New Dacia Sandero Brings Joy To Top Gear Fanboys
The Dacia Sandero, so beloved by James May and other fans of cars with roll-up windows, is getting a face lift ahead of its UK debut, as Renault’s low-cost brand sets its sight on even greater dominance of the European car market.
The Sandero itself is incredibly dull, despite the flowery language put forth about pure, simple motoring or whatever nonsense is used to fill air time. The real story is this; as Europe’s car market tanks, low-cost brands are creeping into the space once held by established marques like Opel and Ford.
The Dacia products are pretty damn good, cost far less than the equivalent Renault and most importantly, make money for their parent company. While PSA is shutting factory is France, Renault is expanding Dacia production in France’s former colonies. Sales of Dacia were up 16 percent while everyone else is in the tubes. This is the real story, although it’s far less glamorous than the one being advanced by everyone’s favorite car program.
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May's enthusiasm for the Sandero was always played as a joke. Top Gear hasn't dedicated any amount of time to the Sandero since the first episode of the 14th series three years ago - and it got wrecked almost instantly.
I'd love to drive one.
Fail. Should have lead with "Good news, everyone!"
As Marcelo pointed out, the Sandero is not that bad a car. I've been trying to get a hold of a Sandero Privilege Automatic in Rio de Janeiro for almost four weeks now. Renault dealers simply don't have it in stock.