Southampton

Southampton is 70 miles south-west of London and 15 miles north-west of Portsmouth. It is the largest city in Hampshire and also in the south-east of England, with an estimated population of 250,000.

Boasting many medieval heritage buildings, Southampton hosts some of the longest surviving stretches of medieval walls in England.

It’s also home to a multitude of museums, including the Tudor House and Southampton Maritime museums. The SeaCity Museum is located in the west wing of the Civic Centre and focuses on the city’s trading history and the famous ocean-going passenger liner, The Titanic.

The Guildhall (currently branded The O2 Guildhall) has played host to a mass of musical talent in its time: Pink Floyd, David Bowie, The Killers, Amy Winehouse and Lostprophets have all played here, as well as the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Southampton Philharmonic Choir.

The most popular cars in Southampton

One of the major players in the growth of the SUV market, the Nissan Qashqai is estimated to be the most popular car in Southampton, according to data provided between 2012 to 2018 by ownership and postcode.

Close on its heels—and in order of popularity—are the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Tiguan, Ford Fiesta and the Mercedes A-Class.

Vehicle numbers in Southampton

There are approximately 175,000 licensed vehicles in the Southampton area, with some of the most popular models including the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Corsa and the VW Polo.

Fixter garages in Southampton

There are a total of 14 Fixter garages in the Southampton area, all ready and waiting to provide you with a fantastic quote for your car service, MOT and a wide range of vehicle repairs.

Fixter garages service the following postcodes and more, in and around the Southampton area:

• S01: Bargate, Millbrook & Freemantle, Southampton
• SO14: Bevois & Bitterne Park, Southampton
• SO15: Freemantle, Shirley & Redbridge, Southampton
• SO16: Swaythling & Bassett, Southampton
• SO17: Portswood, Southampton
• SO18: Bitterne Park, Southampton

Dacia

Dacia is a Romanian automobile manufacturer, established over 50 years ago in 1966, and has been a subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault since 1999.

Dacia is Romania’s top company by revenue and the largest exporter, constituting 7.3% of the country’s total exports in 2014.

How popular is Dacia in the United Kingdom?

Dacia offers great value budget motoring—but don’t think just because they’re cheap they’re not worth the money. The Sandero hatchback is Britain’s cheapest new car and has been receiving high praise from many of the critics and car reviewers throughout the country.

There are currently 137k Dacia vehicles on the roads in the UK, but that number is showing steady, solid growth year by year. Having only been introduced into the UK market in 2013, and with the popularity growing through their more than affordable yet reliable cars, it’s looking like they’re only heading from strength to strength.

Superb value city cars, MPVs and SUVs

With a neat but tidy range featuring the Logan estate, the Sandero hatchback, the Duster SUV and the Lodgy MPV, Dacia looks to be aiming primarily towards budget conscious family drivers.

Yet with the provision of new technologies, the model platforms and the support of Renault behind them, they’re in a great position to offer not only the low prices they’re renowned for but with real substance to back them up.

Dacia: Don’t let the UK numbers fool you

Despite being a relative newcomer to the UK market, Dacia has been manufacturing and selling cars around the world for a lot longer than they have here. The global success of this Romanian marque stands at over 4.5m units sold worldwide since the Renault supported relaunch in 2004. It became the fastest growing retail brand in Europe in 2017, with sales of the Sandero rising by 16%, and selling almost 200k units.

Dacia’s reliability and reputation

Dacia ranked 13th place out of 30 car brands in the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2018, and for a budget car marque that isn’t something to be taken lightly. When you consider they ranked higher than some of the industry giants: Fiat, BMW, VW, Audi, Volvo—even Porsche and Mercedes-Benz—this is a marque that is making waves as the new kid on the block.

Recent Dacia recalls and reliability issues

Various recalls have been made on Dacia models throughout their motoring history. The following are a list of the most recent in the UK and Europe.

26/03/2019 – Dacia Logan (2017–2018)

The lower steering column mounting bracket

04/01/2019 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2018)

Driver’s airbag may not deploy correctly

04/01/2019 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2013–2015)

Risk of fuel leak

04/04/2019 – Dacia Duster (2016–2017)

Trailer lighting may fail

20/03/2019 – Dacia Logan (2017)

Front wheel hubs may crack

19/09/2017 – Dacia Duster (2017)

Incorrect wiring in horn system can cause one or more safety faults

20/12/2016 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2012)

Driver’s airbag may not deploy

23/02/2016 – Dacia Logan and Sandero (2015)

Steering may fail

All recall information sourced from gov.co.uk data.