
I’m pleased the Sandero still exists. When VW/Skoda/Seat/Peugeot/Citroen/Toyota have all axed their cheap city cars; it’s good Dacia make the Sandero. My day-to-day car is a 107; I love its simplicity and even though it only has 68bhp, it is still fun.
Yeah, VW and Skoda totally turned their backs to normal people buying cars, now they're interested just in selling to big company fleets. They had their Citygo/Mii/up! but they were far from cheap, at least in Czech Republic. Another thing is that the current Skodas except for the Superb that is due to be replaced are quite horrible looking (especially the new Fabia), the interior does look very similar to this Sandero and the price is just not worth it. I own three older Skoda cars and regularly drive a MkI Octavia at work but this just makes me sad.
@@AlejjSi it is sad. I like the older Skodas saw a Favorit yesterday, haven’t seen one in years. The Octavia and Fabia mk1’s and mk2’s were always a nice design
I agree. I grew up in a Favorit, I own two myself (short and estate) and my first car was Felicia (and still is among other cars I have). The first two generations of the Octavia and Fabia were very good cars, still lots of them around. But with the axing of the Yeti and Rapid, Skoda cut off normal people. Once the companies slowly die of too expensive elctricity, Skoda and VW will go with them. If they won't die before them because of the EV madness of today. However it is interesting that Dacia is what it is today thanks to Skoda in a way. because back in 1990 Skoda was up for sale as the Czechoslovak government had no money to run it. Renault was one of the potential buyers, but they wanted to shut the Skoda name, so the government sold to VW, as they promised to keep the Skoda name. And once Renault saw how good that was for VW, they learned their lesson and did the same with Dacia. @@JimTheCorsa
Cheeky James May reference there at 2:07. Also, while I like things like 991 Speedster, SLS Black, 296 or Valkyrie, as a 30-something lad I found new appreciation for things like this. It brings back simple driving enjoyment to the hands of Joe Public. While it is no longer as cheap as a packet of crisps, nothing is cheap anymore is it not? Then again, it is still the cheapest fully-equipped car most people can buy, and that can only be a... GOOD NEWS. Sorry. Can't help the cheeky Mr. May reference.
Its refreshing to see a straightforward uncomplicated presentation by JayEmm, just like the '70s (which is not a bad thing), and all about the car, what it has and does, as opposed to changing your gender, life and driving it into the desert or up the himalayas. Because the truth is we will be stuck in traffic jams or going very slowly due to roadworks or both. Another way of looking at financing is just a way of accepting, "You will own nothing and be happy".
Actually looks OK. I do sort of like really cheap cars, I can let things go like the engine and power and that. Those things aren't all that important when you aren't paying all that much comapred to other cars. I think I would have this over a 1 series in terms of just having a car.
My friend is the MD at a Dacia Dealership, he said they are fantastic cars, ultra reliable, with few reported warranty problems, and surprisingly cheap to run. He lent me one, for a holiday in Cornwall, in the summer, got to say i was highly impressed, drove well, very economical, practical, we took surf boards, paddle boards, and a fair bit of luggage space.
I have one of these as a daily runabout and a 2008 Jaguar X358 for jollies and long trips. The Dacia is a fantastic little car, in combination with the Jag I think I've found automotive nirvana.
I bought a brand new Jogger Xtreme SE last year. £18500 at 5.9% APR at the time. The same car now costs £21000 and its 9.9% APR 😮. I absolutely love my Dacia. I've driven in excess of 100 different vehicles in the last 10 years and my Dacia is definitely in the top 3 out of all of them! Bloody brilliant car and my two young boys love it. Everyone that's been in my car has been shocked at how good it is and can't believe the price it costs. It really has got a few of them reconsiding their next car purchase.
Always liked Dacias and this video is great to see! My 21 year old son was looking at upgrading from a Skoda Citigo to a brand new Ford Puma (as he needed more carrying space for his job - football coaching). However, after getting the price of the payments, I suggested looking at a New Dacia Duster. He's really happy with it and it's been 100% reliable in the 12 months he has owned it. If you feel like using it in a future video, he'd be happy to oblige!
My dad bought a new Dacia duster in 2014 and to this day has never had a single issue with it aside from the switch for the horn going but was an easy and cheap fix, services it himself and costs nothing to run, only advice I'd give is get the 1.5 diesel engine it's super overbuilt and time test being even used in some mercedes. Funnily enough he had a 1.4 TSI 2005 golf previous to that which blew it's timing belt 20k miles early from them it was due a change
Having owned a Dacia logan mcv 1.5 dci for the past 6 years I agree with most of your assessment... Except for a wheel bearing change the car has been faultless... Good honest motoring with the dci engine consistently delivering 60mpg and tax free the savings go further than the initial price tag
I watch JayEm for his emphasis for 3 words:"but", "however" and "and yes". Not a critique. That shows to me that Jay is ALWAYS looking from at least two sides, despite having his opinion, and also has fantastic pronunciation, second maybe only to Morgan Freeman. Plus sense os humor. Plus perspnality. Keep doing what you doing, please. Thank you JayEm, waiting for another episode.
I'm the proud owner of a 2023 Dacia Duster with the Bi-Fuel LPG set up and I absolutely love it. Setting the side the fact that when both tanks are full I feel like I could get to the moon and back, with the thrum of that revvy wee three cylinder (and with a surprising shove of boost from the turbo) it just never fails to put a smile on my face. In no way is it an up to the minute driving experience, but I love it all the more for it.
i have the same Duster as you . Its justa year old and its ok but i did have issues . At my first service recently it needed a new shock absorber , cv boot and a gear box mount !No, i never go off road but i will admit the roads around here are shite in places and 30mph is the max! , The pain is thin and scratches easilt , i get issues with phone connectivity? and i had a tire inflation warning in hot weather? Which Dacia service lied about!. Its a decent cheap car . I'd be interrested on your experiences . I do like the lpg option , Why is this not more popular?
@@julesdowner5585 Had mine since February and had zero issues thankfully, have even done some light off roading - the ground clearance is bloody good for cars in its class. I'll agree with you the paint isn't amazing but then I went for the cheapest option (white) so wasn't expecting anything - probably no worse than Tesla's awful paint. Phone connectivity has been fine. As for why the LPG isn't that popular - I think it's popular enough, but I imagine there'll be an element of suspicion from the buying public since it's relatively rare these days. Having said that, it could be a viable option to allow older vehicles to pass more stringent emissions standards. Certainly there's been a programme to replace the clattery old diesels in the TX4 taxis in my city with smooth running LPG units. It's kept a load of them on the road and so I think that has helped sure up demand for LPG.
My Sandero was an lpg version, and finding an outlet for the liquid, was difficult around here, as most advertised outlets no longer sell it, due to "lack of demand" apparently, and where it was available, it was generally 99p a litre or more...up to £1.39, and fuel consumption increased by approx 20% sadly when in use. I found filling was a bit of a faff too. Nozzle invariably didn't want to plug in easily, or let go when trying to release. @@julesdowner5585
@@danielmckinney1305 i never knew that about the taxis...interesting. i took the stepway down to northhampton and it was 70%more to do the journey by petrol as it was for lpg. sat at 80 just nicely on the motorway and the style of driving you get into is very relaxed....theres a slight citroen feel to it but i suppose more accurately it would be an old renault 4 / 5 feeling
@@pmr01 Yeah I did Edinburgh to Leeds and back in a day in the Duster and it was absolutely lovely. I'm regularly up and down the road to Inverness and it gives no gripes! Grateful for the sixth gear the Duster has in fairness. They're characterful cars. Unpretentious.
The Stepway version comes with waterproof cloth on seats, 110bhp engine option , a special mode for traction control like terrain response and a sunroof. And this is around 18500€.
JayEmm, here in Latin America we have this as Renault, and here we have the RS version, the 2L from the Duster, upgraded brakes and handling, something of a spicy and interesting hatchback
Thank you so much for the content you provide. Really appreciate your channel. We've got a luxury SUV, an open top sports cars, but it's the Yaris Mk4 1.5 hybrid that is the car that gets used the most. Comfortable, easy to drive and park, dog can drop her hair and mud in it, good for the train station and shopping, 75mpg, blah, blah, and no one hates you when you drive it.
