It’s a widely accepted fact that any auto manufacturer in India who aspires to go for large volumes must have a value-for-money compact hatchback in its lineup. And the Sandero could be just that car for Mahindra -Renault venture. With Logan getting a lukewarm response , and not the electric start off that they wanted , who misread Indian customer just like another third world country , moreover its sales figures have dipped with new lauch of Ford Ikon and Maruti’s Dzire. This has lead the Logan to a position of standstill therefore Renault has decided to bring Sandero into the hatchback category. The good news is that this time they are not for entry level hatchback but instead for the High End market. The Sandero is expected to take on the likes of the Honda Jazz , Indica Vista , Swift and the Skoda Fabia. Technically this car is the Logan without the boot .The initial pricing strategy of the Logan in India was a blunder and Renault plans to change that with the Sandero. Moreover with international automakers coming to India with the latest models from abroad have altered the plans of Renault.
Exterior
The design of the Sandero has been derived from Popular Renault’s Clio (Renault’s popular hatchback). Sandero’s everything that Logan is not. It has the look of today’s cars instead of the yesteryears with its attractive front end which is dominated by the stretched back Clear lens headlamps.The chrome strip along with the front grille gives the car a very up market look.The bumper merges effortlessly with the bodywork and the unique thing of the design is the wide protection strips along the sides of the Sandero something which we are not used to see in India. The contours along the sides have been done very elegantly gives the Sandero a robust feel. The C-Pillar is unusually thick and might reduce the visibility in the rear end, this is partly been taken care of by the large rear glass.
Interior
It is roomy, robust and has plenty of luggage space. Sandero is 4.02 meters in length with a storage capacity of 320 litres which is 80 Litres more than the segment leader Swift. Its front seat shoulder room of 1,400mm and the rear headroom is 878 gives the Sandero the advantage of having the most interior passenger space than its competitors. This further is complemented by the wide opening doors which open up to an angle of up to 67° ,which allows the passengers to get in and out of the car with great ease.
As expected the cost cutting has been implemented with the hard plastics and central console mounted window buttons but the designing of the door handles and the glove box is a considerable improvement over the Logan’s. The Black and chrome interior looks much better than the Logan’s hard plastic Beige. Sandero’s also comes with Anti Lock Braking system and other safety features like 3-point seat belts, honeycomb dashboard and padded doors.
Heart
Abroad, Sandero is available with a range of 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol engines, as well as two 1.5-litre common-rail diesels. For India, M&M could possibly look at the 1.4 petrol and 1.5 diesel engines, both tuned for maximum fuel-economy.The key will be the second-generation common rail direct injection 1.5 dCi which already is doing the duty in Logan and has been widely acknowledged for being frugal, low maintenance as well being the most fuel efficient in this segment. Since, Renault has wide range of petrol engines it will pick the right one for the Indian market at the time of launch.
All in all it does look a good prospect for Renault to establish themselves in Indian market, the key to its success will be the pricing strategy as well the kind of features and build quality they bring it in with , because the bare minimum look of Logan would do no good to Sandero. This will also help Renault India to get a up market Image especially after they blundered with the No Frills Logan. In addition, Renault also has plans to launch the Logan MCV this year and both these cars will be manufactured in Renault’s Nasik plant. The launch date has not been finalized yet , hence its wait and watch for the Renault enthusiasts.