Yesterday we started the experiment of a car that regularly manages to sneak into the top of the best-seller lists. We talk about Dacia Sandero, a low cost utility vehicle that uses proven Renault technology to offer its customers a truly adjusted price. Yesterday we met its design, habitability and trunk.
Today it's time to put yourself at your command and start the 1.5 hp 90 dCi engine, the most powerful diesel engine, and the most powerful in the range together with the gasoline block, also 90 horsepower. It is, without a doubt, the perfect option for those who do not want to give up a certain level of response and, in turn, achieve a reduced consumption figure.
4 mechanical alternatives
The Dacia Sandero engine range consists of 4 alternatives, two gasoline and two diesel. It is extremely easy to remember them, since the two power steps coincide in both cases. In gasoline we have a robust 1.2 of 75 horses which homologates an average consumption of 5,8 l/100 km. Further up is a more modern 0.9 TCe of 90 horses, three-cylinder supercharged, with an average consumption of 5 l/100 km. It is the same block as we tested months ago in the Renault Captur.
In the diesel section, the same propellant is used, known for its low consumption, such as the 1.5 dCi. It is offered with powers of 75 and 90 horses, the latter being the one chosen for our test. Both homologate 3,8 l/100 km of average consumption.
1.5 dCi 90, consumption adjusted
Our Dacia Sandero hid under the hood the 1.5 horsepower 90 dCi diesel block. It is the jewel in the crown of Renault in terms of consumption, and it has already passed through my hands on different occasions and I have always been stupefied by their lack of thirst. In this test it has become clear, and it combines very well with a vehicle that worships austerity.
El refinement It is not, in any case, one of its virtues. In the Sandero a few vibrations and sound reach the interior, although it must be taken into account that this section has not been worked on as in other more expensive alternatives, precisely to reduce the price to the maximum. Still, it's far from insufferable, it's just a notch below its more expensive competitors.
Leaving this aside, it is a block that feels I live beyond 1.500 laps, although we will get a much livelier response if we play between 2.000 and 3.000 laps. Count with one ECO mode that we can turn on and off that limits the capabilities of the engine. With it activated, the benefits in normal use hardly suffer and, in return, we will obtain more contained consumption.
With it deactivated, we do notice a more willful engine, especially when it comes to overtaking and facing slopes on the road. In fact, with the cruise control activated, in some slopes on the highway choked him with the ECO mode activated, while with it deactivated it climbed without problems maintaining the speed. In a way, it is as if with the ECO mode activated we had a 75 CV dCi and deactivated a 90 CV dCi.
The change is left to 5-speed manual gearbox whose touch leaves much to be desired. The lever doesn't seem to be connected to anything. On the other hand, the engine does not move the gear ratios badly, but it surprises in the passage from 4º to 5º following the instructions of the optimal gear indicator, approximately at 90 km/h, when the engine complains in the form of vibrations and greater noise. . It is convenient to speed up the 4th a little more.
And we come to the consumption section, a section that can leave anyone surprised. In a mixed route of almost 600 km, the on-board computer declared a average 4 l/100 km, an excellent figure, logically looking for efficiency, but without forcing and adapting the speed to the maximum of the road. In the city, consumption can be around 5,5-6 l/100 km, while on the highway it falls to around 4 l/100 km. Perhaps with the Stop-Start system, which does not have, consumption could be reduced a few tenths.
restrained dynamics
In the same way that the Dacia Sandero is not a wonder in design, neither is it in dynamics. And he is not looking for it. The buyer can not expect a sporty behavior, nor get into the most comfortable car, although its premise goes more that way than the other.
I was surprised by the setting of the suspension. It seeks the comfort of the passengers, but has not achieved a fully balanced set-up. In speed bumps and broken areas it turns out a bit dry, while in curves it lets the body roll significantly. It's as if they wanted to reduce roll at the cost of sacrificing comfort. In any case, the behavior is quite noble and successful for its target buyer.