My wife got her new Sandero about 13 months ago. In the time since then, the price has increased from the £11,840 she paid (lower trim level, 100 bi-fuel engine, plus metallic paint) to £14,390 - a 21.5% increase in just over a year. And not only that, in exchange a 21.5% price increase they've worsened the car slightly - it now comes with a five-speed gearbox where it previously had a six-speed.
@@miskatonic6210 Yeah last cheap kias were 2016 gen and is shame since those were amazing bang for the buck. I got my ceed 1.6GDI for 14.800 on some promotion and it had more equipment then mid spec golf and better engine, and comparable quality.
my sister has a stepway and my dad has a jogger (estate version of the sanders), which we’ve travelled up and down the country in, and camped in the back of comfortably with our own camper conversion. these are genuinely all the car you need. the hard materials are fine, it’s designed as a utility vehicle, camping in the back, you don’t want easy wearing materials. fairly comfy going from liverpool to cornwall in one trip. and excellent value for money
My mums 2013 gen 2 diesel has been just about bulletproof for 150k miles. some extremely small niggles, cheaply and easily remedied. Nothing rattling either etc. I dont believe the gen 3 will be as good on account of (I believe) much increased complexity and not as mature of a platform, but still... I do all the mechanical work on it (which is mostly oil and filters to be fair).. We splurged and put quite expensive Osram Nightbreaker LEDs (street legal LED lights) in it last weekend, her night vision isnt as good since she had lasik. It wasnt easy to fit them, but it was possible. Now its even got very good lights for night driving as well.
Sad thing is 5 years ago I got Dacia Duster (4x4 1.6SCe Prestige with few extras like multiview camera, keyless, automatic AC) for €16500. Now for the same price I get Dacia Sandero with CVT but 1.0 TCe engine, no multiview camera and I still have to add automatic AC for €330 and keyless entry for another €330. And I'm not factoring in another extra €510 for the same color I have on Duster with Sandero and Alloy wheels I had in price/trim level unlike Sandero. The times where I could get a new Sandero for €5999 are long gone.
No auto will be a deal breaker for some folks. My son bought a mid spec Sandero in 2015 with this engine , 100% reliable and 44mpg over all. Still got it
I used to sell Skodas, in the late 80s the cheapest one, the 105, was £2695, which is £9k in today’s money. Dacia are doing a VW, taking a bargain basement brand and moving it upmarket, leaving a huge gap at the bottom, right in the middle of a cost of living crisis…
My 105 is still going strong. And still giving us value for money motoring then as now. My mum runs a 130 LSE which she can easily afford to run on her pension. Neither owing a penny.
@@VintageLynx People used to mock them, but we had many repeat customers who’d been with the brand for a decade or more. Out of all the Eastern Bloc cars of the time they were the best built (and I drove them all) and by far the nicest to drive. Lovely to hear there are still some on the roads and being enjoyed!
I really enjoyed this and your presenting too…very good 👍…I’ve recently purchased a Dacia Jogger extreme Se..I’m actually pretty blown over by it tbh and more than happy despite it being a so called cheap car at £20000..it’s pluses definitely outweigh its minuses in my opinion…I’m really not bothered about the basic electronics in fact I am more than happy…..I’ve driven many vehicles during my 59 yrs on this planet but I am well satisfied with a car which is probably £17000 cheaper than it’s nearest rival especially being a seven seater…
In 1993, I bought a basic Ford Fiesta for £6745 ( including a small discount). in 2019 my father-in-law bought as his last car a Dacia Sandero Access for £6750 (including a small discount). They were effectively the same car …. Black bumpers … twiddly door mirrors … 60 (ish) bhp ….. same size … solid paint. It really was a through-back car which had its place and is now missed.
Great variety of cars is the hallmark of your channel and should be applauded 👏 Would be interested to hear your opinion of the Dacia Duster, which, judging by the number I see being driven around, is an appealing daily driver at a reasonable cost
I leased a Dacia Sandero exactly like the one in the picture. It is a surprisingly nice car. It has what I need and having done over 2000 miles since August and on all kinds of roads, I have to say it’s great for my needs.
This car is great value. So great that it is actually not sold here, to avoid it butchering the sales of the Renault Clio. When i was on holiday in Greece this summer i saw these everywhere!
a correction on the origins of Dacia: Dacia wasn't 'created a few years ago by Renault'. Dacia is a Romanian brand that was founded in the '60s. It was sold to Renault in '99 (like many other companies that were sold off after the Romanian revolution of '89). the name itself comes from what the territory of modern day Romania was called before it was conquered by the Roman Empire: the land was inhabited by tribes of 'barbarians' called Dacians. most of these tribes were conquered (some of them managed to stay free by retreating to the Carpathian mountains) and through the mixing of the two populations (Dacians and Romans), Romanians were 'born'. Renault is definitely deserving of the credit for the success Dacia enjoys today, and, in fact, even many of the cars built before the takeover were based on Renaults (for example, the Dacia 1310 is based on the Renault 12) but the brand itself is over 50 years old.
Minor detail perhaps, but Dacia was not created by Renault, it existed for many years as a affordable national brand in Romania. But when Renault took over the brand they successfully brought it to the rest of Europe after some much needed modernisation. Great entertainment value on a proper consumer advise post - really enjoy the stuff you post!
I bought a new Duster a few years ago - really liked it for the honesty and simplicity. Sold it to my brother in law, who absolutely loves it. I think Dacia still have a niche. Most new car prices have gone crazy.
This car is way better than Renault Clio when comparing prices! I drive a Dacia Dokker for work car for 1year drive it whit no mercy and for that 1 year nothing broke up. Cheers for our neighbours 🇷🇴 from 🇧🇬
My Late Father purchased a used Dacia Sandero 1.5 diesel on a 2013 plate at 2 years old from a local Renault garage, we decided to keep it when my Father passed away in 2017 and my Son drives it to scotland to the Isle of Sky from Kettering a trip of 700 miles and it returns 87 mpg even cruising at 70mph. it is road tax exempt and has passed every single MOT, even the MOT Tester likes it and says its a very good little motor. at 90 BHP it has as much power as your average 1990s family hatchback, you can easily get a mountain bike in the back with the seats folded down. It has cheap basic light bulbs that are easy to replace or upgrade to 200% brighter bulbs if you want to but no leds, I expect the newer models now have at least front Led lamps but thats going to cost you more to replace anyway and people never think about that long term. servicing by a vat registered independant is permitted by Renault/Dacia so your warrenty isnt voided by going elswhere. parts are cheap to. The steering has a nicely weighted feel to it so jumping out of a big heavy car with very light power steering into the Dacia seems a little strange as you can notice the weight of the electric power steering but if its the only car you drive it will feel normal all the time anyway. for the earlier models they had just one recall from Renault for a diesel leak due to the air-con pump belt rubbing agaist a diesel fuel line and breaking it, ours doesnt have air-con so no problem, after market fuel filters need to have the fuel lines secured with some zip ties as the fuel pressure can dislodge the fuel supply pipes to the filter canister, once youn are over these little niggles though the car is a very reliable little piece of kit and if you get the chance to own a 1.5 diesel go for it. you wont regret it. oh and one more thing, Dacia seems to put a propiatory thick coat of underseal on every car they make whereas higher priced manufacturers dont add any underseal at all.
Dacia's are a decent car for the money. If you want something brand new but you're on a tight budget, they are one of the best choices. I do lament the end of the true poverty spec car though, but I understand why no-one was buying them. You'd be a lot better off buying 2nd hand than buying a brand new full poverty spec car. Full poverty spec can be fun when they get to the 2nd hand market though. I once had a Renault 5 Campus, a car in which every possible optional extra was not included. It was better than you'd expect. I was expecting it to be completely terrible. It was terrible, but not completely.
Dacia don't make a profit on the base spec. cars, they are purely made as a marketing gimmick to entice customers into showrooms where they can then sell them the next upgrade. I have one, I love it, although central locking and reverse beep sensors are things you miss.
I had a 15 plate sandero from new, kept it for 5 years, it was great reliable economical transport. I liked that little car. Price creep has set in though, and they are just a bit to expensive now. Dacia should have stuck to what got them to the dance, value.
The "old" Sandero is a completely different car from the new one. I have had both, the old one was pretty cheap, poor seating position, clearly built to a budget on an old platform.
