The Dacia Logan MCV Stepway is a budget car that offers little in the way of neck snapping good looks but the cheap machine does manage to throw up a few surprises. The slightly raised (+46mm) crossover inspired Stepway nods to off road ability but is best left on tarmac.
Surprise One: The Logan MCV Stepway costs from €16,190 – that’s supermini money, yet the amount of cabin space is similar to family cars costing at least €5 grand more!
Surprise Two: It has a huge boot that holds 573 litres (no spare) that can expand to hold 1,518 litres when the rear seats are folded.
Surprise Three: Under the bonnet you get a Renault stop start diesel ‘dCi’ with 90hp/220nm. The four-cylinder unit does a good enough job of hauling the machine about while producing 100g CO/2 and delivering close to 3.9l/100km when you press the ‘eco’ button and drive like a saint.
Styling is not a strong point with the front wheel drive Dacia but the former state-run Romanian brand does show endeavor. The latest family grille is smart and the revised Dacia light clusters look good too but you can’t hide the functional body shape. Yes the Dacia design team has blackened the B and C pillars but instead of paint a black plastic wrap has been used.
The rear of the car is remarkable in only one sense; you need to insert a key to open the boot… very 70s. While most buyers will perhaps park around the corner when visiting friends at least the Logan MCV Stepway is designed as an estate so the rear doors don’t interrupt the flow of the body shape. My test car features a nice Azure blue metallic paint finish (€520 option) and the ‘Stepway’ faux off road add-ons almost look good in this crazy crossover world we live in today.
Inside I have Dacia’s latest 7-inch ‘Evolution’ touch screen (as seen in the new Duster) and I can connect my mobile via Bluetooth and I can access Siri also – despite not having Apple CarPlay. Navigation features too and I even have a nice multifunction steering wheel that I can control my cruise/limiter settings from. As always there are poorly placed secondary controls but things like the window switches are better placed than in the revised Duster.
On the road my five-speed manual Dacia Logan MCV Stepway lacks dynamism but that said it moves, turns and stops. 0-100km/h takes 11.8 seconds and top speed is 172km/h (107mph). My Signature grade (from €17,690) test car featured a good few toys like reversing sensors, front fogs, four electric windows, electric mirrors and air conditioning – not very budget items I must admit. The revised seats are comfortable and there is a seat height adjuster too. The steering only adjusts for tilt but I was still able to get a reasonably good driving position.
