Dacia Sandero To Get Fresh Face and Tech Upgrades for 2026 Model Year

Dacia Sandero was the best-selling car in Europe last year, after cozying with the second spot in 2022 and 2023. If you wonder what makes it so popular, it offers all the features of a B-segment model at the price of an A-segment car. It's a no-frills car at a reasonable price. It has few groundbreaking features but also very few weaknesses.

The third generation, launched in 2020, addressed a key criticism of the original model: its bland design. For the first time, the Romanian city car is actually pleasant to look at and offers a bearable cabin ambiance. The cabin space was never a problem, and Sandero continued to excel in this area. However, this time, it also offered some creature comforts borrowed from its upscale Renault relatives.

With the planned 2026 facelift, the Romanian hatchback will get even more attractive. Our photographers caught a Sandero Stepway prototype with very little camouflage, revealing interesting details. If you're unfamiliar with the Sandero, the Stepway is the crossover variant, with a higher ground clearance and design elements that suggest a sense of ruggedness.

The Dacia Sandero is built on Renault's CMF-B platform, which is shared with the Renault Clio and Captur, among others. It's a modern architecture that offers all the bells and whistles European customers expect in this segment. Dacia already updated the Sandero, alongside the Joker, with an event data recorder, alcohol immobilizer, traffic sign recognition, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, and other systems ADAS features that have been mandatory for new European cars since July 2024.

The spy pictures reveal that the facelift will bring a fresh face, of which the redesigned grille is already visible. Expect a new light signature, although the headlamp design might not change much. Changes at the rear will be more subtle, as revealed by the lack of camouflage. We should see mildly redesigned taillights and, judging by what's covered, a new decor on the C-pillar. The rear bumper has been redesigned, and we get to see it in full on the prototype.

Bigger changes are expected in the cabin, and the most visible is the much larger infotainment screen, which can be seen in the gallery. Dacia Sandero already offers a complete connectivity package, including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. The Romanian carmaker has always been keen on providing the best infotainment system for the buck, and we expect no less for the 2026 refresh.

Dacia plans an all-electric variant of the Sander in 2027, although it is unclear whether this will be offered alongside a new generation or as a standalone model in the current Sandero lineup. Considering the short window after the launch of the redesigned model next year, we bet on the latter, with the EV model selling alongside the facelifted model.