Over the Sabre's thirteen year production run it underwent several subtle styling changes, mainly to the grille, and later shared styling similarities with the compact Dennis Dagger.

[4] Like the Rapier, the Sabre is powered by a Cummins C Series turbocharged six-cylinder diesel engine and has an Allison MD five-speed automatic transmission.

It also uses a double-wishbone suspension with semi-elliptical multileaf and coil springs with telescopic dampers, and the gearing allows a governed top speed of 72 miles per hour (116 km/h).

[5] Operators of the Dennis Sabre include fire brigades in the West Midlands[6] and North East England,[7][8] Nottinghamshire,[9] Hereford and Worcester,[10] the city of Dublin and the Hong Kong Fire Services Department.

Sabres were also sold to fire brigades in the Czech Republic, Slovakia,[11] South Africa and the Netherlands.