Dacia Sandero review

The Dacia Sandero is from a Romanian brand owned by a French car maker (Renault), but its name has its roots in Greek. It means warrior – and we have to admit it fights hard to give good value.

In fact, no other new small car undercuts the Sandero on price – even the tiny Kia Picanto is more expensive than the entry-level Sandero. What's more, a Sandero 1.0 TCe Bi-Fuel Expression – our pick of the range – still costs thousands less to buy than the most basic Skoda Fabia.

Okay, so it’s cheap, but does that mean you’re just getting a basic box on wheels? In the past, the answer was yes. Now, though, it’s based on the same underpinnings as the latest Renault Clio and feels much more modern.

Dacia Sandero video review

Still, we’re talking about a car class that includes the Honda Jazz and VW Polo. Can the Dacia Sandero really compete with the best small cars on anything other than price? Read on to find out...

Learn more about the Sandero from Dacia

Dacia offers two versions of its turbocharged 1.0-litre TCe engine for the Sandero: the TCe 90 petrol and the TCe 100 Bi-Fuel. The TCe 90 offers a respectable 90bhp and will officially sprint from 0-62mph in 12.2 seconds, which much slower than a Honda Jazz but still plenty faster than the VW Polo 1.0 TSI 80. It doesn’t feel as sluggish as that figure suggests, giving you plenty of low and mid-range shove to help you keep up with traffic.

The TCe 100 Bi-Fuel – which is our pick of our range – benefits from a bit more power (99bhp), and can run on LPG as well as petrol. The official 0-62mph sprint time is the same for both engines, but if you run the TCe 100 Bi-Fuel on LPG it feels stronger from low speeds, and is also smoother and quieter.

If you want an automatic gearbox you'll need to go for the TCe 90 and range-topping Journey trim. We’d avoid the auto though, because it blunts performance somewhat.

The Sandero has relatively soft suspension, which smooths out creases and folds in the road without bouncing you around in your seat nauseatingly, as the Citroën C3 Origin does.

If you want a small car with a noticeably more comfortable ride, you’ll need to spend a lot more cash on a Peugeot 208 or VW Polo. Both feel more polished on really calloused roads.

It’s fair to say that the Sandero isn’t the most exciting car to drive down a twisting B-road. If you want bigger thrills, buy a Seat Ibiza (used, if you can't stretch to a new one), which is a more fun little car to drive.

The Sandero is absolutely fit for purpose though. Sure, there’s some body lean through tight twists and turns, but you get a decent amount of grip and the steering weights up enough through bends to give you confidence at higher speeds. It's far more confidence-inspiring to drive than the soft and wallowy Citroën C3 Origin.

In terms of being able to drive the car smoothly, which is one aspect of refinement, the Sandero has no real vices. The clutch has a clear biting point, the brakes are not too sharp and the engine picks up cleanly and smoothly when you squeeze the accelerator.

Regardless of which engine you go for, the Sandero isn’t as quiet as the equivalent engine in the Peugeot 208 (or those of many other rivals). You tend to hear whooshes from the turbocharger and a distinct thrum when you work it hard. That fades away as you hit a steady cruise, though.

What doesn’t fade away is the wind and road noise at motorway speeds which, while not outrageous given the price, is louder than in the 208 or Polo.

“On motorways, I'd say the Dacia Sandero rides smoothly 80% of the time, with it only upset by expansion joints, which tend to send shudders up through the steering wheel” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

The Dacia Sandero has a height-adjustable driver’s seat and central armrest, with a steering wheel that adjusts up and down in the entry-level car and also telescopically if you go for one of the two higher trims. In either of those, you shouldn’t struggle to get comfortable.

You won’t have any problems seeing the instrument dials, and all the dashboard controls, including those for the air conditioning, are simple and clear. In fact, the Sandero is better than some posher small cars in that respect. For example, the Peugeot 208 has fiddly touch-sensitive dashboard buttons.

The windscreen pillars on the Sandero are not too wide, so seeing out at junctions is easy, but the rear pillars are quite chunky and the back window is a little shallow. While the same is true of many rival cars, the Skoda Fabia offers a clearer over-the-shoulder view when you’re reversing.

Luckily, rear parking sensors are standard with all trims, while our favourite Expression trim also adds a rear-view camera. Top-spec Journey makes things easier still, adding front parking sensors into the mix. 

Impressively, automatic LED headlights are standard across the range to improve visibility in the dark – although only for the dipped beams.

The Sandero in entry-level Essential trim has DAB radio with controls on the steering wheel, Bluetooth and a USB socket, so you can connect your phone to the car. There’s no touchscreen – instead you place your phone in a special phone holder and use that instead.

To get an integrated infotainment system, you’ll need to go for our favoured Expression trim. That gets an 8in colour touchscreen system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring (so you can use apps from your phone through the screen). Journey trim adds sat-nav. 

The touchscreen is helpfully high up on the dashboard and is tilted towards the driver, with some touch-sensitive buttons down the side that you can use as shortcuts between functions. We’d prefer physical shortcut buttons, but the operating system is easy to get used to, and responds to prods and swipes more quickly than the systems in the Honda Jazz and Toyota Aygo X.

