Photo: Dacia UK
In a mere 18 months since the Romanian low-cost manufacturer has landed on British soil, the Renault-owned company managed to move no less than 25,000 cheap and cheerful vehicles. Marketed in the United Kingdom as "shockingly affordable," the least expensive Sandero costs just £5,995 in these parts.
However, the lucky 25,000th Dacia customer in Great Britain didn't go for the cheapest new car available in the country. Instead, Mrs. Alison Beirne splashed £9,995 on the more upmarket Dacia Sandero Stepway. Her new daily driver is kitted with the Laureate trim level and propelled by the TCe 90 three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.
As the name suggests, the inline-three offers 90 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 135 Nm of torque at 2,500 rpm. Customers of the funky Renault Clio can also opt for this powerplant. Mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, the TCe90 provides the Sandero Stepway with a naught to 62 mph (100 km/h) stint of 11.1 seconds. Best of all, it will return 52.3 mpg (5.4 liters per 100 km) on the combined cycle while producing just 124 grammes of CO2 per kilometer, making it pretty cheap to tax.
Mrs. Beirne took delivery of her white Dacia Sander Stepway Laureate TCe90 at Bristol Street Motors in Derby, where she was handed the keys by sales manager Andrew Peacock. To her surprise, Mr. Peacock also offered Alison a beautiful bouquet of flowers as well as a one year local gym membership. Don't know if the latter was that inspired of a gift if you consider the woman's physique and age, but hey, why not?
“I had a 12 year-old car which was reaching the end of its life and a friend of mine casually said why didn’t I just pop into Bristol Street to check out the Dacia range." explains Mr. Beirne on her decision to buy the Dacia Sandero Stepway. "As soon as I saw the Sandero Stepway in the showroom, I knew it’d be just perfect for me. It looks good, the higher seating position is great and its got some good features, including the touchscreen sat nav. I know Dacias have great reliability, so it won’t let me down either. The hassle-free buying process was the icing on the cake.”
As the name suggests, the inline-three offers 90 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 135 Nm of torque at 2,500 rpm. Customers of the funky Renault Clio can also opt for this powerplant. Mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, the TCe90 provides the Sandero Stepway with a naught to 62 mph (100 km/h) stint of 11.1 seconds. Best of all, it will return 52.3 mpg (5.4 liters per 100 km) on the combined cycle while producing just 124 grammes of CO2 per kilometer, making it pretty cheap to tax.
Mrs. Beirne took delivery of her white Dacia Sander Stepway Laureate TCe90 at Bristol Street Motors in Derby, where she was handed the keys by sales manager Andrew Peacock. To her surprise, Mr. Peacock also offered Alison a beautiful bouquet of flowers as well as a one year local gym membership. Don't know if the latter was that inspired of a gift if you consider the woman's physique and age, but hey, why not?
“I had a 12 year-old car which was reaching the end of its life and a friend of mine casually said why didn’t I just pop into Bristol Street to check out the Dacia range." explains Mr. Beirne on her decision to buy the Dacia Sandero Stepway. "As soon as I saw the Sandero Stepway in the showroom, I knew it’d be just perfect for me. It looks good, the higher seating position is great and its got some good features, including the touchscreen sat nav. I know Dacias have great reliability, so it won’t let me down either. The hassle-free buying process was the icing on the cake.”
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