http://www.whatcar.c...-review/264736/

And

http://uk.cars.yahoo...-110500015.html

and..

http://www.honestjoh...o-stepway-2013/

and

http://www.carenthus...1.5 dCi 90.html

et

http://www.parkers.c...2013/equipment/

and for an amusing translated review:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.km77.com/00/dacia/sandero/stepway/2013/dacia-sandero-stepway-precio.asp&prev=/search%3Fq%3Ddacia%2Bsandero%2Bstepway%2B2013%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D703&sa=X&ei=OBcfUf6DCobtiQKbgIEI&ved=0CEIQ7gEwAjgK

 

Has anyone driven the sandero stepway ambiance diesel as I have read its a bit noisey and you can feel the vibration a bit also when driving on a carriageway you can hear wind noise through the roof bars

 

It all depends what it is being compared too. I think some of the reviewers are forgetting where on the grand scale of things, and who, the dacia range is aimed at. It is not a top of the range Audi or Porsche, it is a sensibly priced new car that should give miles and miles of trouble free motoring to the mass market. I have a 2001 A6 and I notice my wife's 54 plate 206sw is noisier but that doesn't make the 206 a bad car to own or buy, it has done the job of ferrying my wife and wee girl about safely for about 4 years. Both cars have roof rails and I can't say I've ever had a prob with them, I'm not worried about the Stepway. Sure it might be a bit less refined but I'm sure 70mpg will help to accept a wee bit more noise.. I've never owned a new car before, and technically I'm still not owning a new car as the Stepway is for Louise, but I'm really excited about the prospect of getting a car that is factory fresh with the spec of the Stepway, we plumped for the laureate dci, MediaNav is fantastic, reversing sensors, cruise control, aircon, Lou is tickled pink. And it will arrive June/ July all going well. Nice time for picnics and family outings.

happy days to come.

 

I agree with NC. Some of these professional reviewers are testing different cars on a weekly basis most probably. One day they may be behind the wheel of a bmw or merc and the next day a Stepway. They are bound to make comparisons and they are unlikely to favour the Stepway but as Dacia admit themselves they are expecting a lot of their customers to have never owned a new car before and as such will be more than pleased with what they get (hopefully).

 

Dacia Sandero Stepway - No Banger For Your Bucks

17 May 2013

http://www.room101-102.com/room-102/dacia-sandero-stepway-no-banger-for-your-bucks/

 

A tiny bit mean but ok.

 

 

http://www.carkeys.co.uk/road-test-review/dacia-sandero-stepway-09-tce-90-ambiance

 

Updated Honest John review dated July

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/dacia/sandero-stepway-2013/?

 

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/2013-dacia-sandero-stepway-review/266197

 

stepway video

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-reviews/65914/dacia-sandero-stepway-vs-fiat-panda-trekking

 

A true test for the stepway

 

Oops wrong vid

 

I saw that vid the other day. They driver must have had a fair pair. I was impressed it went through it so easily steppy didn't even flinch.

 

I think if the water level was a foot higher it may have had difficulty as water would then start spilling up the bonnet and into seqls and vents

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-reviews/65914/dacia-sandero-stepway-vs-fiat-panda-trekking

this comparison is stupid. good review yeah. but comparing a diesel to a petrol is stupid. and 1.5 to a 0.9, obviously it is going to win. they should of compared both diesil options or compared the car with the stepway 0.9 petrol engine.

what a load of tosh.

 

For all the people thinking of buying a stepway and worrying about wind noise or body roll or refinement let me put your mind at ease for the last five years i owned a vauxhall vectra design that had quite a high spec of equipment, but new car time and decided to test drive the stepway on a whim and was very pleasently surprised i do a lot of rural driving with lots of tight twisty bends and the stepway handles aswell as vectra did can corner at 60mph with no more body roll than you would expect from any other car in that class,roof rail wind noise is not noticable at 60 dont know about higher speed i have also driven the nissan qashqai and found they drive very similar and the diesel engines were as noisey as each other this is because renault nissan share technology and renault have used the 1.5 engine for years so it will be bullet proof but stepway is half the price tag of either nissan or renault cartur for a reason though there are many other bells and whistles on higher priced cars ie reversing cameras and such like its all about what you want to pay for so my advise to anyone reading reviews of the stepway is dont bother and go drive the car for a pleasent surprise. I opted for the petrol model as i always do, got delivery of mine this week and although i have only driven 200 miles so far im very impessed.. hope this helps

 

I'd second all that. Got same model with same milage. Had the same worries. Glad to say all good so far.

 

I would say most car reviewers are a little snobbish when it comes to the Dacia, before I look at buying anything i always do my home work and I read lots and lots of reviews and they all say pretty much the same thing engine noise, body roll etc, I booked a test drive and all I can say is wow The TCe 90 engine is great i did not notice anything different from any other car i have driven over the years. So i am now waiting form my new stepway to replace my Smart fortwo MHD which for a car has some major issues that Mercedes and smart don't want to acknowledge but are very expensive to sort when out of warranty due to a design flaw with the starternator.

 

Had my Stepway for 3 weeks and have driven it in all conditions and on all types of road and agree whole heartedly with the two previous posters.
I have had to make journeys in all the recent high winds and it handled magically at all times!

