Dacia’s revamped range takes a step up from bargain basement

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And in the case of the Romanian-built Dacia (rhymes with Thatcher), which has just revised its whole range, you don’t pay very much.

The entry-level Sandero still starts at £5,995, although hardly anyone buys it in its basic spec and you can pay as much as £10,395. It has a new one-litre three-cylinder SCe 75 petrol engine, which is no ball of fire, but pulls smoothly and the front styling has been tweaked with a new grille, bumper and chrome-look trim as well as daytime running lights. Better cabin trim and a higher quality steering wheel help dispel the previous Sandero’s bargain basement feel.

Moving up, literally, the Sandero Stepway is a taller, more SUV-like version with better ground clearance. Mechanically, it is the same as the Sandero but, priced from £8,795 to £11,395, you are paying for a more rugged look.

The Dacia Logan MCV also gets new frontal styling tweaks. This a longer, conventional estate which feels more mature than the Sandero and has up to 1,680 litres of loadspace. It shares a similar interior but, especially with a 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine, feels a capable workhorse for £6,995 to £11,395.