TEST: Dacia Sandero 1.0 Sce – life without turbo is easier and slower – Podkapotou.sk

Basic mobility with the base car and the base engine. Can it work?

It all depends on your expectations and the car from which you get into the Sander oriented in this way. But beware, the test was not a poor relative, but a car with the highest Comfort equipment. However, it did not have all the accessories and did not have the most powerful engine. Actually, the weakest. I haven’t ridden in something so weak for a long time. Or more precisely, I haven’t tested something like that in a long time. Because I have an even weaker car at home. And I’m writing this so that you can understand why I don’t consider 67 crow atmospheric horses to be a bad decision. I thought, but this tiny engine convinced me otherwise. But I repeat: it is a matter of expectations and experiences.

I have been driving with a weaker engine for over twelve years. Of course I also have a more powerful carriage and all testers have more horses. But I also drove a weak car at a driving school and in our family we always had only weak cars, like most of us Slovak motorists. Favorite or Felicia, then Fabia I to Fabia II. And the HTP engine was just as dynamic. I remember the surprise in the eyes of my cousin riding Forman when I told him that I was going up the “Market Hill” up to the top of the four. He had to advise three and finally two if he didn’t have time to run under the hill. He concluded the topic with the fact that I can’t drive and I’m just bothering the engine. All right.

If I get out of a car with over 200 horsepower now, 67 horsepower of Sander comes to me as little. Nevertheless, I feel that the car is driving well. Especially where it is desirable for the basic engine. And therefore at low speeds. Larger cars easily overtake the traffic light (if they don’t race, they just start up “Bratislava dynamically”). Short gears and a pleasant appetite for speed help him. And good soundproofing also helps him. A quieter engine with less vibration is easy to turn higher. When such a sneaker starts screaming and wilting at 4000 rpm, you know you won’t push more out of it. But at 4,000 rpm, this crumb remembers that the valves can be opened even more and pulls better. But when you load a family into a car, even the last hints of dynamics disappear completely. Suffice it to say that acceleration from 80 to 120 km / h takes 15.93 seconds with the driver (100 kg). With two meters (200 kg) it is already 18.66 seconds. This involves acceleration from 3rd gear and subsequent shifting at 6000 rpm to 4th gear. At 80 km / h, Sanderko has less than 5,000 rpm in the 3rd gear. At 130 km / h it has 4500 rpm on the last 5th stage. Speed ​​is important. The peak power is at 6300 rpm and the torque is 95 Nm at 3600 rpm.

Compared to other low-volume atmospheric units that you can buy today, Sandero has the advantage of better sound insulation. Even the 4500 rpm on the highway is not particularly tiring.

I would like to add with one breath that the car is easily subject to crosswinds on the highway, and on long climbs it has greater difficulties with a higher load on the crew. Even with his feet on the floor, he loses his breath and over time he needs to be deceived.

Well, it’s free, you need a turbo for the versatility of Sander. However, this engine works well for undemanding motorists and for motorists who know their regular routes well and have a lot of experience with how to drive a slower car. It is possible to overtake at low speeds and preferably with a good view. Or you have to go for it with a proven method of driving with weak cars: once you have the dynamics, you must not lose it … But again, it requires experience, timing and good eyes and a bit of determination.

For a calm driver who knows what it’s like to drive defensively, but it’s good news to consume the unit. Despite the fact that I pushed the engine to at least partially suffice me, the average consumption was 6.2 liters of gasoline per 100 km. Even with the air conditioning constantly on. By the way, when the compressor is switched on with the car stationary, the whole car shakes until the control unit picks up the speed. Nevertheless, when driving, do not feel the air conditioning running as it used to be in the past. And what’s positive, insulation is not only a matter of soundproofing, but also thermal comfort on board a small car is better than in the past. Anyone who has had an HTP climate knows what I’m writing about.

Otherwise, it’s Sandero as before. When you live together for a long time, you will notice that the Romanians have done everything to make production easier, faster and cheaper. Just close the door and you know. For the last generation, I thought the sharp edges on the door were a thing of the old platform. Now it is clear to me that it is simply better and easier to do.

