Dacia Sandero starting price raised to £9,845

Buyers lose the choice of lower-priced Sandero variant because, well, they weren’t buying it.

Dacia has raised the price of its Sandero hatchback in Britain to £9,845, a jump of £1,850 from when the model topped the budget car charts at its last update in 2020. But while this increase represents a fair old chunk of extra cash at this end of the market, it only comes because the base specification of Sandero has risen to a higher standard. Gone is the former entry-level Access machine, leaving the second-rank Essential version as the cheapest Sandero version you can buy as a new car.

Dacia has provided an official explanation for the price changes. A brand spokesperson said the “removal of the Access trim and minor changes to [Dacia’s] line-up take into consideration…expectations and customer demand”. You won’t need a career in detective work to realise the removal of the Access model in Britain has happened because few UK buyers were choosing it. Something most of us will probably be unsurprised to hear, given UK car buying habits and that.

You see, UK buyers don’t tend to go for the most rustic models - it’s why when cars launch here, they often do with a starting level that’s one trim grade up from other markets - so Dacia is just mirroring a wider trend. It helps to explain why the more rugged Sandero Stepway gets its own £500 price increase as it receives a lifted base specification for Britain, appeasing our slightly posher tastes in the automotive world.

Despite the on-paper tweaks, we can rest assured that both Sandero models remain as plucky as ever, as Dacia hasn’t made any changes to their respective ingredients. In both variants, the setup is basic, but brilliantly functional, with useful features like Bluetooth connectivity, electric windows and air conditioning all there, along with USB ports and a digital radio connection. Not to mention the sort of hardy character that makes navigating city streets and sleeping policemen a doddle, and the sort of efficient engines – including a very effective 0.9-litre turbocharged three-cylinder, we should add – that can sip fuel to over 50mpg.

That said, just because Brits expect a little more in the creature comforts and car kit departments, we also aren’t the sort to turn down a hard bargain. That’s where cinch’s stock of Dacias look incredibly strong. There are Sanderos priced from just £6,750, Logan estates from £6,950 and Sandero Stepways from £9,950, plus, the brilliant Dacia Duster SUV starts from just £11,950 (all at the time of writing). If you’re sold on the prospect of pound-stretching motoring that doesn’t sacrifice on usability, you need look no further than cinch’s stock of Dacia models. They’re all here for your bargaining pleasure. You’re welcome.

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