Blayde
Forum Addict
Renault Sandero
https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blayde/2011/01/04/goodnews2.jpg
Yeah, we don't get the Dacia brand here, so i stopped by the Renault dealer for a test drive. First impressions, it's not an ugly car, it doesn't feel like a korean one as well, and by korean i dont mean the new massive kias that arent so bad, i mean the crap you saw in TG a while back, this was none of those things, felt solidly built, but obviously to a price, the plastics felt decent and not dull, the seats werent a pukey colour and the dash isnt so bad, though the picture is much lighter cause of the sun, it really was a decent colour. The car i drove is pictured below, but the one they were offering came with alloys/fogs/cd/mp3/those weird bumper things and all for 13,000 USD or 9680 eur, compared to 13832eur/18567 usd for a decent spec Civic last i checked. The fogs and bumper bits were a 1300$ option they were throwing in for free
To drive, it's not too bad, pickup is decent, the brakes are a bit on or off but stops well. It rides quite smooth and other than a heavy steering it's not so bad, the heavy steering im told is cause it's not electric but an oil(i think he meant hydraulic) based system, I drove it for about 10 kms and it was roomy, i was sure even my dad at 6'4" could've fit into it with comfort, though the rear legroom was a bit tight behind me. The non electric seats werent so bad but the relax adjustment was a knob and not the spring release like in my Civic, and the height adjustment was spring loaded, so you had to either get out, or lift yourself off the seat while adjusting. Another annoying thing is the indicator beeps when in use, i find that quite annoying and would be the first thing i would disable. Also, the indicator light marker is together inside the dash, so they havent bothered to tell you which direction it's on for, which is a small annoyance but it's the way we're used to things i guess. The boot wasn't that great, which is to say... it's a boot, but was nicely padded and i would feel safe putting things in there and not worry about it.
One thing i did notice is it didn't roll much during a u turn or lane changing, but on the dirt roads it was still comfy, which did surprise me a bit.
All in all, this car WAS a surprise, it's built down to a price, but they still eked more out of it than some pacific rim cars have done, and i can see it getting character like James was saying in his short drive, it's small and easy to use, and definitely a nice little car.
https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blayde/2011/01/04/sandero1.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blayde/2011/01/04/sandero2.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blayde/2011/01/04/goodnews2.jpg
Yeah, we don't get the Dacia brand here, so i stopped by the Renault dealer for a test drive. First impressions, it's not an ugly car, it doesn't feel like a korean one as well, and by korean i dont mean the new massive kias that arent so bad, i mean the crap you saw in TG a while back, this was none of those things, felt solidly built, but obviously to a price, the plastics felt decent and not dull, the seats werent a pukey colour and the dash isnt so bad, though the picture is much lighter cause of the sun, it really was a decent colour. The car i drove is pictured below, but the one they were offering came with alloys/fogs/cd/mp3/those weird bumper things and all for 13,000 USD or 9680 eur, compared to 13832eur/18567 usd for a decent spec Civic last i checked. The fogs and bumper bits were a 1300$ option they were throwing in for free
To drive, it's not too bad, pickup is decent, the brakes are a bit on or off but stops well. It rides quite smooth and other than a heavy steering it's not so bad, the heavy steering im told is cause it's not electric but an oil(i think he meant hydraulic) based system, I drove it for about 10 kms and it was roomy, i was sure even my dad at 6'4" could've fit into it with comfort, though the rear legroom was a bit tight behind me. The non electric seats werent so bad but the relax adjustment was a knob and not the spring release like in my Civic, and the height adjustment was spring loaded, so you had to either get out, or lift yourself off the seat while adjusting. Another annoying thing is the indicator beeps when in use, i find that quite annoying and would be the first thing i would disable. Also, the indicator light marker is together inside the dash, so they havent bothered to tell you which direction it's on for, which is a small annoyance but it's the way we're used to things i guess. The boot wasn't that great, which is to say... it's a boot, but was nicely padded and i would feel safe putting things in there and not worry about it.
One thing i did notice is it didn't roll much during a u turn or lane changing, but on the dirt roads it was still comfy, which did surprise me a bit.
All in all, this car WAS a surprise, it's built down to a price, but they still eked more out of it than some pacific rim cars have done, and i can see it getting character like James was saying in his short drive, it's small and easy to use, and definitely a nice little car.
https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blayde/2011/01/04/sandero1.jpg
https://pic.armedcats.net/b/bl/blayde/2011/01/04/sandero2.jpg
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