SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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More Plus: 2019 Renault Sandero Stepway Plus

 - also known as Dacia Stepway in some markets

Bragging rights

Posted: July 11, 2019

The numbers
Base price: R213 900
Engine: 898 cc, DOHC, 12-valve, inline three-cylinder with turbocharger
Power: 66 kW at 5250 rpm
Torque: 135 Nm at 2500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.1 seconds
Maximum speed: 168 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.6 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage: 292 – 1200 litres
Turning circle: 10.5 metres
Ground clearance: 207 mm
Standard tyre size: 205/55R16
Spare: 185/65R15 steel
Maximum towing mass (unbraked and braked): 527 and 790 kg
Warranty: 5 years / 150 000 km
Service plan: 2 years / 30 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

Let’s cut to the chase: There’s no compelling reason to trade your 2018 Stepway Plus for a 2019 model unless you absolutely have to mirror cellphone apps onto your car’s touchscreen. This year’s additions consist of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, red stripes on the glossy black exterior mirrors, new seat cloth and a faux carbon-fibre effect on the central pillars. There was no corresponding price increase.

With that out of the way, let’s spell out what turns Stepway Plus into more car than a standard Stepway because engine, gearbox, brakes, wheels and extra ground clearance are the same. There’s the MediaNav multimedia centre with navigation, side airbags to complement the two in the standard car, front and rear fog lights, cruise control with speed limiter, leather covering for steering wheel and gear knob and an onboard computer.
 
The R20 000 upgrade also includes powered rear windows, electrically operated door mirrors, rear parking camera and seat height adjustment for the driver. If you’re taller than average, we suggest you buy a Plus for this feature alone. The adjuster isn’t terribly sophisticated, offering only all-the-way-up or all-the-way-down, but the three centimetres it provides make a world of difference when entering and exiting.

Worth thinking about, is that Plus is the only model in the range that lets you add leather upholstery. Our test car had this R10 088 option. They were well shaped and comfortable so we didn’t mind a bit. Also worth considering is that the added airbags increase this car’s NCAP safety rating from three stars to four.

Other safety kit, standard on all Sandero models, encompasses ABS brakes with EBA and EBD, electronic stability program with anti-skid regulation and hill starting assistance.

Sundry thoughts: What you might not know is that its 898 cc, three-pot mill comes via Mercedes-Benz which has had a technical bond with the Alliance since 2010. Take smart forfour for example: It shares 70 percent of its parts with Renault Twingo and they’re built in the same factory at Novo Mesto in Slovenia. Bragging rights to Mercedes-Benz DNA come free.

We admit to having been caught napping with the Flex Wheels that come standard on both Stepway models. They’re not alloys but cunningly designed plastic covers on metal wheels. Fooled us. And many others, probably.

Spare parts, despite what haters tell you, are easy enough to get  with 95 percent first-pick availability and are priced competitively. Stepway models have claimed Kinsey Reports’ podium positions for service- and crash parts every year since 2015 and general parts, mostly bought as the car gets older, have performed almost as well. The only time they were slightly AWOL was in 2015.

The car performs willingly with power that seems to go on forever making long, 100-km/h, hills in top gear look easy. Its gearbox works smoothly, it handles as well as can be expected of a little city SUV and its 10.5-metre turning circle makes it easy to park. How about awkward gutters and steep driveways? Stepway’s minimum ground clearance, fully laden, is 173 mm.

Need further persuasion? Speak with a current owner; many are on their second Stepways. You can’t get better recommendation than that.

Test unit from Renault SA press fleet

For more details, see our 2018 review

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.