I bought a top of the range Dacia Duster one year ago in Turkey as the most cost effective new car option. Petrol, dual clutch auto, turbo. It has been excellent. My previous cars were Ferrari 456GT, Ferrari 308GTS, GTB, BMW635CSI etc. Obviously, not the same performance but the utility is there and it still can put a smile on my face and embarrass some badly driven BMs and Mercs at the toll booths.
hmm, i would say in opposition to comments below that this is the diametric opposite of top gear. Very thorough honest review, lots of detailed info. No childish humor, obnoxious comments, or sneering criticism. Reviewing an economy car that is relevant to the majority of people. Great work, very interesting. Top gear would never have talked about the cost of financing an economy car. Rather they would complain about the lack of ostrich leather on the gearshift of the latest veyron.
I have one, which I bought before the price rise, a whole £11,250 for a Sandero essential. I use it as a driving school car, it runs on LPG, which gives 300 miles for £30. Yes some of the plastics inside are a little low rent, but the 11% power increase on LPG means it is quite sprightly. The pupils seem to like it as it is a really easy car to drive. No complicated driver aids, even a manual handbrake.
It’s definitely more expensive than I thought. But here in Brazil, Renault still offers the PREVIOUS GENERATION SANDERO at the same price as the new one!
We have a Sandero 67 plate and it's great. My son now has it and he loves it too. However I did go for a 10 year old e class estate this year which cost 11k and a 2 year warranty Now that's a car with real comfort and better fuel economy than the Sandero. Mind you I will be using the warranty! I want another e class after this!?!?
Lots of old tried and tested Renault parts used to keep costs down, as you said it's all the car you need. My 67 year old mother wanted to buy something reasonably new for the first time she was looking at stuff like 5 year old polos I told her to go and buy a new Sandero this was in 2019 she hasn't had a second of trouble with it (it's the old 1.2 d4f engine much better than the new 1.0) Hers is a mid spec similar to this car she paid £10,700 for it
Yeah only thing I hate about this car is that 1L turbo. It is alright if you don't care but for me it is no go. over the last 20 years I usually shopped for 1.6L NA first kia cerato in 2005 cheap as fuck 12k euros with great build quality and went over 270.000km and nothing ever went wrong with it mechanically or electronically, and that sold me on kia brand(still own it lol). Then I had Focus 2011 and after then I was looking to buy another focus but they offered only 1L Eco boost(not even 1.5 eco boost with I looked for) and took it for test and my god was it trash. you get boost then hit 4k RPM then nothing so I would like have to shift non stop. That engine seems alright for something like fiesta for city but Focus was a bit too much for that little engine. Whole damn market in my country was engines like that or 1.5/6 turbo in cars I really hated. So I went I bought kia ceed on some kind of promotion for 14.700 euro with 1.6 GDI(gasoline direct injection) that made solid 140bhp at 6k. while it offered better equipment then mid spec golf with crappy engine. Now kia ceed is 22.000 euro 1L turbo base model and you need to pay 3k more for 1.5 T-GDI....
My parents have two new Dusters, and they had two of the pre-facelift Dusters before that, and they really like them. I have to admit for such a low cost, they're very spacious, relatively comfertable to travel in, and put together quite well even if the materials themselves are quite cheap. As something to take pride in they're nothing special, but for someone who doesn't care all that much about cars and who wants a cheap but well designed and well put together way of getting from A to B, they're fantastic. The equipment on the new Dusters is also quite astonishing, they've got more tech than either of my relatively new BMWs, front and rear sensors, and cameras, blind spot monitoring, heated seats and steering wheel, etc, all quite crudely implimented but functionally it works. Overall I think Dacia do a brilliant job at what they set out to achieve.
I rented a Dacia Duster AWD in Iceland and I was very impressed, every time I thought this bit feels very cheap and remembered o yeah it is cheap! All in all great car if your after no frills driving.
The smallest version (SCE 65) still only costs 11.300 € in Germany for some reason. There is also an "automatic" CVT transmission available for the Expression model.
The Sandero is manufactured in Morocco, it's not even available in Romania, only the Stepway version. It's interesting that the Sepway and Logan here in Romania are available with a 6 gear manual or a CVT.
Everything is Renault clio, and always was for previous ones as well. And why would they make different switchgear, stuff like that is hilariously expensive to develop and it isnt like Renaults switchgear is that expensive. I mean, Every old Ferrai used Fiat switchgear and 2000s Aston Martin Ford etc...
In France, you can't move for Dacia's - they're bloody everywhere.... and with good reason. They're cheap'n'cheerful motoring. My friend has a 20yr old Dacia Logan. 1.5dci, no power to speak of but surprisingly enough. Has wind-up windows, no air-con, no anything, bar power steering and it does everything (EVERYTHING!) you could want it to. Takes seven people, the dog, the kids for the school run and roof bars if you're going on holiday, gives 45mpg on average, you can sleep. In. It. It is (and I'm struggling to say this) a really good, little car....
I bought an anti-poser Sandero 2 second hand, thinking at the time that cars were ok back in the 90s, they didn't make excessive bleeps or have massive infotainment systems. It goes from A to B, does 50mpg mixed urban and rural, fast enough for what I need, I can fix most of it myself and we can go on a second holiday abroad with the spare change. The handling however, is not good.
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S.C. Automobile Dacia S.A. was official a Romanian car manufacturer until 1999 when Renault took over
‘ Us old farts call it an handbrake ‘ . I nearly choked on my tea laughing at that.
The entry level does not have the cloth interior if that is an issue. Owning a Dacia proved a good deal for me as my diesel engine is still going strong after 115000 but at current prices it does not make sense. The rich cousin Clio is just 3500 more expensive like for like but you get a safer car with more warranty and better finance deals from Renault.
why is it only 5 speed, mine is 6 speed
Strange spec I've got a 6 speed manual it's geared pretty good I use it in ECO mode around town. And on the twisties it hasn't got enough power to engage the TC and since it doesn't have stability controll it can slide a little but the new i20 is way more tailhappy even in the basic version 1.2 natasp. I'm driving the hell out of this car 170-180km/h everyday I'm always late to work so it's a time trial everyday and the car had zero issues in 40k km
JayEmm is single handedly replacing what Top Gear was all about for me. A smart, dryly humourous, interesting to listen to British bloke, who is able to mentally 'put us' inside the car and tell us what it is about. Good on you - I like this channel a lot.
And all without wrecking caravans! :-)
Wrecking caravans was the bit I liked😂
@@peterking2794
Just you wait, JayEmms next Arc will be travelling the World driving Cars through Jungles, Mountains and visiting remote Tribes while britishly cursing whatever Car he's using
What he said
Awww thanks guys
Good to see a reviewer realising (and admitting) that a basic car you can use 100% of is frequently more enjoyable than a 'better' (more expensive) car you can barely use a fraction of.
The Sandero used to be cheap (in the UK) compared to other cars; now, it isn't particularly. They've added fancy stuff that I personally don't want. I would like a cheap, very basic car. I'm happy to wind my own windows and happy for a/c and anything else to be an option.
I want decent tyres - safety - and crash protection. I don't care about body-coloured bumpers, screens, or tech to help me reverse - I know how to do that.
On the roads, more than 200hp is a bit of a waste. You either end up with points on your license or catching up to Mildred and being stuck. Far better off having a car you have more feel in and hence, gives more fun. Still miss my old 306 diesel. 130bhp in a car that weighed 1100kg... gave lots and lots of fun, especially on twisty roads.
@@julianevans9548 The crash protection is pretty much as most cars. NCAP said the structural resistence of the chassis is 4 stars but it got 2 stars because it can only detect other cars but not pedestrians. In a real car crash those things don't really matter and they only add an extra cost in the car's price so i would rather it lack those detection abilities and add some options that are actually useful in the real world
They got rid of the cheapest trim level as well, the Access, which had steel wheels and plastic bumpers, so the price went up again!
Dacia Duster (old and current models) but also the Sandero are insanely popular here in Germany. Apparently they're quite reliable, especially the Duster. Everyone i know who owns one had never any issue with it.
It's basically great Quality for the Price.
Prost & Cheers from the Bavarian Alps
Now, if that was branded as a Renault, like in some countries, would it have been as popular? 🙂
Go to India and you will see them everywhere. Its Renault branded though.
Das wahre Volksauto, sogar Volkswagen.
