Ninety-three thousand passenger cars sold in 2013 were hatchbacks priced under R150 000.

It is the biggest segment – at 21% – of the South African car market, says Renault South Africa (SA) marketing and communications VP Fabien Payzan.

This segment can be divided into two categories, he adds.

Regular cars, like the Polo Vivo, the old Renault Sandero and the Toyota Etios, are able to transport five people, and typically have 1.4 ℓ or 1.5 ℓ engines. This category makes up two-thirds of the segment.

Smaller city cars make up the other third, and are typically more affordable, with cost of ownership lower, owing to their smaller-sized engines using less fuel.

Travelling long distances in these cars can, however, often prove taxing, says Payzan.

Renault SA hopes to bridge the gap between the two categories with its new Sandero, still big enough to carry five people, but using the French manufacturer’s new, more-fuel-efficient 900 cc turbo engine, as seen in the Clio launched locally last year.

Payzan also hopes the new Sandero will push Renault SA into the top five positions for hatchbacks under R150 000, up from “number seven, eight”.

The new Sandero is no longer made at the Nissan plant in South Africa, but is sourced from Romania. The reason for this is that the new Sandero is quite different from the old model, which is still used as the platform for the Nissan NP200 half-ton bakkie produced at Rosslyn, outside Pretoria.

Complexities regarding building both models with their different content, as well as an urgency to introduce the new Sandero, led to the decision to import the vehicle.

“There still is the option to make the Sandero in South Africa, but this is under review by the Nissan/Renault alliance,” says Payzan.

For 40% to 50% of customers, the Sandero will be their first car, he adds.

Payzan hopes the new Sandero will also capture a number of financially stretched customers looking to buy the new Clio.

“We have around 1 000 people applying to buy the new Renault Clio each month, but half of their credit applications are declined. It was difficult to tell them to look at the previous Sandero, as the product gap was too big, so we lost them, but now the gap has closed considerably.”

The new Sandero indeed offers a host of technology, normally hard to come by in the entry-level segment.

Both the Expression and Dynamique models feature the same engine as the Clio, namely the three-cylinder, 900 cc, turbo 66 kW petrol engine, promising fuel consumption of 5.2 ℓ/100 km.

The vehicle reaches a top speed of 175 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.1 seconds.

Eco mode, if activated, allows for more fuel- frugal driving.

Standard features on both models include an antilock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution, as well as emergency brake assist – which means the new Sandero can brake hard and efficiently in emergency conditions.

The electronic stability programme will help the driver keep control in situations where it can easily be lost, such as sudden swerves to avoid an accident.

Hill start assist is also standard, and helps the driver pull away on an incline without rolling back.

Other standard equipment includes dual airbags at the front, front power windows, remote control locking, and a CD/MP3, USB and auxillary sound system. The system also allows Bluetooth telephony and music streaming from external devices.

The radio and Bluetooth connectivity can be actioned through fingertip controls, located behind the steering wheel.

The Dynamique adds 15-inch alloy wheels to the package, front fog lights with chrome surrounds, body-coloured door handles, a leather-covered steering wheel, electric rear windows, electric side mirrors, front side airbags and cruise control plus speed limiter.

The new Sandero comes with a five-year/150 000 km warranty and two-year/30 000 km service plan as standard.

The Expression model sells for R133 900, which includes air conditioning, while the Dynamique is priced at R141 500.

The Stepway, the top of the range Sandero model, could be available later this year.