£5,995 Dacia Sandero – How Cheap Is That?
Dacia Announces Prices for New Sandero Supermini on Sale in the UK from January 2013.
I guess many of us would have heard of the Dacia brand, although not many of us have probably owned one, or even know someone who does. Come to that, its built in Romania, do we even know where that is?
Well, since 1999, Dacia has been owned by the Renault group, but the company was founded way back in 1966 (ok, that’s yesterday compared to companies like Ford, Peugeot etc), but it does mean it’s been around and building cars for pretty much 45 years.
From January 2013 all Renault dealers will be selling Dacia product as well as Renault and the move is part of a dramatic overhaul of Renault’s UK operations which saw the deletion of the Laguna, Espace, Modus, Wind and Kangoo car models from February 2012.
Dacia will be a good fit for Renault dealers as the vehicles are very inexpensive and offer something completely different as there will be a totally “no haggle” pricing structure, which to me and you means no discount “so don’t even ask” as the price you see, is the price you pay. Even big fleets and leasing companies will not be offered discounts. Its felt the lower “know where you are” pricing is going to encourage buyers that perhaps in the past bought used cars in the past.
The “Sandero” which is a supermini has been described as shockingly affordable and will wear a £5995 ticket price and the entry Access includes 15-inch steel wheels, a 60/40 split folding rear seat and daytime running lights. Customers have to add an accessory fit radio and speaker system from the dealer.
Standard safety features however include ABS with Emergency Brake Assist, ASR traction control, ESC (Electronic Stability Control), driver, passenger and front side airbags and ISOFIX points in both outer rear seats.
A £600 price increase leads to the mid-level Ambiance trim which adds radio CD player, USB and AUX input, Bluetooth, remote central locking, electric front windows, body coloured bumpers and 15-inch ‘Colorado’ wheel trims. Trading up to the Ambiance also adds chrome surrounds for the air vents, instrument dials and steering wheel logo.
Dacia expects two-thirds of buyers to go for the top of the range Laureate from £7,995. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, heated and electrically adjustable door mirrors, cruise control and electric rear windows as standard.
Customers can add integrated seven-inch touch screen navigation and multimedia system for £250 (sounds cheap). A Protection Pack for £395 adds an alarm, boot liner and rear parking sensors.
For the UK, the Sandero will come with a choice of three engine versions: two petrol engine –the 1.2 liter and 75 HP engine or the new 0.9 liter TCe turbocharged engine with 90 HP. The third version is the 1.5dCi diesel engine with 90 HP. The 0.9-litre three-cylinder turbocharged unit is capable of 109 mph, with fuel economy of 54.3 mpg and CO2emissions of 120 g/km. The 1.5-litre diesel dCi 90 is capable of 74.3 mpg and sub-100 grams of CO2/Km. The four-cylinder 1.2 petrol delivers 47.9mpg on the combined cycle with CO2emissions of 137g/km. The Renault Group 1.2 16V 75 is on offer with every trim level. The TCe 90 and dCi 90, can be ordered with both Ambiance and Lauréate specification.
All Sanderos will come with a three years/60,000 mile warranty and three years/60,000 miles free roadside assistance. Customers can upgrade to a five year/60,000 miles and seven year/100,000 miles warranty for £395 and £850.
