CHEAP and cheerful…an old adage, but one that is increasingly rare in the realms of modern motoring where the price of anything that could truthfully be deemed cheerful is often eye-wateringly prohibitive. Renault has now added the 1,4 Ambiance model to its recently updated Sandero range – at R104 900, it certainly has the cheap base covered, but can this wallet-friendly little runabout bring a smile to your face?
Quite often, watering down what is already a budget offering to meet a lower price point is an execise in ghastly aesthetics that manifests itself in cheap, black plastic for such items as the door handles and bumpers, steel wheels and a general sense of “bound for the rental fleet” about the overall package. The Sandero, however, wears its budget accoutrements quite well – in fact, in a car of its ilk the aformentioned items actually sit more easily with the vehicle’s flat-sided, no-nonsense bodywork. Admittedly, the optional metallic blue pain does help to lift things slightly. The interior treatment is similarly simple and effective. The cheap-looking silver trim that adorns the facias of higher specced models is thankfully absent and the monotone colour scheme helps soften some of the clumsier details such as the stylised circular air vents and mixed plastic patinas.
Renault is punting its refreshed Sandero range with the jingle “cramped is not cool” to emphasise the interior space on offer. While most ad agency outbursts of this sort are generally dismissed with a sneer, it has to be said that the Sandero is pleasantly spacious for a compact hatchback –the usually sinew-snapping chore of getting in the back isn’t an issue here and the boot serves up a commendable 256 dm3 of loadspace. There are still some ergonomic issues, though. The front seats aren’t very supportive, the cushion is narrow and the limited height adjustment makes you feel as though you’re stitting on the car rather than in it. This is further accentuated by the lack of steering column adjustment, which means that taller folk who eventually find an acceptable driving position will have their view of the instrument binnacle cropped at the top by the steering wheel. Thankfully, visibility is good – a boon for a car that will often find itself being threaded into tight parking spaces.
Where the 1,4 Ambiance’s budget-basement roots really show is in its powerplant. The fuel-injected eight-valve 1,4-litre unit produces rather modest outputs 55 kW at 5 500 r/min and just 112 N.m of torque at 3 00 r/min. Mated with a long-throw five-speed manual ‘box, progress is leisurely at best with a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 13 seconds and a top speed of 161 km/h. You have to stomp on the gas and stir the ‘box quite frequently to keep up with traffic and joining a motorway slip road at a slower pace demands some good timing and forethought behind the wheel of this car. Claimed fuel consumption is 7 L/100 km and CO2 emissions are 164 g/km. It’s not the most refined engine out there, with a couple of testers commenting that it sounded like “a washing machine full of teaspoons” or “a tin full of thumbtacks being shaken around”.
In terms of dynamics, the Sander is never going to set hearts fluttering. The steering, although light and town-use-friendly, lacks feedback and there’s a good deal of body-roll when tackling corners at a pace. Thankfully, the ride proved compliant on the varied surfaces that the cape town road network threw at it, only becoming bouncy when hitting serious corrugations.
Specification is usually a dirty word when talking about entry-level budget cars, but the 1,4 Ambiance is not disgraced in this respect. Among the standard items are power steering, air-conditioning, remote central locking and immobiliser, ABS with EBD (a safety item that is often conspicuous by its absence at this price point), driver and passenger airbags. Otherwise its manual windy windows and twiddly mirror adjustment – old-fashioned, but at least they’ll last and will be cheap to rectify if they do go wrong. Although a service plan is optional, the 5 year/150 00 km warranty backed up by Renault’s Confiance parts availability assurance does offer some peace of mind to prospective buyers.
So, is it worth it? If you can live with the weak engine and so-so driving position, the 1,4 Ambiance offers a good deal of space, practicality and specification at a competitive price. Cheap and cheerful? The Sandero 1,4 ambiance just about covers it…
