The Renault Sandero is not the cheapest hatch out there – but it does try harder. ALWYN VILJOEN rides this Rosslyn special
I ONCE said on national radio that Renault offers the latest technology at the best price, which is why I drove two as my personal cars. This hi-tech, low-price approach still holds true for Renault’s cheapest offering: the Sandero, except that the price is now so low that the hi-tech fell a bit by the wayside.
Built on the same chassis that supports associate company Nissan’s record-selling NP200 bakkie, the Sandero 1,4 sells for less than R110 000, and offers all the trimmings a novice car owner can possibly want.
Buyers agree and are voting with the wallets. Glenn Clifton, dealer principal at Renault in Pietermaritzburg, told The Witness the Sandero is “a big success, comprising almost 66% of sales”. That’s every six in 10 cars sold by Renault.
With a monthly repayment of just R1 689 and no deposit, the cost of Sandero certainly compares favourably with the monthly payments a long-distance commuter hands over to dangerous taxis.
For this money, the owner gets the bare basics and a five-year, 150 000 km warrantee. A three-year, 45 000 km is optional.
Apart from the sub R110 000 price, which I really, really like, I also appreciated these four characteristics in the Sandero:
• very bright headlights;
• a powerful air-conditioning;
• 320 litres of boot space; and
• little plastic covers over the railing between the front seats and the axle casing (they stop cellphones or keys from disappearing underneath the seat).
On top of this, the Durban-based Kinsey report as far back as 2008 listed the Sandero 1,6 has having the best prices in the replacement parts basket.
But back to price. Much as I like the cheapness, I can also quickly get to hate it. For in the Sandero, you only get what you pay for.
Wind noise is such that you cannot hear the radio, a blind person’s tapping pole is more sensitive than the steering and the seats take the word “thin” to a whole new level. So, a basic car designed to get first-time buyers to point B without braking the bank.
If you are not put off by a noisy, hard ride, the Tata B-line is R19 905 cheaper, and offers a service plan of two years or 45 000 km — for which Renault charges an extra R3 843).
The Chinese Chery J2 costs the same as the Sandero and is — depending on the beholder — arguably sexier on the eye.
But the Indian and Chinese dealers do not offer Renault’s dealerships. And it has to be said, Renault has done a lot to improve the tales of woe on hellopeter.com regarding the traumatic experiences many of us Renault owners had in seemingly all dealers except Pietermaritzburg and Jo’burgs East Rand.
In fact, so impressed are the Renault drivers that in the Asia Africa region, SA came just after Japan and Australia in terms of sales of sport models in 2011.
Wayne van der Merwe, senior product manager at Renault SA, said this was because Renault Sport models continued “to find favour among South African car buyers in search of style combined with speed and performance.”
• alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za
R89 995 Tata B-Line (50kW/110Nm)
R109 900 Sandero (55kW/112Nm)
R109 900 Chery J1 (61kW/114Nm)
Some niggles
HOT air from the engine means the outside of the Sandero’s windscreen will mist up on rainy days or cold nights, blocking the sightline of shorter drivers.
The hatch car also mists up inside, even with only one driver’s body heat. Which means you have to drive with the aircon on to dry out the air, which will impact on fuel economy.
This is still preferable to the solution the first Fiestas had to the misting problem. Ford opted to blow a permanent vent of hot air over the windows. Practical in Europe, very sweaty in humid KZN.
