Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Wow, what a great little car. I bought the Stepway Laureate version of the Sandero to replace my 10 year old MG. I am so pleased I went for this as it's a great little drive with excellent fuel economy; I'm looking at about 650 miles to a tank, and that's with me doing a steady 75mph down the motorway.

The build quality is fine; it's never going to please the 50k Merc or BMW drivers, but it was value for money and economy I was looking for, and not prestige. At 60+ MPG and £20 a year road tax, I think even they will appreciate its financial appeal.

The drive is precise, it's like point and go; the clean gear changes and grunty little 1.5L diesel engine make for an easy drive. I was concerned that the road noise might be a little high, but it's no louder in the cabin than my MG ZT-T.

The Stepway Laureate comes with a Bluetooth sat nav system, which works well; it's very much on the lines of a Renault, but with a slightly slimmer price.

So far I'm well pleased.

Faults:

Nothing as yet.

General Comments:

This is the first and probably only brand new car we will ever buy. Attracted initially by the low price, we found the Sandero to be a very good car. Easy to drive, neutral handling, comfortable and remarkably spacious.

The much vaunted 5995 price tag is for the austere base model. Once you start adding extra kit, the price goes up quite a bit - but still undercuts the competition. It's the cheapest brand new diesel you can buy bar none.

The 1.5 dCi is quicker on acceleration than our old Peugeot 306 DT, which itself was no slouch. MPG is nowhere near the claimed 74, but at 65 not too far off the mark.

I really could not fault this car. Some reviews have made out that the seats are unsupportive, it has excessive body roll and an awkward gear change, but in reality the car is hard to fault and none of these have been a concern. It's not like the '80s when the cheap option was a Lada, which was cheap because it was cack. The Sandero is a proper car that does everything you want it to.

For comparison purposes, a Fiesta or Corsa in the same spec was 4 grand dearer. The Sandero does not have any kind of prestige attached to the badge, so if that bothers you look elsewhere. If you care more about practicalities, it's a good buy.

Faults:

Nothing significant yet. It's a new car so it's to be expected that nothing is wrong.

However... I noticed slight condensation in the rear lights, and the indicators for opened doors and belts are not working. Have to check the manual, but I guess this model should have it.

Also, manual says that if the door is opened, it will flash several times when you attempt to lock it by remote. I tested it, and even with two doors wide open, it flashes only regular two times and considers it closed... Hm.

General Comments:

As a previous owner of Alfa Romeo, I decided to go with my mind not heart this time. So far, I have not made a mistake. Just don't know why everyone is annoyed with Dacia's seats. I've used both, Logan and Sandero, and cannot find anything wrong with the seats. OK, not really sporty and not comfy as in Citroen e.g. but quite OK for the class (and price).

The car runs smooth and, coming from gas pedal thirsty Alfa, I like laziness of 8 valve engine. Easily cruises in 4th and corners in 3rd in town. Also I like overall height. Tall seating position and tall car itself give a sort of SUV feeling. Being 6.2" tall, I'd like some more steering wheel adjustment (or it's just a habit). This way, the wheel somehow sits quite low, almost between your legs, and I can't fully see instruments (top parts of instruments are covered with the steering wheel).

Space inside is good. Although it's not as spacious in the cabin as they advertise it (when I adjust the seat to suit me, hardly children can sit behind), the boot is great.

There's one more thing to get used to. Isolation of mud guard areas is not really superb, so everything that comes over your wheels - you'll hear it quite well. In peaceful ride, tire noise will be there all the time. As for the rest, so far it seems as well screwed together. Yes, it's cheap and plastic, but without that "chinese plastic" feeling that something will fall off any moment.

Basic, new transportation that will carry you from A to B and with no particular problems. When you put on one side what it offers and who stands behind Dacia and the price on the other side - I doubt there more bang for buck in the Europe currently. I got mine, with Ambiance Plus equipment (metallic colour, front electric windows, fog lights, A/C, remote locking) for 6.750 EUR with VAT included! I'm definitely not so rich to buy used cars of the same value any more.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I enjoy very much driving this car.

The 1.6 engine delivers decent performance and the suspension is very well setup. It is very comfortable on poor roads, and the ground clearance is well suited for Romanian roads (the Stepway version has higher ground clearance compared to regular Sandero versions).

The fuel consumption is not great, but confirms manufacturer figures.

The interior is a major improvement on the Dacia Logan, and there is enough space for all passengers.

I think reliability will be very good considering the statistics for Logan (that is sharing the same platform).

I think this car is good value for money.

There is also a diesel version, but I was advised to avoid it because of the poor quality of diesel fuel in Romania.