 

Had our Stepway since May, bought it second hand here in France, almost two years old 22,000 km but not really run in. We've added 24,000 km since then. 5 Ltr per 100 km driving locally and 6 ltr per 100 km on 2k round trip to UK well loaded with seats down and cruising at 130 kilometres in France. Brilliant motor, economical on diesel which is cheaper than UK. Going to Spain, 3000 km round trip, can't wait.

 

Im on my fourth week (i think) as a stepway owner. Love it for what it is. One should never ever compare to another car.. what you should compare is price, equipment and economics. The Dacia will beat them all.

Skoda and kia started out the same, look at them now. Higher pricetag and more accepted by the car industry/consumers as good cars.

Remember that a review is one persons opinion, book a testdrive yourself and see what the fuzz is all about.

 

Dacia Sandero Stepway Laureate Diesel Right Hand Drive

I am probably not the average demographic for purchaser as I have driven a very wide variety of cars etc. OK so had it a while, so here are my thoughts:

1 Spec I could do without:

• Cruise Control, liked it in the USA on an automatic car and long open roads, on a manual here it's a waste of space even on long runs.
• MediaNav, for me the sat nav is so massively useless compared to the market leaders in add on kit it's a waste of time, I have mine now switched off and use a Tom Tom for long journeys. So many issues, its not in the correct line of sight, the representation of the 3D view ahead is rubbish, speed camera database is too out of date, I need to be able to use the hands free phone while still having the sat nav display in front of me, etc.
• Silly stickers on the doors
• The rear head rests are supposedly different to Ambiance? They look the same to me... have I been ripped off?

2 Spec I want added

• Electronic folding door mirrors
• Proper full sized spare wheel
• Alloy wheels
• Voice activated hands free calling
• Locking wheel nuts
• Black underseal in the wheel arches and under the car not body colour

3 Things that stopped me buying an ambiance

• Air con
• Rear loud speakers
• Height adjustable drivers seat
• Electronic rear windows (would hate to have children in the back operating windy up windows, at least with elec windows you can disable their switches)

(it seems to me if they added these things to an Ambiance it would be a winning spec)

4 Things that really need fixing

• Pedal layout, sizing, spacing, feel, heaviness, and so on is terrible. No space for left foot. Left foot does not fit between clutch and panel to the left of it. Clutch pedal travel is far too long, and pedal is far too heavy on a long journey (yes I have revised my views here). Left foot aches in stop start traffic, it really shouldn't be like this in this day and age. Accelerator and brake are far too far off the floor, and again travel is far too much. The pedals need redesigning around ergonomic foot usage. Probably they need to replace the cable operated clutch with a hydraulic clutch to do it properly. Really is this what Renault pedals are like? If so it's so far behind modern practise its ridiculous. The thing is putting better sized and laid out pedals in would not cost any more than this layout, so it really should be sorted. I note its different on left hand drive versions, not seen one close up to tell if they are good enough but these right hand drive ones are bad. This is ultimately the one thing that will stop me recommending this car.
• Needs decent pioneer or similar loudspeakers these cheap ones are rubbish
• Chrome features in the cab reflect the sun into your eyes when driving, so chrome "Dacia" badge on steering wheel, chrome around air vents and instruments. Really these need replacing with something that doesn't blind the driver in normal use.
• Palming me off with the wrong sized wheel as a spare. If it was a space saver which saved weight I maybe persuaded. But a 15 inch full size wheel when the car has 16 inch road wheels THEY ARE TAKING THE MICKEY. Dealer laughing at me when I complained I HAVE ALREADY DIRECTED SEVERAL POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS ELSEWHERE AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME.
• Other than that I would be happy with the car. I don't find the ride, handling, road noise, etc too bad and lots of the reviews along those lines from professional reviewers I disagree with. I don't find the overall quality too bad.

5 Things I would prefer

• Automatic option
• More leg room in the back
• Option to have the car without the roof rails. Keep the extra ride height but ditch the roof bars.
• More lateral support for front seats (something like a 89 cavalier would do me again decent seats would not cost more to make if the tooling was setup correctly from the beginning).

6 Dealer experience

• I didn't pay enough attention as I was in a hurry and ended up over paying. Ripping me off so much they felt embarrassed to show additional car price or reduced part ex value and simply stuck an extra figure in for "optional gold service". No such gold service noticeable. Well guess what you have probably already lost more business than the extra money you ripped off me.
• Laughing when I complained about the spare wheel. For one I am not a kid. For two massive PR mistake.
• Sticking dealer advertising all over my car, stickers, oversized rear number plate holder, etc. Again will just make me avoid you the next time.
• Not impressed

Hope that helps folks!

 

I am a realist.

I am just laying out the pros and cons as I see them.

Yes the price tag is a major advantage, but my review just tries to lay out realistic view.

Most of the negatives I list could be fixed. A one off tooling cost. Or for instance replace the pedal board with another off the shelf set of pedals (of which there are many for the makers to choose from). There would be no additional cost to production once tooling was sorted. So I think Dacia could really show the competition a big problem if they got their act together and sorted this stuff out.