| New model range | UK market | 2009 Dacia Sandero |
As car companies that used to fill the budget end of the market in the UK move further up the scale, Romanian firm Dacia is about to make a return. The Dacia Sandero is unashamedly aimed at the low end of the market and will sell from around £8,000.
About the same size as a
Ford Focus or
Volkswagen Golf, the Sandero is based on the previous generation Renault Clio platform. The five-door hatch has been specifically developed to cope with Romania's rough roads and is also designed to be simple and cheap to service.
Dacia will sell the Sandero in the UK with a three-year warranty and the brand will sit beneath Renault - which owns Dacia. The car will come with a choice of 1.4- or 1.6-litre petrol engines or 68/86bhp versions of Renault's 1.5-litre turbodiesel engine.
All Sanderos will come with anti-lock brakes and driver and passenger airbags, but don't expect much else in the way of luxury as the aim is to sell the car for as low a price as possible.
Alisdair Suttie - 18 Jun 2008