Did some of them have problems with gas mixing with oil and suck starting in cold wheather?
@@BanterEdits I assume the subpar TÜV statistics of Dacias cars mainly result from bad maintenance. People buying a cheap car aren't very likely to put a lot of money and afford in inspections and repairs.
My wife bought one recently. I pointed her Dacia's way as she wanted something new, cheap, no bigger than her mini and with heated seats. I'm really impressed with it, when I drive it it reminds me of everything that's good about car ownership - no gimmicks, no frills but highly liberating and good fun.
heated seat pads at B&M £20.00 each.😂
@@oojimmyflip yep that is what i got for my wife, does the job.
@@oojimmyflipyeah got £20 amazon ones in my berlingo no waiting to warm up, instant had 3 yrs
A decent car for a relatively fair price. Everything you need - and nothing more.
Greetings from Romania, Dacia's country of origin, where it's the national car brand.
It would make a decent hire car on your Mediterranean holiday...
I drove Sandero for 1year, did 30.000km and it was Petrol/LPG with 90hp. Company car, basic as it gets and I can say its really good car. When you want to push it and have some fun it can deliver. Comfortable and spacious. For 15k its the best.
Their EV seems to follow the same philosophy. Whilst every other EV car is full of high tech nonsense that drives up the price, the Dacia Spring is just a car that happens to be electric and costs €20k.
@@drunkenhobo8020 I agree, I haven't seen a single EV from any car maker that isn't full of gizmos or obnoxious gimmicks. Give people an EV that feels just like a regular car just powered by batteries instead of an engine and they will love it.
Owned by the russian government...... just saying. In May 2022, Renault sold Lada's parent company AvtoVAZ to Russian state-owned institute NAMI.
In March this year I swapped a (bought new) £40,000+ BMW XE225 hybrid for a (new) 1-litre Dacia Jogger at less than half the price because I needed lots of seats for ever increasing numbers of family members. I couldn't agree with you more about Dacia's cars. There's nothing I miss about the BMW and I take genuine pleasure in the Dacia's lack of ability to be "configured" to a never ending choice of pointless set ups; simplicity is a very relaxing feature. Sure, the actual quality of parts and finish isn't as good, but it's perfectly adequate for a consumer item that will only last twelve years or so. And the economy is utterly astonishing. I recently travelled one up from Liverpool to Cambridge and saw an indicated 68mpg. Traffic was heavy all the way so I was sort of limited to 60mph ish most of the way, and my calculations show the readings are about 10% optimistic, but even so that's over 60mpg - for a 7 seat petrol car! And the damn thing is so useful. We had to dismantle my wife's wheelchair to get it in the BMW but the Jogger takes it in one piece, plus her walking trolley and I can then get a large garden waste bin in as well plus two passengers. Yes, it doesn't handle as well as the BMW, but it's not much worse (the BMW was worse than my previous Ford C-Max), and realistically, for a people carrier performance is perfectly adequate. So far I've had zero problems, but time will tell. More and more power and more and more weight (I also drive a Caterham), with more and more complication are not a recipe for enjoyable motoring.
This is simply what most people would ever need. Simple, bare bones, hits all the bits you’d ever need. Cheap to repair, cheap to run. Salute Dacia.
Reminds me of the Swift Sport for petrol heads. Just that the more economical turbo engines still fetch a lot second hand.
would absolutely buy one in the US
@@andrewnorris5415 Unfortunately it's no longer cheap. I've got a 2012 Swift Sport and brand new that was £13,500. Today new ones are £10,000 more. That's way above inflation!
@@TiBiAstro Renault and Nissan shared markets but left US market for Nissan only. If this car will arrive in the US will probably have a Renault bage but I doubt.
Most people except romanians. They hate this brand no matter how the car looks like or what it has to offer. They prefer old used german cars from the early 2000s
As a mechanic at a Renault/Dacia dealership in the Netherlands, I have worked on and driven a lot of these Sandero's. I think these are one of the most sensible cars to buy new. You never really get the feeling that you're missing features and they're very user friendly. The Sandero also seems to be very reliable as we haven't had many problems with them.
Your first car, your fleet car, your favorite car.
All of what you need, none of what you don't.
Cheap to buy, cheap to run, fun to throw around.
A car not to be operated, but a car to drive.
Poetry, that.
I think the Dacia extreme models of the sandero, duster and jogger are exactly the basic utility vehicles that Land Rover should have been producing instead of their overly complex crap that they've ended up with. Unfortunate that since covid Dacia has had supply issues and I think this has really seen prices increase.
I agree with every word who have written. Land Rover chose their market a very long time ago & went for elitist & the whole upper class market. They have forgotten how to build a workers mule.
@@richjones5432 and their profits and margins have consistently shown it was the correct decision lol
Heh, more like car manufacturers as a whole have decided to kill new cars for the below median worker. Who tf needs painted bumpers and mirrors, electric windows, etc etc...
It's not about covid actually. The price increased since the war started in Ukrain because they had a lot of parts being produced there. I ordered mine 1 month before the war started and i had to wait 11 months for the car to come because of it and the dealership said that was the reason and now they are more expensive because everything got more expensive since that stupid war started. Also even without inflation you could have expected them to increase the price anyway because the new models look way better and have way more options than what the previous models had to offer and i'm saying this as someone who had all the previous full option models and now a full option Logan 3
@@Mirra2003-f9shmm, dealer was telling you stories... no car parts were being produced in ua... worldwide inflation started before covid and accelerated as a result...
Picked up my Sandero Stepway Journey just over a week ago. First impressions are very good. Running smoothly, no weird noises or rattles anywhere. Do think it was worth it going up to the higher trim version, just slightly more refined than the base version in some areas. Glad to see they added wireless Android Auto back, after it being removed for a while, now I just need a phone that actually supports it. Traded in a MG HS for it and quite frankly, for the limited amount of driving I do these days, not having all the over-the-top active safety features and warning bleeps is an improvement. It does have proximity sensors, but they just give a quick 'bleep' if you get close to something and let you decide for yourself if you want to do anything with the information, unlike the MG that would happilly start braking for you. It does what it needs to do, is relatively comfortable and economical to run and is a pretty fun drive. Probably would not buy one if I was doing constant long drives, but for short trips and the occassional long haul, it's more than fine. It is lacking a bit of power for accelarating, but it gets there eventually (though it is already a lot better than the 64 reg Sandero I owned briefly before). Buying process could have been better though, as I had to wait nearly 6 months for the car, that was supposed to have a 2 month lead time. First car allocated to me never made it to the dealership, probably some issue while it was in transit, but had to wait for a new one to be built and shipped from the factory, again.
Odd observation... the automatic wipers and lights on the Dacia actually work pretty well, while on the MG, that was nearly double the price, they could never make up their mind what to do. Used to go mad in light rain and then switch off in a downpour :)
Also, the increase in price and mostly thanks to increased government/EU safety requirements for cars, meaning it is near impossible to build a cheap car anymore if you want to comply with all these regulations.
I have recently purchased a nearly new Dacia Duster 1.3 turbo in top spec and I have been blown away by it. I love it and after owning near twenty cars of all brands over my 55 years of age this has truly made me convinced the other car manufactures and especially the premium brands are really taking us all for a huge ride. No car should be this good for the money they ask. I know one thing my next car will defiantly be next years Duster Mk3
I did too. Have had the same experience. It's crazy
Defiantly?
Refusing to entertain other manufacturers in defiance 🤣🤣@@royfontaine5526
I had the mk1 Duster with a 2.0L 4 cyl and 4 speed auto. While the automatic was... not geared well and a bit clunky, it was a really good car for 8 years and 150k km of use. Your mk2 has the engine I really like, unfortunately we don't get those, where I live. We only get the Mk2 Duster with old engines.... the rest of the car is an improvement however.
@@royfontaine5526clearly they meant definitely
Great video, no need for alloy wheels, use steels and hubcaps, quick to fix when damaged. Dont want leather, don't need anything to do with keyless- more robbery and more to go wrong. A real handbrake. This is what 90% of people NEED to drive to the shops and to and from work/school. Noone can drive fast now, and when done, it is just for a few minutes at a time. Who needs 300bhp, and when can it ever be used? A car sits on the drive for about 90% of its life, so why pay to watch a tin box gently lose money. Dont buy a new one though. The problem is what people WANT for their egomanagement. Well done, James.
