Avatar photo

By Charl Bosch

Motoring Journalist


Dacia unwraps dramatic all-new Sandero

Third generation Sandero is new from the ground up and more than likely poised to arrive on local shores sometime next year.


Having revealed nothing in the first official teaser image last week, Renault’s Romanian division, Dacia, has taken the covers off of the all-new Sandero and Sandero Stepway.

Redesigned from scratch, the third generation of the marque’s smash-hit low cost hatch, while only set to be revealed in full at the end of this month, introduces a completely new design language inspired to an extent by the Clio, as well as the last generation Megane Coupe.

Boasting a brand-new facia with Y-shaped integrated daytime running LEDs, a tapering bonnet and aggressive looking headlights, the Sandero appears more upmarket than before, with the rear featuring flatter light clusters with the same Y motif, a bigger wraparound window and a bulkier C-pillar. The Stepway meanwhile retains its cladding around the wheel arches and on the bumper, roof rails and satin silver front and rear skidplates.

Reportedly riding on a revised version of the Clio’s CMF-B platform that replaces the old M0, the Sandero’s interior will only be shown once the official launch takes place, with the same being true of the drivetrain which is set to ditch the outdated 898 cc three-cylinder turbocharged engine for the Clio’s 1.0-litre that will be free-breathing in some markets. In Europe, the stalwart 1.5 dCi will remain, albeit heavily rework to comply with new emissions regulations, while the 1.6 E-Tech hybrid could also be introduced at some stage.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.

Read more on these topics

Motoring News

Access premium news and stories

Access to the top content, vouchers and other member only benefits