Dacia Sandero Stepway: When I grow up I will be a Duster

Dacia offers models that will prove themselves on any road. The most famous Duster. Those who do not need four-wheel drive should take a closer look at the Sandero Stepway version.

Sales of the first generation of the Sandero model started in 2008. The following season, the Stepway hit the showroom floor with a pseudo-ATV package. The biggest selling point of the Dacia hatchback was the value for money. The model was not a brilliant success. Sandero had an austere interior. Not everyone was able to accept a body with numerous bends and a strange arrangement of taillights.

The Romanian company listened carefully to the signals coming from the market. Offered since 2012, the Sandero II has much cleaner lines. The car has become more elegant and modern.

The icing on the cake is the Stepway version. Redesigned bumpers with simulated metal skid plates, thicker side sills and 40 millimeters more ground clearance give the impression of being a car larger than the classic Sandero.

With a height of 4,08 meters, the Stepway is one of the largest representatives of the B segment. The dimensions of the body were used successfully. The Dacia's cabin will easily accommodate four adults - no one will complain about the lack of legroom or headroom. The correct shape of the hull and the large glass surface enhance the impression of spaciousness and facilitate maneuvering. Another advantage of Sandero is the capacity of the luggage compartment. 320 liters expandable to 1196 liters surpasses all competitors.

The extra inches of ground clearance made getting in and out of the Sandero easier. The seats are comfortable but offer little to no body support in fast corners. The lack of horizontal adjustment of the steering column makes it difficult to find the optimal position - most people will have to drive with excessively bent legs or overstretched arms. It is a pity that Dacia also saved on noise-canceling materials. Inside the car, you can clearly hear the operation of the engine, the sound of rolling tires and the rumble of air flowing around the body.

The interior of the first Sandero did not bribe. The complete absence of stylistic panache, combined with numerous simplifications and hard materials, effectively reminded of the budget model. In the new Sandero, the hard plastic remains in place, but the design has been worked on. It is far from the leaders of the segment, but the overall impression is positive. Especially in the most expensive Stepway Lauréate, which comes standard with a leather steering wheel and shifter, cruise control with a speed limiter, on-board computer, air conditioning, power mirrors and windshields, and a remote-controlled audio system on the steering wheel. and a USB connector.

The Sandero shares a floor platform with many Renault models, including the Clio, Duster and Nissan Juke. MacPherson strut and torsion beam chassis have different settings in each car. The Sandero suspension is characterized by high travel and softness. This equipment does not guarantee outstanding driving pleasure, but it suppresses bumps very effectively. The condition of the road has little effect on comfort. The Stepway picks up both potholes in asphalt and bumps in gravel well. Short transverse faults filter the worst. When driving on the highway, for example, we will feel distinct shocks and hear the clang of the suspension.

The increased ground clearance did not adversely affect handling. After quickly entering a turn, the Stepway leans but maintains its intended direction without much difficulty. Rotation is limited. You can complain about the steering - sluggish in the central position. The power steering works quite unexpectedly. At low speeds, there is significant steering resistance. When driving faster, you don't have to exert extra effort to turn the steering wheel.

We photographed the Stepway in a sand mine. - Can we come in for 15 minutes? - ask an employee of the company. - Okay, is this car all-wheel drive? we heard back. Taking advantage of the pass and carefully avoiding answering the question, we quickly descended to the bottom of the shaft.

Of course, the younger brother Duster does not have all-wheel drive - they don’t even offer it for an extra charge. However, this does not mean that the Stepway is not suitable for light terrain. The Dacia handled ruts, gravel piles on the road, and loose sand with little effort.

In more difficult conditions, the indisputable advantage of the Stepway is its low weight. "Off-road" Sandero with a 1.5 dCi engine weighs only 1083 kilograms. Popular SUVs and crossovers are several hundred kilograms heavier. Their tires are not much wider than the Stepway wheels (205/55 R16), which increases the risk of getting stuck in the sand.

The engine, gearbox and rear beam are covered with plastic overlays. There is no accidental contact of the chassis with the ground. The ground clearance of the Stepway is 207 mm. For comparison, let's add that the Honda CR-V chassis hangs 165 mm above the road, while the Toyota RAV4 has a ground clearance of 187 mm. However, Stepway must recognize the superiority of the Duster, which he loses by ... three millimeters.

Dacia, like other brands, decided to dig a little into the wallets of buyers by creating off-road versions of popular cars. Stepway is only available with turbocharged engines - petrol 0.9 TCe (90 hp, 135 Nm) and diesel 1.5 dCi (90 hp, 220 Nm).

The latter seems to be the optimal choice. The three-cylinder "gasoline" does not shine with a high work culture, and in the urban cycle it can annoy with impotence at the lowest revs. Diesel isn't perfect either. At idle, as well as after the start of movement, it transmits tangible vibrations to the car body. The motor sounds good too.

Large torque reserves and the resulting flexibility, as well as careful handling of fuel, make it easier to put up with diesel ailments. In dynamic off-road driving, the Stepway does not want to burn more than 6 l / 100 km. In the city it is difficult to exceed the threshold of 7 l / 100 km. Those who are not used to pressing the gas to the floor will read 4,5 and 6 l / 100 km, respectively, on the on-board computer. With economy in mind, Dacia introduced the Eco function. Activating it reduces engine torque by 10% and reduces fuel consumption.

For the basic Stepway Ambiance 0.9 TCe you need to prepare PLN 41. Stepway Lauréate with 600 hp turbodiesel. and optional navigation costs 90 53 euros. zloty A lot of? Whoever says this, don’t even look at the Fabia Scout catalog, which starts with 53 90. PLN, and the version with a 1.6-horsepower 66 TDI cost 500 PLN. For the cheapest Cross Polo, you must prepare… zlotys.

Dacia Stepway looks attractive and feels good on any road. It does not have many competitors, and it is much cheaper than the existing ones. Differences in prices, amounting to thousands of zlotys, make it easier to turn a blind eye to shortcomings. It's nice that there are much fewer of them than in the first generation Stepway.