Dacia Sandero - MPG, CO2 and running costs
The Sandero’s low list price is always the talking point, but fuel economy and insurance costs are decent, too
Finding a car priced within your budget is always a challenge, which is why the Sandero will be so appealing to cost-conscious buyers starting from under £14k. But, it’s important not to forget that, once you’ve forked out your hard earned cash on some new wheels, there’s still the issue of insurance and how much you’ll have to pay for fuel.
The good news is that you shouldn’t have to break the bank in order to keep your Sandero on the road. Dacia claims a combined fuel economy figure of up to 53.3mpg across the range, with the exception of the TCe 90 CVT auto version which is slightly behind the pack at 45.6mpg.
The economy figures were achieved in a lab via the WLTP procedure, so real-world fuel economy can sometimes not quite live up to expectations. When we tested a Dacia Sandero TCe 90 manual it returned 49.3mpg, beating the Citroen C3 we pitted it against, but you’ll need a pretty light foot to get near Dacia’s quoted numbers.
CO2 emissions are good, but not exceptional, with the TCe 90 and recently discontinued SCe 65 manual versions putting out 119g/km. The TCe 90 auto emits 129g/km, while Bi-fuel versions can produce as little as 109g/km. Rivals such as the Renault Clio that employ hybrid technology will trump the Sandero on emissions, but you’ll be paying a hefty premium for an electrified model and Dacia has only just launched its first hybrid: the Jogger Hybrid 140.
Insurance
Insurance groups for the Sandero range start from group 8 for the (now discontinued) SCe 65 versions, moving up to group 12 for the TCe 90 manual in Essential spec. Upgrade to Expression trim and the Sandero lands in group 14, as does the LPG Bi-Fuel variant, while the TCe 90 automatic in the same specification attracts an insurance group 11 rating.
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Depreciation
Investing in a Sandero brings a further bonus if you choose to sell it on. After an average three years and 36,000 miles of ownership, our data predicts that the budget supermini should hold onto around 53-55 per cent of its original list price.
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