The Dacia Sandero is back. This is an all-new model, but it’s still the cheapest new car you can buy. That means it usually has an advantage over similarly sized rivals in terms of value for money, because it’s a supermini-sized car for city car cash.
Yet we’ve often said that the Sandero is actually more of a rival for a second-hand car than a new one, so that’s exactly what we’ve set up in this special twin test.
The Ford Fiesta you see here is a used model kindly lent to us by Stebbings Car Centre of Kings Lynn, Norfolk. It’s a year old, and that means it’s a similar price to the Dacia.
Mercedes kick-started the coupé-cabriolet revival in 1994 (60 years after Peugeot had created the sector) with the unveiling of its SLK concept, which would go on to be launched in 1996.
The arrival of the SLK would lead to a raft of rival cars from the likes of BMW, Ford, Nissan and Peugeot bursting on to the scene, and while the trend for folding metal roofs has now faded, it was arguably Mercedes that got the closest to hitting the spot with its neatly styled two-seater.
While the first version was a decent effort and the second take was much better, this third generation featured improved build quality, dynamics and design.
The original Vauxhall Mokka was very much the prime-time, middle-of-the-road sitcom of the automotive world; it was always incredibly popular, but with so many more interesting, critically acclaimed alternatives out there, it was hard to fathom why.
Now, however, the Mokka has had a reboot. Vauxhall’s compact crossover has been redesigned from the ground up, giving the model a sharp new look in a class where desirability is a key way to win over buyers. But does it now have the substance to back up the style and beat its rivals?
That list of competition is huge, but in the Nissan Juke, the Mokka faces the car that can arguably be credited with both kicking off the supermini-based SUV segment, and making it so popular. Now in its second generation, it still majors on eye-catching looks, which makes it exactly the sort of car that new Mokka buyers might well consider a tempting alternative.