nothing is missing
Gone are the days of the impoverished Dacias, in beauty of no small interest. The Romanian manufacturer does not think that “cheap car” corresponds to “ugly car that you will be ashamed to drive” (remember the first Logan with its black plastic bumpers!). Those days are over, and with the Stepway, customers still have a chance to follow the trend for SUVs.
And besides, he’s not ugly
This is the impression that the Sandero Stepway Blue Iron leaves when you receive the keys. That’s what you get for €16,000: a raised city car that’s completely up-to-date, signature front and rear LED lights, and an overall gorgeous style. Come on, to quibble, we’d love to get behind the wheel of a restyled Sandero with a new very successful front end. In fact, little has changed, and our test model offered at least up to 16-inch alloy wheels.
Inside, the seats could obviously be more padded, but they have the merit of being comfortable enough to consider long journeys. The materials, on the whole, are not offensive to the eye, and the gray fabric on the dashboard and the seats make the whole thing very pleasant, as well as the brass touches (air vents, topstitching, etc. ) which avoids saving the cockpit. . The many visible plastics are almost foamy and don’t lend themselves to criticism.
The rear seats aren’t huge, not surprising for a 4.08m long car; however, adults of average height will not feel comfortable there, as long as they avoid the middle seat.
Look no further than the latest generation digital instrument cluster. In front of the driver is a speedometer and rev counter as well as a TFT display in between, which shows driving data. That’s right! On the dashboard, the infotainment screen, 8 inches in this Comfort finish (equivalent to today’s Expression), has navigation, front and rear parking assistance or even the reversing camera (somewhat by definition only).
Finally, in terms of loading, this bi-fuel petrol and LPG version loses nothing in its trunk capacity compared to petrol-only models and has a proper volume of 328 liters with an adjustable floor in two levels.
Bi-fuel, what is it?
This is the fear of some customers, not to find LPG. In France, there are about 1,500 stations that offer LPG (ie almost 1/7), which can lead to fears of not finding anything and, more so, when you go abroad. If it is very easy to find in Italy, it is more complicated in Germany, for example.
But this fear is unfounded because the Sandero Eco G actually has two tanks, one for LPG and one for conventional fuel. By default, the Dacia runs on LPG, which is more economical, and automatically switches to the fuel tank when the LPG tank is empty. If necessary, the driver can select via a button.
LPG consumption is higher than petrol. For our test, we noticed an excess consumption of around 25% (5.4 l/100 km on petrol and 6.9 l/100 km on LPG). But considering this at an LPG price of €0.70 per liter when SP95 is €1.75, this gives us a cost per 100 km of €4.80 for LPG and €9.40 for SP95, from one to double . As for those allergic to fuel breaks, know that with two tanks, it is possible to cover almost 1,000 km without stopping.
The Sandero Stepway on the road
With 100 hp and torque of 160 Nm (petrol) or 170 Nm (LPG), Dacia is not a thunderbolt, with 0 to 100 km / h in 11.9 seconds. However, on the road, the feeling is significantly different and the 1.0-liter 3-cylinder is brave when it needs to be, and then a little noisy (especially in LPG mode). Just need to regularly play with the gear lever, well guided, as the engine-box assembly is very hollow at low revs.
With a curb weight of 1,154 kg, the Romanian city car is quite nimble, although the front axle shows its limits if you rush it a bit. But the Dacia is not intended for sporty driving, just to take us from one place to another, and it does well, although we noticed a little busy damping at low speeds. Nothing prohibits and, in general, the comfort is very good, especially if we compare it with the prices charged. On the other hand, it will take getting used to the slightly intrusive wind noise on the highway.
