Dacia Sandero

Dacia Sandero won the title of the Car of the Year in Romania, outrunning in the final Opel Insignia (place 2) and Citroen C5 (place 3).

Dacia Sandero is now the officially Car of the Year in Romania. The Romanian model has won detached from famous models among which were Opel Insignia, freshly elected Car of the Year in Europe.

The difference between first place, Dacia Sandero, and the second place, Opel Insignia, was enormous, 41 points. Last position on the podium was occupied by the Citroen C5, while the following positions were Mazda 6 and Honda Accord. The jury was composed of 20 of the most important journalists in Romania. 
Here are the final standings:
1. Dacia Sandero – 203 points
2. Opel Insignia – 162 points
3. Citroen C5 – 136 points
4. Mazda 6 – 128 points
5. Honda Accord – 124 points
6. VW Golf 6 – 114 points
7. Ford Kuga – 77 points
8. Skoda Superb – 70 points
9. Renault Kolei – 64 points
10. Hyuandai I10 – 56 points

The last safety tests of the European independent organization EuroNCAP is very important for the global auto manufacturing industry, with no less than 12 models being judged at safety chapter by the best known organization in the world. Among the big names that have their models tested were Volkswagen Golf 6, Renault Megane 3, the new Ford Ka and Fiesta or Volvo XC60, and Dacia Sandero the first proposal of the Romanian car manufacturer.

The model that was tested was a Dacia Sandero with a 1.5 dCi engine with frontal airbags for the driver and the passenger. According to the EuroNCAP analysis, the frontal impact reveal a stable car. The heads of the dummys hit in the correct positions the airbags, the major problems are related to some structures in the dashboard that threaten the integrity of the knees and the thighbone of the driver and the passenger on the right.

Side impact

At the side impact, the Sandero suffered because of the lack of an airbag that would improve the EuroNCAP score. In these conditions, the results of the crash tests revealed a car that offers a low level of security in the chest zone. The version with lateral airbags has an improved score, providing superior protection to the head and the chest of the passengers.

Protection of children

The Sandero managed to collect four stars out of five for child protection, the result being higher than that achieved by top models in Europe such as Alfa Romeo Mi.To, Peugeot 308 CC or the new Ford Ka. The only inconvenience reported by EuroNCAP engineers was represented by the lack of clear markings on the position of special seats for children and the lack of visual signals, lights and noise from disabling/enabling the airbag on the passenger the right.

Pedestrian protection

Sandero managed to score only one star put of four at the pedestrian protection.

source: www.euroncap.com

The Sandero with number 50.000 was produced yesterday at the production line in the Dacia factory from Mioveni. The 50.000 Sandero is a laureate version with an 1.6 liters engine.

From the launch in March until the end of October, Dacia has delivered 7.500 Sandero in Romania. Sandero has been selling well and outside Romania, France is in first place in sales, with 4903 units, Germany is second, with 4710 units, and Spain is third, with 1563 units.

Besides the factory in Romania, Sandero is produced under the Renault brand in Brazil and Colombia. In 2009, the manufacturing of Sandero will start in Morocco, under the Dacia brand, and in Russia and South Africa under the Renault brand.

The starting price of Sandero in Romania is 6890 euro, with all taxes included. Dacia Sandero has ABS series for all equipment models and enjoys a warranty of three years or 100.000 km.

Currently customers can choose between two gas engines: an 1.4 liters with 75 HP and 1.6 liters with 90 HP. The diesel engine will be available at the beginning of next year.

Dacia increased registrations in France by 42.1% in the first 10 months.
Dacia sold on the French market, in the first ten months, 35.329 cars, with 42.1% more compared to the same period last year, reveals a statistics of the French Car Manufacturer Committee.

Last year, in the first ten months in Dacia sold in France 24.858 units. Reported only at the level of October, the registrations Dacia cars grew by 33.6% in October, from 2777 units to 3710 units.

The market share of Dacia has advanced by 0.4 %, from 1.2% in the January-October of 2007 to 1.6% in the same period this year.

Besides Dacia, other brands have increased registrations: Fiat (32%), Nissan (19.2%), Ford (8.2%), Citroen (7%), BMW (5.1%) and Renault (3.5% ). Hyundai, Suzuki, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota have registered decreases of 25.9%, 12.9%, 10.7% and 4.9%.

The French automobile market grew in the first ten months by 2.4%, to 2.14 million cars, compared to 2.09 million cars in the January-October of last year.

