Dacia Sandero Stepway

[Dallas]

We are now six months into ownership with our Dacia Sandero Stepway, and so far its been very enjoyable. The wife simply loves it, its not too big and certainly not too small. Its a medium size SUV which makes you realise how can a little 900cc 3 pot engine run such a large size vehicle. The performance is truly unbelievable, obviously the turbo makes all the different, it feels like you are actually driving a 2.0ltr powered car.

What we have noticed the most regarding the enjoyment of the Stepway is... the fuel and VED savings made each month. The Dacia is just £30 VED for the whole year, considering what we were paying for our previous MPV at £25 each month for VED, and £120 for fuel, the Dacia only costs us £60.



The only problem we have experienced is... the heater fan has become noisy. Today I had taken the Dacia down to my local Renault franchise for them to look at it under warranty. We shall see what their diagnosis is a bit later I suppose, I cant see them wanting to change the fan though. I'm hoping its something caught in the blowers, such as a leaf.

I was expecting them to hand me the keys to a nice sized courtesy car, but instead they gave me a blooming rear engine Twingo thingy to drive off in... It drives like a Go-Kart, it handles lovely. The sound system is truly amazing, very similar to what we have in the Dacia. The dashboards and controls are all very similar, obviously all been taken from the same parts bin. I think my daughter has stolen it, I dont reckon Renault will be having it back very soon.

[Bogbrush82]

Originally Posted by Dallas

We are now six months into ownership with our Dacia Sandero Stepway, and so far its been very enjoyable. The wife simply loves it, its not too big and certainly not too small. Its a medium size SUV which makes you realise how can a little 900cc 3 pot engine run such a large size vehicle. The performance is truly unbelievable, obviously the turbo makes all the different, it feels like you are actually driving a 2.0ltr powered car.

What we have notice the most regarding the enjoyment of the Stepway is... the fuel and VED savings made each month. The Dacia is just £30 VED for the whole year, considering what we were paying for our previous MPV at £25 each month for VED, and £120 for fuel, the Dacia only costs us £60.

Great News!







Sorry, couldn't help it.

Not going to lie though - It does look like a very nice and practical car.

[mystabe]

I wish more companies would make small turbo petrol engines, if anything would wean people off diesels that would be it. There is nothing more dispiriting than driving something like a n/a 1.3 Corsa etc, all that happens when you press the accelerator is that everything gets louder

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by Bogbrush82

Great News!

Sorry, couldn't help it.

Not going to lie though - It does look like a very nice and practical car.

Lol, It certainly is practical, the ride height and comfortability is fantastic. The Stepway is the Sandero on steroids, its just chunkier looking and jacked-up like an SUV.

If I put a set of ski's on the roof bars, the chunky all terrain look would suit. The Sandero Stepway is far better than the Duster, much more stylish and certainly cheaper to run.

[rustymotor]

I didn't realised Dacia was founded back in 1966, and made this little beauty in the 70's, also the DACIA 1100S, how trendy that was back in the day.

Hi, that was based on the Renault 12 which was a great little run about, the Dacia estate version the Denem which we owned was a nightmare more off the road than on though, they have come quite a way since. There was a Stepway parked next to me this morning, I was looking at it, the owner gave me a black look so didn't ask how is it going, probably cos both front tyres were bald..

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by mystabe

I wish more companies would make small turbo petrol engines, if anything would wean people off diesels that would be it. There is nothing more dispiriting than driving something like a n/a 1.3 Corsa etc, all that happens when you press the accelerator is that everything gets louder

Totally Agree with you there...

The 0.9TCe 3 pot cylinder engine is also chain driven, you dont even have to worry about rubber belts. The engine was designed by Renaults formula one team, you cant get better than that.

People who drive these vehicles just cant believe its just a 900cc petrol engine under the hood, I still cant beleive it. Basically, you get all the pleasures of a large and powerful vehicle, with the cheap low running costs of a small car.

Its a win win situation.

Originally Posted by rustymotor

I didn't realised Dacia was founded back in 1966, and made this little beauty in the 70's, also the DACIA 1100S, how trendy that was back in the day.

Great classics I would luv the Dacia 1100S, so stylish, even now.

[Darcydog]

I can’t believe it’s 6 months Wes!

Good report on the Dacia - am looking at these as our i30 Tourer is nearly 8 years old now - but it has been 100% reliable and quite a nice drive with bags of load space an a nice flat floor area.

I still fancy the Duster

[rustymotor]

Your dream has come true a Gordini on ebay £3500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RENAULT-8.../112739778125?

[Dallas]

Originally Posted by Darcydog

I can’t believe it’s 6 months Wes!

Good report on the Dacia - am looking at these as our i30 Tourer is nearly 8 years old now - but it has been 100% reliable and quite a nice drive with bags of load space an a nice flat floor area.

I still fancy the Duster

Hi Clive, The new 2018 refreshed Duster certainly does look nice, also the Phase 2 Stepway... Dacia seem to be doing extremely well in the UK, going from strength to strength.

Originally Posted by rustymotor

Your dream has come true a Gordini on ebay £3500

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RENAULT-8.../112739778125?

Thanks Gordon but I think I will give that a miss...

[murphyv310]

Originally Posted by mystabe

I wish more companies would make small turbo petrol engines, if anything would wean people off diesels that would be it. There is nothing more dispiriting than driving something like a n/a 1.3 Corsa etc, all that happens when you press the accelerator is that everything gets louder

Hi.
Over the last few years there has been a lot of research on small 3 & 4 Cylinder turbo petrol engines. Power is now above 100Bhp per litre. Ford, Suzuki, Fiat, and Renault have made big strides. VW and PSA are falling back.
The Fiat Twin air (875cc) has a version producing 102Bhp, I recently drove a 500 with the 102 version and although it is rather odd and different that twin cylinder unit can push out huge amounts of torque. It doesn't have a throttle body or flap, it works by hydraulic and electronic control of the inlet valves so has no restriction when needed. The bigger units are Multiair and work on the the same principal. The late 70's FIRE engine with 1.4 & Multiair produce 170Bhp and more torque than our 2.5V6!!!!
Fiats latest unit the Firefly https://motorchase.com/en/2016/09/fi...nes-in-brazil/
is likely to be fitted this year to the 500 & Panda initially then used throughout the range next year. Allegedly GM Europe and Renault are interested. We will see.