• One engine, two outputs: TCe 90 and TCe 100 BiFuel
• Economical petrol engines, unique LPG option
• No diesel or hybrid choices

What are the running costs?

In line with its budget positioning, the Dacia Sandero is reasonably economical, despite having no diesel or hybrid options available. There are just two variants, both based on the same engine – the TCe 90 petrol and the TCe 100 BiFuel (below) – in both manual and automatic guises.

The TCe 100 LPG BiFuel is and interesting – and unique – offering in the small car market. Supplementing the petrol tank, there’s also an LPG Autogas tank, which means you can run your car on petrol or LPG. You can choose via a simple switch on the dashboard – and it’s worth saying that although LPG supplies aren’t what they were, it costs about 70% of the price of petrol, so is well worth seeking out for a decent cost saving on your fuel bills.

Dacia has previously offered a raft of other engine choices, but these ended in 2022 as the range was restructured.

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Servicing and warranty

The Dacia Sandero needs servicing annually or every 10,000 miles, regardless of how you drive it. There are no variable service intervals available.

All new Dacias come with a three-year warranty, covering the first 60,000 miles. This includes Dacia Assistance breakdown cover. Customers needing further reassurance can additionally buy up to three more years of cover, stretching the total mileage to a maximum of 100,000 for a cost of £650.

Reliability

• Dacia Sandero powered by well-proven engines
• Lots of shared technology with other Renaults
• Dacia has a reasonable reliability record

The Sandero is based on an existing architecture from the Renault group and there are no indications it will be unreliable. Dacia achieves a slightly above avarage rating in the JD Power Vehicle Dependency Survey. Scoring 114 problems per 100 vehicles reported – compared with an industry average of 119 – beats parent company Renault’s score of 122.

Physical controls rather than reliance on touchscreens or touch-sensitive buttons, mechanical parts that are easy to get to, and robust, well assembled interior trim indicate a long-lived car that should be reliable for many years to come.

Our experience suggests it will be easy and cheap to repair when age and use catches up with it. Some components may be more expensive than you might expect though, as the Sandero becomes more sophisticated – particularly the LED lighting.

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