Preach, brother!
Well said sir!
Very happy with my Sandero 2.5 years in. They just extended the warranty to 7 years here in Spain if you service it annually at Dacia.
Got my sandero comfort 14 months ago twelve thousand eight hundred and fifty pounds brand new. No issues at all, absolutely love it.
I got one new for £10,200 (albeit the essential vs comfort trim but bi-fuel) before the price hikes began and it was a great car. Comfy for a tall guy like me so fine for long trips, £20 for 300 miles on LPG and space for the occasional passenger and dogs. I extended the warranty to 5 years for £200 and got a 3 year service pack for £299 direct from Dacia . I got rid of it for £10k after 2 years and the only reason that I did was to use a work lease vehicle when I changed jobs. Shame about the current pricing but hopefully they will start to come down again as I couldn’t fault it - no issues at all
I also have the bi-fuel sandero and it's been fantastic I predominantly use lpg only problem is finding filling stations.
Another great thing about Dacias is the low depreciation. We got a almost fully optioned Logan 2016 new for 12.500€, sold it 6 years later with 35k miles for 6500€.
They are however not suitable for winter if you have much snow, because you can't disable traction control. We upgraded to a 22 Duster and the difference is huge, feels much better in every aspect.
We bought a new Stepway lpg model for the wife 2 years ago, done 20000 miles without a single fault, on LPG it really is noticeably nicer , the gearing is spot on to make it feel fast enough. It's 6 speed too. I've has many cars costing twice as much that are only 10% better ! Loved the review.
I have a 21 plate dacia sandero and did a hire purchase deal over 4 years for £253 a month. It has been the most reliable and fun little car I've ever had. I've not had any of the issues you mentioned in the video above and think you must have a got a car with issues this time as I have not had any problems with my Sandero.
Its cheap on fuel, a good family car and first car for beginners. Now that the Ford fiesta has been scrapped I can see a lot more people looking at these to replace their next cars and it's also still £4-5k cheaper than a Fiesta and still has everything you need in a car and more.
It's so light and the steering is great in town too. I love mine and can't see why people would buy a Kia or BMW model for £15,000 more brand new when you could effectively have two of these comfort model Sanderos for the same money with warranty, a service plan and more etc.
What a breath of fresh air to get someone doing honest, informative reviews on normal, everyday cars. New to the channel and hooked already.
Thank you for your brilliant honest and fair review. Yes the prices have climbed considerably the last two years. I ordered mine in August 2021 in mid spec essential trim and it was 9995 on the road with the 1 L turbo engine and six speed gearbox which I think they’ve just dropped. I put down £3000 and I’m only paying £61 a month. For me, personally, the choice was repair my knackered 17-year-old Passat estate which needed a shed load of work for the MOT. And a quote for over £2000 or take out finance on a Sendero with a long warranty. It was a no brainer.. and yes, the speaker grill rattles a good thump on the top of the dash does resolve it. Two years in it’s a perfectly acceptable car that just does the job.
Great to hear it's going well!
The steel wheels with mock alloy trims are the big attraction to me! I'm fed up trying to keep alloy wheels looking like new and not kerbing them. I see a car as a means of getting from A to B in reasonable comfort at the best price I can find. The mpg you got on your journey to Scotland is very impressive and I'm sure that car will be in a low insurance group. I just might give it serious consideration.
Yeah this is really nice, you have the same thing on Clio 4-5 and Megane 4. People think I’ve got real wheels and I got 4 replacement plastic covers for like 50€ on ebay so I can park safely without caring too much!
My alloy wheels are intact after 5 years of parking daily on the street. How do you scrape them? Do you drive aligned to the curb or what?
felt the need to come in on this. due to a change in marital circumstances for my daughter, we ended up doing a lot of running the 5 and 8 year old grandkids about. we have three cars between us (911 turbo, m4 comp and mini jcw convertible - none of which i am sure will agree are useful for the purpose mentioned) and needed something more practical. excel revealed that the sandero stepway lpg could be a fit. we investigated, looked at it and decided it could really work. delivery dates were an issue but we eventually got it at the agree price of £12785 and off we went. it has been a total revelation. we load any old shit in it, leave it wherever we want, it does 120 miles to a tenner...and its a riot to drive. the other vehicles have been lucky if they have clocked up half the miles that the dacia has done since we got it. it really really works. i think the price rises are getting a wee bitty high bringing other options in, but at least there are some deals. i agree with the presenter, the interest rates are also a wee bit high and they are stretching what aligns with what the car is worth. wouldnt dream of getting rid of it and has made me realise that it really is all that you need...as long as things you want as
well. love the dacia.
I’m a driving instructor and have one of these. I agree with everything you’ve said about this unassuming, unpretentious little car. Yes, it has a few “quality” foibles such as the fore mentioned misaligned steering wheel and the odd minor trim rattle, BUT, it’s actual qualities far out value the price. It is great fun to drive (being based on the Clio the chassis can definitely handle more than 90BHP), it’s well equipped, economical, very comfortable and in my tenure has been ultra reliable. What rattles hasn’t got worse, nothing’s fallen off or broken and it’s stood up to countless learner driver bashings. I’ve done 22000 miles since April in mine and it’s 90 horses (actually 100 as mine is the LPG) have stretched their legs nicely, which, when i’m driving, surprise many a BMW and Audi “bumper rider” who then feel the need to re assert their manly dominance by overtaking with a burst of exhaust farts. Yes, the Dacia headline finance deals might seem to make the car look pricey, but i funded mine on a 25 KPA PCP with nil deposit and the monthly cost for a £15k car? Just £265. I’m ex motor trade (21 years) and as nice as the Polo might be, you really NEED to WANT one to justify spending another £150 to £200 a month for one. Sandero a poor choice? Not at all, but it could be a very smart one if you’re open minded to the possibilities
Aforementioned...
Entry level Polo PCP’s are more like £70 pm dearer than Sanderos, not the £150 to £200 you mention
@@neilturner6749 - not for 25 KPA they’re not - remember, I’m ex motor trade and know exactly how a manufacturer can make their cars seem affordable, but then you find out the mileage restrictions and the deposit requirements which paint a whole new picture. I considered a Polo as my friend works for a VW dealer and that’s the quote I was given 👍🏻
@@resnonverba137 - don’t you just hate autocorrect 🤷🏻♂️🤣
@@lambsmotorworld2599 I'm certainly starting to 🙂
I saw one of these Dacias on the motorway about a month ago and loved its looks. It's a far nicer looking car than the awful looking behemoth SUVs that are too big for most carpark spaces these days.
Just found your channel, you sir are a breath of fresh air , a review which as Dacia say "IS EVERYTHING YOU WANT AND NOTHING YOU DON'T " absolutely on point ,thank you
We had ours for four totally faultless years. N Yorks to Spain twice and sold it to a suoermarket dealer for just 500€ *less* than we bought it for with 80k kms on its clock. Its the R4 of the new century, at least in spain!cheers!
I had a new Sandero rental car while traveling in Croatia this year. and I agree! I had low expectations, but for the money, you won't find anything better. And today I like Dacia's design more than VW's.
Dacia should really make the Sandero RS in Europe as Renault did in South America. It was brilliant
I would be happy if they include a 1.3 engine. Soon, if you want to drive a decent car, move outside Europe! Jogger is coming soon as hybrid and 1.6 engine.
I'd buy one as it appeals to my warped sense of humour. (I have previously owned a Nismo RS Juke for similar reasons).
I live near the factory and I study automotive engineering at a university with close ties to Dacia and Renault. With sadness, I can say that an R.S. version for Europe is out of the question. I've talked to many engineers, some would like that to be a thing, but it seems Renault doesn't wanna risk anything with Dacia. After all, Dacia is what saved them from a huge debt back in 2021. I have always dreamt of a Sandero with the tricked up suspension of the Clio R.S. and the 1.6 turbo engine from the Megane GT. I believe it is doable, especially since now that the Clio RS is pretty much extinct, there wouldn't be any sort of cannibalization, and there could be a market for it, but maybe I couldn't explain it to them that well, because they just seemed so tone deaf. Renault wants Dacia to make cheap cars and that's it. It's just sad.
Good news
One car I'd really want to see your opinion of is the Dacia Jogger.