The pitfalls of getting on and off are lower. The car is comfortable and does not suffer from creaking. It works firmly and more valuable than the older generation.

The cab is spacious, the driver will find his position behind the wheel. It’s not an ergonomic miracle, but at that price … Even more expensive competitors have worse seating both behind the wheel and in other seats.

The suitcase is deep and will serve a smaller family. Disappointing is the high and easily scratchable loading edge. But when it comes to better safety in a rear-end collision, it doesn’t matter. I would rather bet on lower production costs.

The Comfort equipment is the highest, but it only brings the elements that a person is looking for in a car today. The calculation with lower equipment can only come out if your expectations of a new car are really extremely low. Essential doesn’t even have air conditioning and you can buy it for 400 euros … You’re already half the price difference from Comfort. But you won’t buy practically anything else for Essential. Only fog lights, reserve and adjustable steering wheel. So if you don’t buy a car for employees and you don’t really like them, or you don’t like air conditioning, Comfort is for you. There you can also buy parking sensors, a reversing camera or a hands free card.

There is enough space in the cabin for a couple with two small children, or for four adults with smaller space requirements. Intergenerationally, a great benefit of the car is a more valuable dashboard. In my eyes, it is mainly better passive safety. The new platform lifts it quite significantly. Especially due to increased torsional stiffness and improved deformation zones. This is the cornerstone for me why it pays to replace the old Sandero with a new one.

The basic engine Sandero is not a universal vehicle for everyone. Sandero is generally not for everyone. It is for those who are not willing to risk hidden defects when driving vehicles. They want a new, fully functional and carefree car. This applies to the dot in the version with the basic atmospheric engine. However, it will not provide dynamism and only a defensive driver who is not subject to the stress of modern times will be happy with it. If you are, if speed is not so important to you, rather consumption and careful driving, Sandero Sce is a good choice.

It is surprisingly comfortable even on bad roads, while it does not cringe, it does not scare you. It is predictable and easy to handle. Here I observe an intergenerational change. The car does not have as soft a chassis as its predecessor. It sacrificed him for greater stability in corners. But with eco tires, it’s still no miracle. But the car looks safer.

The engine is not as lazy as it might seem given peak power and torque. It is helped by easy transmissions and low overall weight of the vehicle. The truth is that in order for the engine to be in order to emit emissions, the combustion process needs to be guarded more closely than in the past. And this is in direct conflict with indirect fuel injection. Therefore, the engine has a kind of steady increase in power. The second thing is that the car doesn’t like driving in a column very much, and when starting with a higher load / crew weight in combination with driving uphill, it is necessary to make more use of the clutch charm and hold it for a very long time. Otherwise the car will hum and bounce. The engine in more demanding situations requires higher speeds and gentle long work with the clutch.

With this engine, I would perhaps consider additional accessories and select only the necessary raisins. Most people should look for a turbo engine, which is also simple and maintenance-free. The target group for the basic engine is not large and you should not be tempted by the attractive price “from” unless you explicitly correspond to the above-mentioned driver profile. However, if you drive a few kilometers a day and especially shorter routes, the turbo is useless. 6 out of 10 points.

Technical specifications Model: Dacia Sandero Comfort SCe Number of cylinders / valves: 3/12 Engine displacement (cm3): 999 Transmission: 5 – speed manual Powered axle front Power (kW / rev): 49/6300 Torque (Nm / rev): 95/3600 Maximum speed (km / h): 158 Acceleration 0 – 100 km / h (s): 16.7 Combined consumption (l / 100 km): 5.2-5.5 Length / width / height (mm): 4088/1848/1499 Wheelbase (mm): 2604 Luggage space volume (l): 410 Fuel tank capacity (l): 50 Standby weight (kg): 1090 Payload (kg): 403 Maximum weight of braked trailer (kg): 980 Tire size: 195/55 R16 Basic price list price of the model: € 8,900 Basic stock price of the model: Base version price: € 10,650