After a two-year hiatus, the Dacia Sandero Stepway, the manufacturer's small and inexpensive crossover, returns to local showrooms. The price is NIS 120,000, slightly higher than our forecasts, and only NIS 7,000-8,000 cheaper than similar models from other manufacturers.
The Stepway is essentially a raised version of the Sandero, with "tough" design characteristics, the manufacturer's supermini car. This is the updated version of the model, which has been performing well in Europe and has high sales figures. In fact, despite all the electric vehicles, technology, and manufacturers' investment in quality and equipment, it is the best-selling car in the European market in 2024 and 2022. And it has two pieces of good news for the Israeli market, from which it has been absent since it ceased sales in 2021. Here are the full details.
Externally, its design aligns with the current squared, rugged look of Dacia models, featuring the front and lighting units seen in the Jogger and upcoming Duster. In terms of dimensions, its length is 4.1 meters (an additional centimeter), width is 1.85 meters (a significant addition of 9 centimeters), height is 1.54 meters (1.5 centimeters less than the outgoing generation). The ground clearance, which makes it a "Stepway" as opposed to the regular Sandero, is 20 centimeters. The wheelbase is 2.60 meters long, an additional single centimeter. The trunk volume has increased to 328 liters, a modest addition of 8 liters.
Inside, Dacia has paid attention to ergonomics, claiming improvements in the ease of operation of the systems and the quality of materials in the passenger environment. They also promise improvements in material quality, which we can check during our first driving experience with it soon.
In terms of equipment, it comes with an 8-inch multimedia screen, Android and Apple connectivity, smart key, climate control with physical operation buttons, and more.
Based on Renault-Nissan's small car platform, it now offers advanced safety systems that were not part of its previous specifications. Here, you can find lane departure correction, automatic braking, and speed sign recognition. However, these did not help it much in the European crash test, where the model received only two stars out of five. It is worth noting that it was tested there without the lane departure system, but even in terms of passenger and child protection ratings, it did not receive stellar scores (70 and 72 percent respectively).
Regarding the drivetrain, it features a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine from Renault-Nissan, with a turbocharger, delivering 91 horsepower and 14.5 kgm, mated to a continuously variable transmission, a significant improvement over the previous generation's single-clutch robotic transmission. Performance? 0-100 km/h in 14.2 seconds, a top speed of 163 km/h, and the official combined fuel consumption is 15.8 km per liter.
The Sandero Stepway will be marketed in Israel in a single trim level - Expression, with a price of NIS 120,000. This is compared to competitors with similar technical specifications, such as the Kia Stonic, which starts at 127,000 NIS, the Seat Arona at NIS 128,000, or the Hyundai Venue at NIS 130,000.
The Sandero Stepway relies on its price card. However, in its case, we may see it attracting customers not only from its natural category but also from the supermini segment, which has become more expensive, and those who want to sit higher like everyone around them in traffic.