A recipe for success

Along with the Duster, the Stepway has proved to be nothing but a sales success for Renault South Africa, as buyers simply become won over by its simple, yet rugged and tasteful looks, level of standard equipment and more importantly, an attractive price tag.

In fact, such has been the Stepway’s impact that it makes up the majority of the local Sandero line-up, with the most recent rounds of updates in May seeing the top-spec Dynamique making way for the simply titled Plus perched above the lower-spec Expression and the regular Sandero.

Following the pack?

Whether it was bound to happen at some stage or by sheer coincide, I was more than willing to be appointed the custodian for the Stepway when a distinctive Cosmos Blue Plus recently arrived for the seven-day stay, not only because I have owned the first generation Stepway for almost three years now, but also as I was about to undertake the now customary 285km haul to Bethlehem in the Free State for a planned event.

The crossover is in the detail

Notwithstanding the first round of revisions it received last year, the Stepway has aged rather well for a vehicle first launched four years ago, in part thanks to a rather basic design combined with fancy touches such as the now trademark C-shaped daytime running LEDs integrated into the headlights, subtle chrome highlights on the grille and the rather menacing black taillight clusters.

Add-in the wannabe crossover paraphernalia such as the chunky black cladding around the wheel arches, satin silver front and rear skid plates, the SUV rivalling 193mm ground clearance, black roof rails and the smart new two-tone flex 16-inch faux alloy wheels, and you are left with an upper A-segment hatch that oozes character and comes across as macho while remaining stylish at the sometime.

Premium interior on a budget

Step inside, and you are greeted by an interior that looks pleasantly upmarket for a supposed budget supermini, but which gives up its facade when you start poking around. Despite the silver inserts on the neat looking, leather-wrapped steering wheels and piano key black grip handles, the plastic used is hard and somewhat cheap feeling, though again this is likely to be expected given the Stepway’s market placing.

A further irritation is the placing of the electric window switches and bizarrely, those for the cruise control at the base of the centre console, which rates as an ergonomic no-no despite the cabin itself being very spacious front and rear, helped further by a large boot and a 60/40 split rear bench.

It is loaded!

Fitted with the optional (R10 000) leather seats, the Stepway is otherwise not found lacking for equipment, with standard items being the very easy-to-use seven-inch touchscreen MediaNav infotainment system with Bluetooth, USB and satellite navigation, and which now serves as the display for the new reverse camera, auto lock/unlock doors, electric mirrors, rear parking sensors, ABS with EBD, Hill Start Assist, ESP and four airbags.

Drivetrain unable to crest the hill

The black mark against the Stepway though resides underneath the bonnet, where the 898cc turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine is not only saddled with noticeable low-down lag but also with a rougher than expected triple thrum at the national limit, compounded by high levels of wind and road noise. Producing 66kW/135Nm, the blown three-pot is teamed to a so-so feeling five-speed manual gearbox, whose biggest annoyance is the high clutch bite point that called for sufficient revs in order to prevent stalling.

Open road surprise

Not expected though was how the Stepway performed on the open. Granted, while the levels of refinement leave much to be desired, the added ground clearance and soft suspension made for a comfortable ride that came in handy as the roads it was asked to traverse ranged from good to pothole laden with some sections being off-road due to roadworks.

All the while, no rattles were detected inside after seven days and nearly 900km, with the biggest eye-raiser being the fuel consumption, which came to a best of 5.0-litres/100km, 0.4-litre/100km up on Renault’s claim in spite of the varying road surfaces, spells with the cruise control and air-conditioning on and mix of highway as well as town and city driving,

Verdict

It has come a long way from its overly simple and sparsely equipped predecessor, yet the lack of the drivetrain’s polish is arguably the last aspect that will tempt buyers away from the Renault Sandero Stepway. With a sticker price of R213 900, the Plus rates as a package that is extremely hard to beat and one which justifies the Sandero’s 500-plus unit sales every month unequivocally.