Renault presented in the opening of the Auto Motor Show in Sao Paolo the Sandero Sand’Up concept, a prototype that may become a future vehicle based on the Sandero Stepway platform.

The new Sandero concept looks very good, and has a lot of differences from the series model: “We created a versatile model without rival in Brazil, which is based on intelligent solutions and a very cheerful design.” said Vincent Pedretti, the head of the team of designers of Renault in Latin America.

The Sand’UP can get four people on board in a 2+2 configuration, with smaller space in the back seats. The prototype, designed exclusively for the presentation in the Brazilian market, has two models: coupe and convertible pick-up.

The Sand’UP concept is powered by an 1.6 liters Hi-Flex engine on gas or biofuels, has transparent doors that are opened by an electro-hydraulic system and exterior mirrors with cameras that allow you to see the environment through an LCD on the central console. 

Renault surprised, these days, at the Auto Motor Show in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with two models more than inspiring: Logan Sport and Sandero Sport.

Both models have the famous Sport F1 Team kit equipment, are  painted in yellow and are benefiting from the Renault black logo incorporating "F1 Team".

Besides of the sport look of Logan and Sandero, Renault has not given any details about what engines would power the two versions, or about other improvements.

According to preliminary data, Renault Sandero Sport and Logan Sport will be available in a limited number on the Brazilian market and in the near future will make their debut in the European market. All these are, however, only speculations, an eventual European launch is still not confirmed by the French manufacturer.

The Dacia Sandero Diesel was revealed at the Auto Motor Show in Paris. The Sandero Diesel will be available in two engine versions: 1.5 dCi and 70 HP and 1.5 dCi and 85 HP.

Dacia Sandero Diesel will be launched gradually in the Central and Western Europe markets, as well as in Turkey from October this year.

The diesel engines of Dacia Sandero have the signature Dacia eco2. Dacia eco2 must have:

-CO2 emissions less or equal then 140 g/km, or to be compatible with biofuel;

-they must be manufactured in a factory certified with ISO 14001 and to be 95% recyclable;

-at least 5% of plastic used on the vehicle must be obtained from recycling.

The diesel engine that powers the Sandero 1.5 dCi is the same engine used for the new Logan Facelift.

Renault launched in Brazil the new Sandero Stepway, a SUV version of the Dacia Sandero.

Renault calls the Stepway "a variant Urban Sport" of Sandero. The compact SUV of Renault  benefits from the aesthetic elements that recommend it as part of the off road market.

Under the hood of the Sandero Stepway manufactured in Brazil we find a Hi-Flex 1.6 engine with 112 HP, which transmits power through a gear box with 5 speed.

In the European version, meaning the Dacia Sandero Stepway, the model will most likely benefit from a 1.6 engine with 105 HP. From the first pictures of the first SUV that will carry the Dacia logo, we can see the resemblance to the Stepway concept.

In Brazil, the starting price for Stepway Sandero is 18.500 euros, while the high end version costs 19.800 euros.

Of all the 3 brands marketed by the Renault, Dacia was the only one who has registered a positive development. Renault has reported in August a decrease of 8.5% of sales, compared to the same month last year, while Renault Samsung Motors has reduced the sales by 5.5% in the same period.

In Europe, Dacia sales in August recorded an increase of 18.1%. Dacia is selling 3 models: the Logan sedan, Logan MCV and Sandero.

On the South American market, Logan and Sandero have consolidated their position, both models with sales in Argentina and Brazil over 58.000 units in January-August period.
In Romania, although the market has registered a negative trend of -8.1%, the Renault Group has maintained a market share of 30.8%. The Renault Group sales fell by 7.8% on the Romanian market.

Given the recorded sales, Romania is a 7 market of auto manufacturer Renault, with a volume of units sold which totaled 78.038 units from January to August.

Dacia will reveal at the Auto Motor Show in Paris the diesel versions of Sandero. The Romanian model will be available for now only on the French market, in both versions of the 1.5 dCi engine.

So, in France, Dacia Sandero with an 1.5 dCi engine with 70 HP will have a starting price of 10.500 euros, while the 85 HP version will cost 11.900 euros.

The Sandero Diesel 1.5 dCi has a consumption of 4.5 liters per 100 km for 70 HP engine and 4.6 liters per 100 km for the 85 HP engine.

Buyers of the Dacia Sandero diesel will receive a discount of 700 euros, thanks to the program for purchasing cars with low CO2 emissions. Dacia Sandero in diesel version emits less than 120 g CO2/km.