Dacia Sandero Techroad – the budget king

At this year's Geneva Motor Show, Dacia brought the popular Duster model as well as the Logan model and the Stepway versions (Sandero , Logan MCV, Lodgy and Dokker) as part of the new Ultimate edition (in Slovakia and some other countries known as Techroad), which are now available with new body colors – Red Fusion and Gray Highland.

The limited edition Techroad brings to our market 16-inch wheels with Flexwheel covers with a red center (which are indistinguishable from aluminum wheels) and black gloss exterior mirrors with a complementary red sticker. Inside, it offers, for its class, a spacious interior and new upholstery, automatic climate control, 7-inch infotainment with Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™ and limited edition carpets. So let's test the people's car from Romania…

From the outside, Sandero doesn't charm, but it doesn't offend either. It has some interesting details, front LEDs, nice rear lights and a decent ground clearance, which gives it an "off-road" character. The quality of the chassis, however, lags behind, for example, Duster by a mile. Despite all the achievements, the Sandero Stepway is unchanged from previous versions, which means you still get the engine from the previous generation Renault Clio.

Of course, the perceived quality is much lower than the competition, but the cabin is quite a comfortable place to spend time. The Sandero is relatively comfortable inside, and given the price tag and the target group of customers, hard plastics or controls from previous generations of various Renault models are not a problem. But what freezes is ergonomics, which had to give way to cost reduction and ease of production.

The Sandero does have a nice steering wheel with the Stepway logo and it also has controls for the cruise control – but you can't turn it on or switch to the limiter here – even though there are blind buttons. You can find this function on the center panel below the climate control. Ok, Duster only had it somewhere near the handbrake… so we'll get used to it. However, what I can't get used to in cars and it really bothers me are the button covers that were supposed to fulfill some function but were moved elsewhere after modernization. For example, such window opening is finally on the doors, but there are remnants of it on the center panel. There could easily have been the S/S system button, which was placed next to the handbrake just to be sure. Chaos in practice…

The infotainment is almost exactly the same as in the Duster , and the only thing that bothers me about it again is its ergonomics. The USB port above the display is user hell and when you want to have a phone connected, for example via Android Auto™, it will hang directly through the screen below or through the air conditioning vent above onto the storage area. But not to criticize. Infotainment is fast and works without any problems. The MEDIA NAV Evolution multimedia system also has a built-in rear parking camera.

But what does the Sandero excel at and why is it so popular?! Lies with the body. From the outside, the small hatchback offers spectacular space inside for the driver and passengers and their luggage. The seat here is upright like in small vans, there is room above the head and no one will complain about the knee space in the back. The luggage compartment with a volume of 320L is downright royal considering its dimensions, and a classic family can pack even for a longer vacation. In addition, the bottom is quite deep and you can comfortably transport larger objects.

In the back, of course, the handles for closing the rear windows will catch your eye. And while it used to be standard, today my younger daughter asked me what it actually is and why there are no buttons? I would also welcome more USB ports instead of 12V sockets…times have moved on.

Savings were made on soundproofing. Where rubber doesn't need to be, it simply isn't there anymore. For example, you will not find any gasket on the door, it is only on the frame of the body, and the noise from the door is therefore logical.
The gasket installed in this way also transmits the noise from the Stepway version roof skids. However, the relatively weak insulation of the roof also contributes significantly to it.

The drive unit is a three-cylinder TCe engine with a volume of 0.9L and an output of 66kW (90k) and 140Nm. The engine is turbocharged and, considering its purpose and the weight of the vehicle, it is quite nimble for urban and suburban driving. Highway movements are not very good for him and above 120 km/h it is a bit noisy for longer movements. A small-volume supercharged engine is classically very sensitive to the number of starts and revolutions at which you shift higher gears in terms of consumption. In city life, however, it offers decent dynamics and acceptable consumption at the level of approx. 6.3-6.5L/100km.

The gearbox has quite soft stops and resembles French cars of the 90s, but it shifts precisely and I have never had a gear fail to engage the first time. The engine is accompanied for a long time and thus does not stand out in terms of acceleration or dynamics. When overtaking, it is necessary to calculate a little and shift down. Here, I would perhaps go the route of a diesel engine, which has a few more horses and, above all, has higher torque and better dynamics.

Even in Techroad equipment, the Dacia Sandero is not a beauty that everyone on the street looks for. It is an honestly mechanical and somewhat archaic car for a certain group of customers who do not care about design or the most modern technologies, but rather prefer proven solutions and price. For the price of €11,090, you will not find a better equipped new car in this category. Sandero Techroad, like its other Dacia siblings, is a unique appearance and practically has no competition.

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