If you want a plush interior, have a look at the Mini Cooper or Peugeot 208. They look and feel upmarket inside by small car standards, with much more showroom appeal than the Sandero.

They’re far more expensive than the Sandero though, which – bearing in mind its price – is well-finished inside. True, the plastics are hard, but then they are in the pricier Hyundai i20 and Skoda Fabia too.

Besides, the plastics in the Sandero are not unappealing to look at and, if you go for Expression trim or up, there's some tasteful fabric trim on the dashboard to lift the ambience.

“It may be a small detail, but I think the chrome edges to the air-con dials make the Dacia Sandero feel more upmarket than its bargain pricing would suggest.” – Darren Moss, Deputy Digital Editor

The Dacia Sandero is one of the biggest small cars available. In the front, it beats the Honda Jazz for leg room and almost matches it for head room. You’d have to be mighty big to feel cramped (some of our testers are well over six feet tall and didn’t have any problems). The Sandero is wide enough that you won't keep bumping elbows with your passenger.

There’s a good amount of storage space, including a large glovebox, two cupholders, reasonable-sized door bins and various other cubbies. You get a moveable armrest from Expression trim up, but it doesn’t have storage space in it – for that you’ll need top-spec Journey trim.

The Sandero is similarly roomy in the rear. It doesn't have quite as much leg room as the Jazz, but six-footers will still have a gap between their knees and the seat in front.

There's loads of head room, and because the Sandero is broader than many rivals, it's one of the best small cars for carrying three in the back. The rear door bins are quite small though.

There's not much to get excited about here, to be honest. All Sanderos come with 60/40 split folding rear seats – which is par for the course among small cars – but there's no ski hatch or any other handy features.

The Jazz, by contrast, does all sorts of clever tricks, including allowing you to flip up the rear seat bases. Again, though, you pay for that versatility – almost twice as much as for a Sandero, in fact.

While the design of the Sandero's boot could be improved by reducing the size of the lip at the entrance, you can’t argue with its size. Officially, you get 328 litres of boot space below the parcel shelf, and we managed to fit six carry-on suitcases inside. That's more than most cars in the class (including the Jazz) and a match for the Skoda Fabia.

There's some exposed bodywork around the boot entrance that's easy to scuff and scratch when lifting heavy items in and out. We'd recommend investing in protective film to prevent that.

“Even though they have three rear seatbelts, a lot of small cars feel horribly cramped if you try to fit more than two people in the back. However, I'd happily spend time in the Dacia Sandero's centre seat.” – Doug Revolta, Head of Video

If you go for entry-level Essential trim, the Dacia Sandero has the lowest list price in the UK. We'd recommend stepping up to Expression trim though, which is still very good value compared with equivalent versions of the Skoda Fabia and all of its other rivals. The only new car that gets close on price is the Citroën C3 Origin.

Is the Sandero expensive to run? Not at all. On our real-world test route, the TCe 90 petrol returned an impressive 47.1mpg. The Toyota Yaris will do better than that but you’ll need to do a silly number of miles to get a return on the extra investment. The TCe 100 Bi-Fuel (our pick of the engines) isn’t as efficient on paper, but LPG is usually a lot cheaper than unleaded. There are cars that emit less CO2, but the Sandero’s low list price keeps company car tax down.

The Sandero is predicted to lose its value at about the same rate as most rivals, including the Fabia, but faster than the Honda Jazz and Toyota Aygo X. Because of its much lower sticker price, monthly payments if you buy on PCP finance will still be much cheaper than for those rivals.

Even with entry-level Essential trim, you get a respectable amount of standard kit on the Sandero. That includes body-coloured bumpers, 15in steel wheels with wheel trims, cruise control, front electric windows, rear parking sensors and air conditioning.

We’d recommend going for mid-range Expression trim if you can. It’s still astonishing value but comes with lots of extra toys, including 16in alloy wheels, a rear-view camera and windscreen wipers, keyless entry and touchscreen infotainment.

Top-spec Journey trim adds 16in alloy wheels, automatic air conditioning, sat-nav and a few other niceties for another small step-up in price. It’s tempting, but we’d still stick with Expression trim because it saves you money and gets everything you need.

Dacia did pretty well in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey finishing in sixth place out of 31 brands included. That places it above Citroën, Fiat, Skoda, Peugeot, VW and Renault.

The Sandero as a model didn’t perform quite as well, but sat in the bottom third of a 15-strong field of small cars. It finished above the Seat Ibiza and only just below the Toyota Yaris. 

Every new Sandero comes with a seven-year/75,000-mile warranty, providing you regularly service with Dacia. That’s an impressive warranty that beats all of Dacia’s rivals with the exception of Toyota, which offers a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty, with the same servicing commitment.

The Sandero received a disappointing two out of five stars for safety after being tested by Euro NCAP in 2021. Its rivals were tested in 2020, so it’s hard to directly compare scores, but the Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris were both awarded five stars so they’ll potentially keep you safer in an accident. They also have far more sophisticated active safety systems.

The Sandero gets automatic emergency braking (AEB), tyre-pressure monitoring, six airbags, hill-start assist, Isofix child-seat mounts and e-Call emergency assistance.

“On a recent road trip, I averaged almost 50mpg in a Dacia Sandero with the 1.0 TCe 90 engine.” – Dan Jones, Reviewer

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