Renault Sandero STEPWAY test drive since 2010 hatchback

The second wave

On March 1, sales of the new Renault Sandero hatchback have started in Russia.

The production of Renault Sandero at the Moscow Region enterprise has already been launched, and sales started on March 1. The initial price is 319,000 rubles. (excluding delivery to the dealer). The French believe that the five-door ex-Dacia will be able to repeat the success of the angular bestseller Logan. And it is not unreasonable: affordable prices, preferential credit conditions, as well as participation in the disposal program will help to win the trust of Russians.
 
That is, in exchange for rusting auto -huts, Renault offers brand new Sandero under 0% per annum of 269,000 rubles. Of course, Logan will turn out to be more profitable (10,000 rubles), but the demand for inexpensive hatchs in the Russian Federation is sufficient for the optimism of the French. In addition, Renault now has a cheaper compact than created for Western Europe Clio.

And we were able to make sure of this in Tallinn, where the Sandero presentation took place. Gray and black hatchbacks with 102-horsepower engines in the AXPRESION and PRESTIGE assembly and Prestige have rolled out to journalists. Most likely, the colors of the color will coincide with the Logan palette; Only for the presentation they picked up the two most popular colors.
All cars are equipped with mechanical gearboxes, but Renault has promised to produce the first cars with machine guns by the end of the year. Such a transmission is undoubtedly more convenient in the city, but it will increase the cost of a budget hatchback by at least 30,000 rubles, and maybe more. However, there is a choice and this cannot but rejoice.

Sandero is, in fact, Logan in the back of the hatchback, with all its pros and cons, so wait for surprises from the car, by 99% of the identical to a well -known sedan is pointless. However, the hatchback still has its advantages. The wheelbase Sandero is shorter than that of the Logan is 40 mm, and the total length is 268 mm; So, finding a place in close parking lots will be even easier.

At the same time, the volume of the trunk, although it suffered, having lost almost 200 liters of volume (now 320 l), but due to the folded backs of the rear sofa, the compartment can be increased to 1,200 liters. On the comfort of the body sitting behind the body did not affect: two passengers tall a little higher than the average will not touch the ceiling and appreciate almost one and a half meters of the width of the salon at the elbow level.

The salon is quite spacious, aesthetically unusual and ergonomically amazing. The buttons of the front electric windows stick out of the central console, the rear are hidden between the front seats; The signal button is generally taken to the end of the left steering wheel lever of the turning point! But the devices are simple and well read personally, I especially liked those that on the expression version.
 
And in a more expensive configuration, the tidy is less contrast; The scale of the devices are depicted on a white background, and the numbers on the tachometer are indicated by catching; In addition, in units, and not in dozens.
In the top configuration, the driver's seat is adjusted in height. Nice, but the upper chosen position is recorded not every time. But in machines without adjustment, planting is optimal even for a driver tall above the average.

The base engine Sandero 75-horsepower 1.4, and two 1.6-liter engines are offered for the surcharge: 84 and 102 liters. With. The organizers of the test drive offered us only the most powerful of the 1.6-liter versions.
The journalist in me was unhappy: how to leave the press without the most accessible version for the people? But the driver was extremely grateful: I would not want to drive about 100 km along the highway on a less powerful version

Sandero has enough disadvantages, I mean those that show themselves after starting the ignition key. You need to get used to cotton clutch and sensitive gas; At first, I had to move off with an excess. After 3,500 rpm, the sound of a working engine turned into an unpleasant hum, and the growing vibrations forced the GPS navigator attached to the windshield.
But with a calm ride in the city, noise insulation coped perfectly (especially with Michelin's friction winter tires); Vibrations at least in Tallinn not a single interior detail kicked. The stretched gear rates in the box and the smooth moment curve fit perfectly into the dynamic rhythm of the city stream of the Estonian capital. Without irony.

The reduced wheelbase left the imprint on the smoothness of the move: the suspension is elastic and energy -intensive, it is not easy to break through it, but on the uneven road Sandero sways slightly, repeating the bends of each bump and the fossa.
 
But the hatchback is controlled very nice! Let the steering wheel turn a little heavier than in many rivals (despite the hydraulic power steering), but the response of the chassis is fast and accurate.
Winter riding in the rolled snow is a pleasure in any car! And Sandero, on the unsolved Michelin X-reiCe, does not spoil her. The hatch confidently holds straight, does not scour and supplies the driver with a feedback with the wheels. Inhibiting in the turn leads to the light skid the rear wheels, and the corrective movement of the steering wheel and gas instantly return it to the trajectory.

On the mixed coating, you need to be careful with braking: with an emergency slowdown, Sandero now and then seeks to expose sideways. Turns to pass with gas! Especially when the roads are smooth, empty and covered with light embroidery of fresh snow (as in local suburbs).
Renault marketers believe that Sando will have a third of the total number of buyers of the couple near Moscow. They are not afraid of internal competition: they say that those who choose sedans and hatchbacks people with different customer expectations. Well, now both target groups can be satisfied with the products of one brand.
 

Author: Alexander Korobchenko
Photo: Renault, Alexander Korobchenko





 

Source: Wheel magazine [March 2010]