Twenty years without a hybrid — and then Dacia dropped this one on Spain
After twenty years without a single electrified motor, the best-selling car in Europe finally plugs into the hybrid age. Prices start well below Toyota Yaris.
For twenty years Sandero lived without electrification — and now that era is over. Dacia has opened orders in Spain for the Sandero Stepway with the self-charging Hybrid 155 powertrain. The same engine already tucked under the Duster, Jogger and Bigster has finally reached the brand’s best-seller. And it turns the little Romanian into the most powerful production Sandero ever built.
What’s inside? A naturally aspirated 1.8-liter gasoline engine rated at 109 hp, a main traction electric motor of 50 hp and a second electric unit acting as a starter-generator. Combined output — 155 hp. The battery is a tiny 1.4 kWh, but there’s no plug: the system charges itself. The gearbox is automatic, with four ratios for the combustion engine and two more for the electric side. Front-wheel drive.
WLTP average consumption is 4.2 l/100 km for the regular Sandero and 4.4 l/100 km for the taller Stepway. Dacia claims that in city driving the Sandero Hybrid can spend up to 80% of the time on electric power alone, and every start happens in EV mode — the combustion engine stays silent until it’s actually needed. The car qualifies for Spain’s ECO environmental label.
And now the punchline — the prices. The regular Sandero Hybrid 155 opens at €19,890 in Expression trim and climbs to €20,890 in Journey. The crossover-styled Stepway starts at €21,290, and the top Extreme trim rings in at €22,690. Stepway Hybrid orders are already open; the sedan version will follow in a few weeks. All of this in a segment where the Toyota Yaris Hybrid asks from €21,500, and the Yaris Cross Hybrid demands a full €27,500. Looks like Japan just picked up a very serious problem in Europe.