Basically this, except even more sensible and with a bit extra power.
For some reason that car is one of very few cars that I as a car enthusiast would actually consider as my daily.
Yes mostly the same I've had one since March and I enjoy it and so does the family.
Took a taxi trip home in one. It’s great with nice modern styling
Yep, I've got a Jogger. Sat alongside a Lotus elise and peugeot 306 rallye in my garage. Its a combination that works for me. Jogger is far better than I thought it would be.
Yup, another thumbs up from a Jogger owner
I loved my wife's 2CV years ago.
The suspension, having to anticipate hills.
And the gear change 2-3-2 was amazing.
Unfortunately she didn't appreciate the windscreen icing up on the inside on winter school runs.
I’m pleased the Sandero still exists. When VW/Skoda/Seat/Peugeot/Citroen/Toyota have all axed their cheap city cars; it’s good Dacia make the Sandero. My day-to-day car is a 107; I love its simplicity and even though it only has 68bhp, it is still fun.
Yeah, VW and Skoda totally turned their backs to normal people buying cars, now they're interested just in selling to big company fleets. They had their Citygo/Mii/up! but they were far from cheap, at least in Czech Republic. Another thing is that the current Skodas except for the Superb that is due to be replaced are quite horrible looking (especially the new Fabia), the interior does look very similar to this Sandero and the price is just not worth it. I own three older Skoda cars and regularly drive a MkI Octavia at work but this just makes me sad.
@@AlejjSi it is sad. I like the older Skodas saw a Favorit yesterday, haven’t seen one in years. The Octavia and Fabia mk1’s and mk2’s were always a nice design
I agree. I grew up in a Favorit, I own two myself (short and estate) and my first car was Felicia (and still is among other cars I have). The first two generations of the Octavia and Fabia were very good cars, still lots of them around. But with the axing of the Yeti and Rapid, Skoda cut off normal people. Once the companies slowly die of too expensive elctricity, Skoda and VW will go with them. If they won't die before them because of the EV madness of today. However it is interesting that Dacia is what it is today thanks to Skoda in a way. because back in 1990 Skoda was up for sale as the Czechoslovak government had no money to run it. Renault was one of the potential buyers, but they wanted to shut the Skoda name, so the government sold to VW, as they promised to keep the Skoda name. And once Renault saw how good that was for VW, they learned their lesson and did the same with Dacia. @@JimTheCorsa
Cheeky James May reference there at 2:07.
Also, while I like things like 991 Speedster, SLS Black, 296 or Valkyrie, as a 30-something lad I found new appreciation for things like this. It brings back simple driving enjoyment to the hands of Joe Public. While it is no longer as cheap as a packet of crisps, nothing is cheap anymore is it not? Then again, it is still the cheapest fully-equipped car most people can buy, and that can only be a...
GOOD NEWS.
Sorry. Can't help the cheeky Mr. May reference.
Its refreshing to see a straightforward uncomplicated presentation by JayEmm, just like the '70s (which is not a bad thing), and all about the car, what it has and does, as opposed to changing your gender, life and driving it into the desert or up the himalayas. Because the truth is we will be stuck in traffic jams or going very slowly due to roadworks or both. Another way of looking at financing is just a way of accepting, "You will own nothing and be happy".
You should also review the Dacia Duster, one of the best sold compact SUVs in Europe.
Actually looks OK. I do sort of like really cheap cars, I can let things go like the engine and power and that. Those things aren't all that important when you aren't paying all that much comapred to other cars. I think I would have this over a 1 series in terms of just having a car.
My friend is the MD at a Dacia Dealership, he said they are fantastic cars, ultra reliable, with few reported warranty problems, and surprisingly cheap to run. He lent me one, for a holiday in Cornwall, in the summer, got to say i was highly impressed, drove well, very economical, practical, we took surf boards, paddle boards, and a fair bit of luggage space.
I have one of these as a daily runabout and a 2008 Jaguar X358 for jollies and long trips. The Dacia is a fantastic little car, in combination with the Jag I think I've found automotive nirvana.
I bought a brand new Jogger Xtreme SE last year. £18500 at 5.9% APR at the time. The same car now costs £21000 and its 9.9% APR 😮. I absolutely love my Dacia. I've driven in excess of 100 different vehicles in the last 10 years and my Dacia is definitely in the top 3 out of all of them! Bloody brilliant car and my two young boys love it. Everyone that's been in my car has been shocked at how good it is and can't believe the price it costs. It really has got a few of them reconsiding their next car purchase.
Always liked Dacias and this video is great to see! My 21 year old son was looking at upgrading from a Skoda Citigo to a brand new Ford Puma (as he needed more carrying space for his job - football coaching). However, after getting the price of the payments, I suggested looking at a New Dacia Duster. He's really happy with it and it's been 100% reliable in the 12 months he has owned it. If you feel like using it in a future video, he'd be happy to oblige!
My dad bought a new Dacia duster in 2014 and to this day has never had a single issue with it aside from the switch for the horn going but was an easy and cheap fix, services it himself and costs nothing to run, only advice I'd give is get the 1.5 diesel engine it's super overbuilt and time test being even used in some mercedes. Funnily enough he had a 1.4 TSI 2005 golf previous to that which blew it's timing belt 20k miles early from them it was due a change
Having owned a Dacia logan mcv 1.5 dci for the past 6 years I agree with most of your assessment... Except for a wheel bearing change the car has been faultless... Good honest motoring with the dci engine consistently delivering 60mpg and tax free the savings go further than the initial price tag
I watch JayEm for his emphasis for 3 words:"but", "however" and "and yes".
Not a critique. That shows to me that Jay is ALWAYS looking from at least two sides, despite having his opinion, and also has fantastic pronunciation, second maybe only to Morgan Freeman. Plus sense os humor. Plus perspnality. Keep doing what you doing, please.
Thank you JayEm, waiting for another episode.
I'm the proud owner of a 2023 Dacia Duster with the Bi-Fuel LPG set up and I absolutely love it. Setting the side the fact that when both tanks are full I feel like I could get to the moon and back, with the thrum of that revvy wee three cylinder (and with a surprising shove of boost from the turbo) it just never fails to put a smile on my face. In no way is it an up to the minute driving experience, but I love it all the more for it.
i have the same Duster as you . Its justa year old and its ok but i did have issues . At my first service recently it needed a new shock absorber , cv boot and a gear box mount !No, i never go off road but i will admit the roads around here are shite in places and 30mph is the max! , The pain is thin and scratches easilt , i get issues with phone connectivity? and i had a tire inflation warning in hot weather? Which Dacia service lied about!. Its a decent cheap car . I'd be interrested on your experiences . I do like the lpg option , Why is this not more popular?
@@julesdowner5585 Had mine since February and had zero issues thankfully, have even done some light off roading - the ground clearance is bloody good for cars in its class. I'll agree with you the paint isn't amazing but then I went for the cheapest option (white) so wasn't expecting anything - probably no worse than Tesla's awful paint. Phone connectivity has been fine. As for why the LPG isn't that popular - I think it's popular enough, but I imagine there'll be an element of suspicion from the buying public since it's relatively rare these days. Having said that, it could be a viable option to allow older vehicles to pass more stringent emissions standards. Certainly there's been a programme to replace the clattery old diesels in the TX4 taxis in my city with smooth running LPG units. It's kept a load of them on the road and so I think that has helped sure up demand for LPG.
My Sandero was an lpg version, and finding an outlet for the liquid, was difficult around here, as most advertised outlets no longer sell it, due to "lack of demand" apparently, and where it was available, it was generally 99p a litre or more...up to £1.39, and fuel consumption increased by approx 20% sadly when in use. I found filling was a bit of a faff too. Nozzle invariably didn't want to plug in easily, or let go when trying to release. @@julesdowner5585
@@danielmckinney1305 i never knew that about the taxis...interesting. i took the stepway down to northhampton and it was 70%more to do the journey by petrol as it was for lpg. sat at 80 just nicely on the motorway and the style of driving you get into is very relaxed....theres a slight citroen feel to it but i suppose more accurately it would be an old renault 4 / 5 feeling
@@pmr01 Yeah I did Edinburgh to Leeds and back in a day in the Duster and it was absolutely lovely. I'm regularly up and down the road to Inverness and it gives no gripes! Grateful for the sixth gear the Duster has in fairness. They're characterful cars. Unpretentious.
