The Dacia Sandero and Logan have been running for more than seven years and still have a year to go. In 2021 the brand new third generation is ready to redeem its predecessor. For this Dacia casts the familiar appearance in a more contemporary form, but there is no question of a real revolution. In terms of basis, that is true, because in all likelihood the new Sandero is finally no longer based on the basis of a very old Renault Clio.
It may feel like yesterday, but it is already 14.5 years ago that the first Dacia Logan was registered in the Netherlands. We did that at Techzle ourselves at the time, because we picked up a brand new Logan in Romania and put it on Dutch license plates. Now, however, it is high time to focus on today. We are now one generation further and, as said, it is almost at the end of its life. Both the Logan and the Sandero have already shown themselves – packed and well – as test specimens. On the basis of this, our illustrator is already sketching the coming Sandero. From the front you see the new Sandero in basic trim, the rear view shows the new Sandero with Stepway decoration.
The nose of the new Sandero immediately reveals which car you are dealing with here. Just like Dacia did before with the Duster, the front of the current generation returns in contemporary forms. A bit sharper and wider headlight units give it a clearly fresher look. Along the flanks, the Sandero again looks anything but pioneering; function above form. We find more frivolity at the back. The designers have clearly gone further on the basis that they have laid with the facelift of the current Sandero. Just like at the front, we see broader and sharper shaped light units than before. A slightly wider tailgate and higher window line further ensure that the Sandero looks a bit wider than the current generation from the rear.
The biggest innovation is in the Sandero (and therefore also in the Logan) under the new carriage. The first and second generation are still on a Dacia derivative of the B0 platform, which can be traced back to the second (!) Generation of the Renault Clio. The coming Sandero (and Logan) benefit from a much newer basis. The Renault Group has indicated that by 2022, 70 percent of the group’s cars will be on the modular CMF platform. The chance is therefore considerable that the Sandero will be on the CMF-B platform, which we know from the fifth generation Renault Clio, which was introduced last year.
Of course we can also count on motor renewal. The 0.9 TCe probably clears the field and makes way for the newer 100 hp 1.0 TCe 100, which is also available in the Clio, among others. We probably won’t see the atmospheric SCe 75 again. We secretly dare to hope for a bit more spirit for the Sandero, with possibly the TCe 130 in the range. An RS version, as they have in Brazil with the current Sandero, sold as Renault, also seems to us to be a lot of fun. More realistic is a kind of RS-line, as a sportier dress-up alternative on the Stepway. A power source that runs on LPG is reportedly in the pipeline again. And a hybrid variant, such as the Clio gets? Never say never.