Overview

As Primark so ably demonstrates, going for the cheap option doesn’t mean you have to forgo fashion. It’s the same in the car world, with the Dacia Sandero Stepway offering a sprinkling of SUV-inspired styling to the regular and rather impressive Sandero hatchback.

Those tweaks include a raised ride height to give a bit more ground clearance, specific bumpers front and rear with skidplate-effect elements and tougher looking black plastic accents, extended black plastic wheelarches, larger wheels and roof bars.

To go with the (relatively) upmarket image, you can’t have the weakest of Dacia’s engines. Although that does push the price up slightly, we’d recommend one of the punchier engines anyway. Manual and automatic versions are available, but like rivals such as the Ford Fiesta Active and Kia Picanto X-Line you can’t have four-wheel drive. You’ll need to jump up to the Dacia Duster or consider a Suzuki Ignis if you want that.

Like the normal Sandero, the Stepway is much larger than similarly priced rivals. Indeed, although it’s city car money it’s actually bigger than the pricier Fiesta, SEAT Ibiza and Renault Clio. That makes it a very practical proposition thanks to decent rear seat space and a generous boot.

The price for that space is a safety rating that is considerably behind more expensive rivals. That’s partially down to it using a simpler automatic emergency braking system (although at least all models have it fitted as standard) than pricier rivals, and it doesn’t protect you quite as well in the event of a crash either. Even so, it’s still a safer option than many similarly sized and priced second-hand cars and it’s even among the cheapest cars in the UK.

Click through our review to find out exactly how the Dacia Sandero Stepway scores in terms of practicality, efficiency and ease of use. Then in the verdict we’ll tell you whether you should choose one over its rivals.