The address, for its part, does not transmit anything. We move the car through a steering wheel with a very fine rim and remarkable assistance. This is quite interesting in the city and maneuvers at low speed, but once on the highway if you leave us a some sense of buoyancy. It is a touch comparable to that of the gearbox.
Once on the road soundproofing is sufficient. The engine noise is barely noticeable unless we demand it, and it will be the rolling noise that penetrates the most inside. On the other hand, and linking to what we said before about the ECO mode, we can drive without problem on the highway or motorway with it connected. It will be on climbs when we see that the motor does not respond sufficiently and it will be when we must deactivate it. This is transferable to a trip in which we are loaded.
Therefore, the Dacia Sandero is not a car that impresses in any section besides consumption. And it is that it is postulated as a simple car, with the essentials, and with no aspirations to anything more than being a affordable and low-consumption means of transport. An optimal alternative for those who do not look for something else in a car. Those who like a country look or dare to go out sporadically to the field on simple tracks can opt for the Sandero Stepway, about 1.000 euros more expensive than the Laureate available with the most powerful gasoline and diesel engines.
We close for today the Dacia Sandero 1.5 dCi 90 hp test for, tomorrow, we review the range, the equipment and the prices, ending with a small final assessment that places the Sandero in front of its target buyer.
More information about this model
- Plazas 5
- Power 90 - 110 hp
- Consumer goods 3,8 - 6,2l/100km
- Assessment 4,2
I think it's a great car, for what it offers and the price it starts from!
the only fear that gives me is that it is not so safe in the event of a collision...
A month after it was delivered to me, I already sent a list of failures in this car; How come the dashboard dazzles you completely making driving very dangerous, the electric windows are in an inaccessible place, they have forgotten the handles for the rear passengers and the driver, the ECO switch
You can't see it running, the suspension and the seats are super hard, hurting your back if you're a little delicate, I had to deflate the tires a bit. The consumption is excessive, I have tried on secondary roads and it consumes 6.3 l/100 without exceeding 2000 rpm; on the highway it shoots up to more than 7 l/100 and you die because if you go over 2500 rpm it goes even higher. It lacks a longer gear in fifth gear.
The model is Dacia Sandero Stepway TCe 90 cv gasoline
Tell them that I'll have it for a year soon and I'm sorry I bought it. My hair stands on end thinking about a trip to see the grandchildren from Barcelona to Cordoba
Greetings Miguel
Well, in my company we have two 90 hp Stepway TCe, Mr. Miguel, and what you say does not happen to us in any of our two units. In circulation on the highway/highway at a happy pace under our calculations (it does not have a computer) it is around 6 liters, at a happy and legal pace, and on secondary roads a little less, just over 5 liters. In the city it does not exceed about 7 liters, for which consumption, for a 90cv gasoline, is fantastic. Man to circulate at 150 I do not know the consumption…. but if you have some affection for the wallet and the stitches of the meat, it is better not to go over 130 needle. The interior is comfortable and about the window regulators, when someone goes to a dealership to see the car BEFORE BUYING IT, they realize the situation of the window regulators….something that should not have surprised him when he received his new vehicle……
For price, consumption, equipment and benefits, it is a very good car. I travel with him from Madrid to Lugo twice a month…and my hair doesn't stand on end. Have him look at it if that happens to you...
Mr. Cesare, I cannot answer as I would like, there is no space to tell him that I do not have to look at anything, gentleman. I have a license and a car since 1968, so I should withdraw what looks at me? It's a derogatory phrase about me that I don't think I deserve. I don't think you can make amends for me on automobiles.
I have the catalog in hand and consumption marks 5.8 l urban cold and already hot 4.7 l mixed cycle.
I have a computer and never under 7.5 l stalled with an average speed of 32 km.
Another thing is to work with the vehicle on a daily basis.
Receive a greeting Mr. "lookout"