Whoever was behind the wheel during the outside drive by clips was not hanging about! Car looked really up on it's toes and really fun to drive!
The Stepway version comes with waterproof cloth on seats, 110bhp engine option , a special mode for traction control like terrain response and a sunroof. And this is around 18500€.
JayEmm, here in Latin America we have this as Renault, and here we have the RS version, the 2L from the Duster, upgraded brakes and handling, something of a spicy and interesting hatchback
Thank you so much for the content you provide. Really appreciate your channel. We've got a luxury SUV, an open top sports cars, but it's the Yaris Mk4 1.5 hybrid that is the car that gets used the most. Comfortable, easy to drive and park, dog can drop her hair and mud in it, good for the train station and shopping, 75mpg, blah, blah, and no one hates you when you drive it.
My wife got her new Sandero about 13 months ago. In the time since then, the price has increased from the £11,840 she paid (lower trim level, 100 bi-fuel engine, plus metallic paint) to £14,390 - a 21.5% increase in just over a year.
And not only that, in exchange a 21.5% price increase they've worsened the car slightly - it now comes with a five-speed gearbox where it previously had a six-speed.
As a long time subscriber, I must admit your Kia and Dacia reviews are my favourite, love these cheaper more normal down to earth brands
Kia isn't cheap any more.
@@miskatonic6210 Yeah last cheap kias were 2016 gen and is shame since those were amazing bang for the buck. I got my ceed 1.6GDI for 14.800 on some promotion and it had more equipment then mid spec golf and better engine, and comparable quality.
I really wish we could get more of these simple back to basics cars. You get the benefits of modern engineering with some old school fun.
my sister has a stepway and my dad has a jogger (estate version of the sanders), which we’ve travelled up and down the country in, and camped in the back of comfortably with our own camper conversion. these are genuinely all the car you need. the hard materials are fine, it’s designed as a utility vehicle, camping in the back, you don’t want easy wearing materials. fairly comfy going from liverpool to cornwall in one trip. and excellent value for money
My mums 2013 gen 2 diesel has been just about bulletproof for 150k miles. some extremely small niggles, cheaply and easily remedied. Nothing rattling either etc. I dont believe the gen 3 will be as good on account of (I believe) much increased complexity and not as mature of a platform, but still...
I do all the mechanical work on it (which is mostly oil and filters to be fair).. We splurged and put quite expensive Osram Nightbreaker LEDs (street legal LED lights) in it last weekend, her night vision isnt as good since she had lasik. It wasnt easy to fit them, but it was possible. Now its even got very good lights for night driving as well.
Sad thing is 5 years ago I got Dacia Duster (4x4 1.6SCe Prestige with few extras like multiview camera, keyless, automatic AC) for €16500. Now for the same price I get Dacia Sandero with CVT but 1.0 TCe engine, no multiview camera and I still have to add automatic AC for €330 and keyless entry for another €330. And I'm not factoring in another extra €510 for the same color I have on Duster with Sandero and Alloy wheels I had in price/trim level unlike Sandero. The times where I could get a new Sandero for €5999 are long gone.
No auto will be a deal breaker for some folks. My son bought a mid spec Sandero in 2015 with this engine , 100% reliable and 44mpg over all. Still got it
The Stepway has a CVT if you need an auto, it’s a good one too.
Terrific review, of a car and brand that deserve maximum respect.
Another breath of fresh air 👍. Please keep up the reviews of old, and new affordable vehicles .
I used to sell Skodas, in the late 80s the cheapest one, the 105, was £2695, which is £9k in today’s money. Dacia are doing a VW, taking a bargain basement brand and moving it upmarket, leaving a huge gap at the bottom, right in the middle of a cost of living crisis…
My 105 is still going strong. And still giving us value for money motoring then as now. My mum runs a 130 LSE which she can easily afford to run on her pension. Neither owing a penny.
@@VintageLynx People used to mock them, but we had many repeat customers who’d been with the brand for a decade or more.
Out of all the Eastern Bloc cars of the time they were the best built (and I drove them all) and by far the nicest to drive.
Lovely to hear there are still some on the roads and being enjoyed!
I really enjoyed this and your presenting too…very good 👍…I’ve recently purchased a Dacia Jogger extreme Se..I’m actually pretty blown over by it tbh and more than happy despite it being a so called cheap car at £20000..it’s pluses definitely outweigh its minuses in my opinion…I’m really not bothered about the basic electronics in fact I am more than happy…..I’ve driven many vehicles during my 59 yrs on this planet but I am well satisfied with a car which is probably £17000 cheaper than it’s nearest rival especially being a seven seater…
My friend is currently on his 4th Dacia and absolutely loves them for what they are.
In 1993, I bought a basic Ford Fiesta for £6745 ( including a small discount). in 2019 my father-in-law bought as his last car a Dacia Sandero Access for £6750 (including a small discount). They were effectively the same car …. Black bumpers … twiddly door mirrors … 60 (ish) bhp ….. same size … solid paint. It really was a through-back car which had its place and is now missed.
Watching the video, thinking to myself, he is in Scotland, I know the roads, and sure enough :-)
You caught some awesome weather for the drive!
I have a '22 Stepway. It's got all I need including slightly higher ground clearance for dealing with crappy often flooded north Essex roads.
Great variety of cars is the hallmark of your channel and should be applauded 👏 Would be interested to hear your opinion of the Dacia Duster, which, judging by the number I see being driven around, is an appealing daily driver at a reasonable cost
I leased a Dacia Sandero exactly like the one in the picture. It is a surprisingly nice car. It has what I need and having done over 2000 miles since August and on all kinds of roads, I have to say it’s great for my needs.
This car is great value. So great that it is actually not sold here, to avoid it butchering the sales of the Renault Clio. When i was on holiday in Greece this summer i saw these everywhere!
a correction on the origins of Dacia: Dacia wasn't 'created a few years ago by Renault'. Dacia is a Romanian brand that was founded in the '60s. It was sold to Renault in '99 (like many other companies that were sold off after the Romanian revolution of '89). the name itself comes from what the territory of modern day Romania was called before it was conquered by the Roman Empire: the land was inhabited by tribes of 'barbarians' called Dacians. most of these tribes were conquered (some of them managed to stay free by retreating to the Carpathian mountains) and through the mixing of the two populations (Dacians and Romans), Romanians were 'born'. Renault is definitely deserving of the credit for the success Dacia enjoys today, and, in fact, even many of the cars built before the takeover were based on Renaults (for example, the Dacia 1310 is based on the Renault 12) but the brand itself is over 50 years old.
Minor detail perhaps, but Dacia was not created by Renault, it existed for many years as a affordable national brand in Romania. But when Renault took over the brand they successfully brought it to the rest of Europe after some much needed modernisation.
Great entertainment value on a proper consumer advise post - really enjoy the stuff you post!
I bought a new Duster a few years ago - really liked it for the honesty and simplicity. Sold it to my brother in law, who absolutely loves it. I think Dacia still have a niche. Most new car prices have gone crazy.
This car is way better than Renault Clio when comparing prices! I drive a Dacia Dokker for work car for 1year drive it whit no mercy and for that 1 year nothing broke up. Cheers for our neighbours 🇷🇴 from 🇧🇬
My Late Father purchased a used Dacia Sandero 1.5 diesel on a 2013 plate at 2 years old from a local Renault garage, we decided to keep it when my Father passed away in 2017 and my Son drives it to scotland to the Isle of Sky from Kettering a trip of 700 miles and it returns 87 mpg even cruising at 70mph. it is road tax exempt and has passed every single MOT, even the MOT Tester likes it and says its a very good little motor. at 90 BHP it has as much power as your average 1990s family hatchback, you can easily get a mountain bike in the back with the seats folded down. It has cheap basic light bulbs that are easy to replace or upgrade to 200% brighter bulbs if you want to but no leds, I expect the newer models now have at least front Led lamps but thats going to cost you more to replace anyway and people never think about that long term.
servicing by a vat registered independant is permitted by Renault/Dacia so your warrenty isnt voided by going elswhere. parts are cheap to. The steering has a nicely weighted feel to it so jumping out of a big heavy car with very light power steering into the Dacia seems a little strange as you can notice the weight of the electric power steering but if its the only car you drive it will feel normal all the time anyway. for the earlier models they had just one recall from Renault for a diesel leak due to the air-con pump belt rubbing agaist a diesel fuel line and breaking it, ours doesnt have air-con so no problem, after market fuel filters need to have the fuel lines secured with some zip ties as the fuel pressure can dislodge the fuel supply pipes to the filter canister, once youn are over these little niggles though the car is a very reliable little piece of kit and if you get the chance to own a 1.5 diesel go for it. you wont regret it. oh and one more thing, Dacia seems to put a propiatory thick coat of underseal on every car they make whereas higher priced manufacturers dont add any underseal at all.
