Manufacturer Dacia Assembly Mioveni, Romania | Production 1995–2000 Body style 5-door hatchback | |
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Model years 1995–1997 (523)
1995–2000 (524) Class mini sport family car (B) | ||
The Dacia Nova ([ˈdat͡ʃia]) was a small sport family car manufactured by Romanian auto maker Dacia from 1995 to 1999/2000.
History
Dacia Nova was the first in-house developed Dacia model and it was intended to replace the Renault 12-based "Berlina" (Sedan) and "Break" (Estate) range, although it was now a small liftback/fastback, rather than a three-box sedan and conventional estate. Work for this model had started in the 1980s, this being the reason why the car looked outdated from the time it first left the factory, in 1995. The next year, the more modern-looking and more popular, face-lifted version was introduced.
Although an in-house design, started in 1983, the first generation Nova closely resembled the Renault 11 and the Peugeot 309, especially from the side and the rear. Its Renault origins could only be traced in the Cléon OHV engines. Whilst the styling is similar to the Peugeot 309 and Renault 11, there is no common part between the two models and the Nova.
The liftback/fastback body housed a transversely mounted, front-engined, front-wheel-drive layout, offering five doors and five seats. The engine was the old Cléon-based unit from the rest of the Dacia range, although the 1.6l GT version was fuel injected with a Bosch MonoMotronic in 1998 (hence GTi). The GT version was fueled by a double-barrelled Carfil carburettor, sourced from the Oltcit supermini, which offered very good performance but at the expense of a rather high fuel consumption.
The Dacia Nova was appreciated for its good road manners, light weight and strong engine.
Although more modern in every way than the classic Dacia range, bodywork quality was generally worse, there was less boot space and the Nova was more expensive. All these combined ensured that the Nova was never a bestseller in the Dacia family and not many examples survive today. It was replaced by the SupeRNova in the year 2000.