Long term review

Dacia Sandero Stepway Laureate 1.5 DCi

I have had 'Dave' for over twelve months now and covered 22,000 miles so thought it was time to give an honest long term owners review of the car, I intend to do this in a similar way to the motoring press and break it down into categories.

Introduction

Before I start, let's clarify a point very early on, the Dacia Sandero Stepway is a BUDGET car, it is not a high end luxury car, and because many of the press reviews are written are by journalists who are used to driving high end marques, I felt that many were unjustly critical of some aspects of the car.

Styling

With the 40mm raised suspension over the standard Sandero, the larger 16 inch wheels, roof rails and plastic sills / wheel arch extensions the car has a great cross-over look, I personally chose a white one as I found the contrast of black and white really emphasised the style.

I have further enhanced this by fitting the Automotiva door rubbing strips, great for protecting against inconsiderate drivers in car parks, and the RGA rear bumper protector, which prevents those annoying scuffs and scratches that happen occasionally, although neither are essential, they are both practical and look good.

Driving

With it's raised ride height the Stepway gives you a great view in traffic, the Laureate has the added advantage of a height adjustable seat, albeit basic and limited to three settings.

Controls are mainly perfectly located with wipers and lights on stalks, cruise control on the wheel and media centre controls on the steering column also. Now for my first few gripes, firstly the horn button is on the end of the indicator stalk, why it can't be on the centre of the steering wheel as with most cars nowadays, it is a frustration when you're natural instinct is to hit the centre of the wheel when someone needs a warning. Secondly the location of the electric window switches, the front ones are on the centre of the lower dash and the rears are at the back of the centre console, meaning the driver has to reach back and down if you want to drop the back windows. This would be made even harder if you had the factory fitted centre armrest (which I don't). It would be better to have the switches on the door armrests. Thirdly the heater controls are very basic and I find the temperature is either hot or cold and very hard to get a comfortable in between.

Now to the driving itself, the raised suspension helps absorb most road bumps but increases the amount of body roll in cornering, that said the car remains very grippy and once you are used to it you can throw the Stepway around surprisingly well, again remember it's not a Rangie Sport or an X5.

While I mention those, remember that the Stepway is only 2WD, so despite the increased ground clearance, this is NOT an off roader, having said that Dave has been over a number of fields, tracks and green lanes when they were dry and has driven well on them.

Back to road driving, the Stepway is as happy around town as it is on country lanes, dual carriageways and motorways, the ride is comfortable and untroubled. It does suffer in crosswinds but no more than any other vehicle of a similar height. However I find road noise to be a bit of a nuisance on motorways, particularly if trying to use the handsfree, a combination of a lack of soundproofing and the poor microphone location and quality. I intend to invest in some upgraded aftermarket soundproofing at some stage, which I understand makes the world of difference.

Comfort and practicality

The cabin is light and spacious with plenty of room in the front and enough in the back for 3 adults, the boot is a good size with 320 litre capacity, for you and I that's a couple of large suitcases, hand luggage bags and laptop cases. Drop the back seats and it becomes cavernous in the back.

The seats are comfortable, even on those long runs, I know as I drove from Oxford to Knockhill circuit in Scotland and back in one day.

Time for another little moan. The rear tailgate can only be opened by the cabin handle or by using the key, there is no push button or handle on the tailgate to open it, made even more frustrating as European models do have this, it may seem a small thing but it would be nice if once you unlocked the car you could just open the boot. I've known a number of people lock their keys in the boot when they have accidently dropped them.

All the toys

So right at the beginning I said remember it's a budget brand, it may well be but the spec on it is brilliant, reversing sensors, cruise control (which I use regularly), speed limiter, all round electric windows, HEATED electric mirrors (a must for me in the winter), air conditioning and media unit.

The media unit is very good, a brilliant sat nav, though I do argue with 'Doris' sometimes. I don't normally use them as I prefer to pre plan a route myself first, but have found it very good when coming off a motorway due to hold ups and hitting the 'exclude motorways' button.

The music player gives you a choice of a number of inputs, bluetooth, 3.5mm jack or USB. The later acts well if you connect a flash drive however I found it brilliant for connecting my iPod via the USB and allows full music controls.

My only gripe as mentioned earlier is the volumes on the bluetooth handsfree.

Running Costs

Road tax for the 1.5DCi costs £20 per annum.

I'm paying £220 per year fully comprehensive insurance, 47 y/o with full NCB.

Servicing costs are just under £200 every 12,000 miles.

Extended warranty 5 years / 100,000 miles cost £850, well worth it if you do the mileage that I do.

I'm averaging 56 MPG with a mixture of dual carriageway, town, and countryside driving.

On a decent run I've managed mid 60s and found if I cruise at 58 (I know not practical on most roads) I have hit 70 MPG!

Problems

So far I have been mainly singing the cars praises, and many will think another fanboy. So to keep things balanced I will include details of a couple of problems I have had with the car in this report.

The first was noticed at the first service, slightly uneven wear pattern on the front tyres. The tracking was found to be slightly out. It was adjusted and front and rear tyres switched around and all seems fine now.

The second issue involved a paint problem. Now before I go any further with this I must emphasise that this was completely unrelated to any of the issues that have been reported on the Indian built Dusters. The problem I had was a very small area approximately 4mm by 2mm on the rear edge of the drivers door that had very thin paint. I contacted Dacia Customer Services who arranged with my local dealers to take the car in, examined and the repair was carried out under warranty by their body shop. Brilliant service by Jaybee Motors at Banbury.

Conclusion

The Dacia Sandero Stepway is a brilliant, not so little, small crossover. Very practical and great fun to drive. Would I recommend it? Yes without a doubt.