Dacia's are a decent car for the money. If you want something brand new but you're on a tight budget, they are one of the best choices.
I do lament the end of the true poverty spec car though, but I understand why no-one was buying them. You'd be a lot better off buying 2nd hand than buying a brand new full poverty spec car. Full poverty spec can be fun when they get to the 2nd hand market though.
I once had a Renault 5 Campus, a car in which every possible optional extra was not included. It was better than you'd expect. I was expecting it to be completely terrible. It was terrible, but not completely.
Dacia don't make a profit on the base spec. cars, they are purely made as a marketing gimmick to entice customers into showrooms where they can then sell them the next upgrade. I have one, I love it, although central locking and reverse beep sensors are things you miss.
I'm very happy with my dacia, exact same spec and color as this. Borderline insane value for money compared to any other car in the class.
I had a 15 plate sandero from new, kept it for 5 years, it was great reliable economical transport. I liked that little car. Price creep has set in though, and they are just a bit to expensive now. Dacia should have stuck to what got them to the dance, value.
The "old" Sandero is a completely different car from the new one. I have had both, the old one was pretty cheap, poor seating position, clearly built to a budget on an old platform.
I bought a top of the range Dacia Duster one year ago in Turkey as the most cost effective new car option. Petrol, dual clutch auto, turbo. It has been excellent. My previous cars were Ferrari 456GT, Ferrari 308GTS, GTB, BMW635CSI etc. Obviously, not the same performance but the utility is there and it still can put a smile on my face and embarrass some badly driven BMs and Mercs at the toll booths.
I've got a Dacia and it's a quality car without absolutely no one issue for five years already at moderate price.
We just ordered 21 Dacias (not all the same model) for our business - they are incredibly good value
You should definitely try and get a Jogger Hybrid, as it seems to be the best car currently on sale which can do everything.
hmm, i would say in opposition to comments below that this is the diametric opposite of top gear. Very thorough honest review, lots of detailed info. No childish humor, obnoxious comments, or sneering criticism. Reviewing an economy car that is relevant to the majority of people. Great work, very interesting.
Top gear would never have talked about the cost of financing an economy car. Rather they would complain about the lack of ostrich leather on the gearshift of the latest veyron.
I have one, which I bought before the price rise, a whole £11,250 for a Sandero essential. I use it as a driving school car, it runs on LPG, which gives 300 miles for £30. Yes some of the plastics inside are a little low rent, but the 11% power increase on LPG means it is quite sprightly. The pupils seem to like it as it is a really easy car to drive. No complicated driver aids, even a manual handbrake.
It’s definitely more expensive than I thought. But here in Brazil, Renault still offers the PREVIOUS GENERATION SANDERO at the same price as the new one!
Not for long, is coming Kardian soon
We have a Sandero 67 plate and it's great. My son now has it and he loves it too. However I did go for a 10 year old e class estate this year which cost 11k and a 2 year warranty Now that's a car with real comfort and better fuel economy than the Sandero. Mind you I will be using the warranty! I want another e class after this!?!?
Lots of old tried and tested Renault parts used to keep costs down, as you said it's all the car you need. My 67 year old mother wanted to buy something reasonably new for the first time she was looking at stuff like 5 year old polos I told her to go and buy a new Sandero this was in 2019 she hasn't had a second of trouble with it (it's the old 1.2 d4f engine much better than the new 1.0) Hers is a mid spec similar to this car she paid £10,700 for it
Yeah only thing I hate about this car is that 1L turbo. It is alright if you don't care but for me it is no go. over the last 20 years I usually shopped for 1.6L NA first kia cerato in 2005 cheap as fuck 12k euros with great build quality and went over 270.000km and nothing ever went wrong with it mechanically or electronically, and that sold me on kia brand(still own it lol). Then I had Focus 2011 and after then I was looking to buy another focus but they offered only 1L Eco boost(not even 1.5 eco boost with I looked for) and took it for test and my god was it trash. you get boost then hit 4k RPM then nothing so I would like have to shift non stop.
That engine seems alright for something like fiesta for city but Focus was a bit too much for that little engine. Whole damn market in my country was engines like that or 1.5/6 turbo in cars I really hated. So I went I bought kia ceed on some kind of promotion for 14.700 euro with 1.6 GDI(gasoline direct injection) that made solid 140bhp at 6k. while it offered better equipment then mid spec golf with crappy engine.
Now kia ceed is 22.000 euro 1L turbo base model and you need to pay 3k more for 1.5 T-GDI....
"It turns out that cheap cars aren't what they used to be" - Indeed, they're no longer cheap.
Ηahaha, exactly !
My parents have two new Dusters, and they had two of the pre-facelift Dusters before that, and they really like them. I have to admit for such a low cost, they're very spacious, relatively comfertable to travel in, and put together quite well even if the materials themselves are quite cheap. As something to take pride in they're nothing special, but for someone who doesn't care all that much about cars and who wants a cheap but well designed and well put together way of getting from A to B, they're fantastic. The equipment on the new Dusters is also quite astonishing, they've got more tech than either of my relatively new BMWs, front and rear sensors, and cameras, blind spot monitoring, heated seats and steering wheel, etc, all quite crudely implimented but functionally it works. Overall I think Dacia do a brilliant job at what they set out to achieve.
I rented a Dacia Duster AWD in Iceland and I was very impressed, every time I thought this bit feels very cheap and remembered o yeah it is cheap! All in all great car if your after no frills driving.
Here in Belgium an automatic CVT version is available and also a cheaper non turbo version with only 65 horsepower. Prices start around 11.990 euro.
James, on Britain's roads today, that's probably all the performance you need. Too powerful for Wales, mind.
New Dacia styling is very nice
Good review. Interesting, informative and very well presented. Thank you sir!
The smallest version (SCE 65) still only costs 11.300 € in Germany for some reason.
There is also an "automatic" CVT transmission available for the Expression model.
The Sandero is manufactured in Morocco, it's not even available in Romania, only the Stepway version. It's interesting that the Sepway and Logan here in Romania are available with a 6 gear manual or a CVT.
Still using Renault switch gear then. I recognise the stereo controls from my wife's 2013 Twingo.
yeah, engines as well
Everything is Renault clio, and always was for previous ones as well. And why would they make different switchgear, stuff like that is hilariously expensive to develop and it isnt like Renaults switchgear is that expensive. I mean, Every old Ferrai used Fiat switchgear and 2000s Aston Martin Ford etc...
In France, you can't move for Dacia's - they're bloody everywhere.... and with good reason. They're cheap'n'cheerful motoring. My friend has a 20yr old Dacia Logan. 1.5dci, no power to speak of but surprisingly enough. Has wind-up windows, no air-con, no anything, bar power steering and it does everything (EVERYTHING!) you could want it to. Takes seven people, the dog, the kids for the school run and roof bars if you're going on holiday, gives 45mpg on average, you can sleep. In. It.
It is (and I'm struggling to say this) a really good, little car....
20 years might be a bit optimist, I think they first got to france in 2006, but yes ! That Logan MCV was very well worth considering at the time !
I think you would love the sandero RS, RS meaning Renault Sport, they sold those here in Brazil and it was a great affordable hot hatch.
Really enjoyed that Jay.....hope you can do the Duster one day......x300 owner....x
Very honest and thorough. Good job
I bought an anti-poser Sandero 2 second hand, thinking at the time that cars were ok back in the 90s, they didn't make excessive bleeps or have massive infotainment systems. It goes from A to B, does 50mpg mixed urban and rural, fast enough for what I need, I can fix most of it myself and we can go on a second holiday abroad with the spare change. The handling however, is not good.
When they first came out the bum basic was in fact £5995 on the road.