Renault Sandero Stepway I - off-road hatchback features

The first generation Renault Sandero Stepway is a hatchback popular among Russian drivers. car debuted in 2008 in South America. In Russia, this model appeared a couple of years later, but immediately became a bestseller.


It turned out that the domestic market needs just such a cross-country hatchback. Of course, even a full-fledged Renault Sandero Stepway crossover cannot be called, but due to the high ground clearance and strong Logan base, the car easily gets to the dacha and even to remote farms in dry weather.

Appearance

Unlike the usual Renault Sandero, the Stepway modification turned out to be much more pleasing to the eye. Visually, the car looks larger due to unpainted bumpers and wheel arch extensions, plus thresholds with roof rails also give the appearance of solidity.



The look is completed by stock alloy wheels and a chrome-plated tailpipe trim. It seems that the changes are in the details, but they turned the standard hatchback into a stylish almost crossover. Fans of fishing trips and hunting will appreciate the increase in ground clearance from 155 to 175 mm. Metal engine protection from below is also useful on the road.

The car looks definitely more expensive than it actually costs. But inside the budget model is immediately visible - finishing materials are far from ideal. But there are no complaints about ergonomics, especially for the driver and front passenger. All controls are at your fingertips. The only negative is the low location of the climate control unit. On the go, setting it up is not very convenient.



The interior is spacious, although three passengers in the back will be cramped, especially if they weigh 80 kg or more. The trunk in the standard position has a volume of 320 liters, and if you fold the back of the rear sofa, you can increase it to 1. The maximum length of cargo that can be transported with the front row seats moved is 200 meters.

In general, for a standard family with two children who has a dacha or a house in the countryside, the Renault Sandero Stepway will do.

Engines

When creating the off-road modification, the manufacturer decided to limit itself to only two petrol engines. These are the well-known to Russian drivers power units from Renault Logan – K7M and K4M. The engines have a working volume of 1.6 liters. The first is a simple eight-valve engine with a power of 84 hp, the second develops 104 hp – it is sixteen-valve.



The motors are basically trouble-free, despite the timing belt drive. Or maybe thanks to him. Gone are the days when the chain was considered a model of reliability - modern foreign cars with it are often more problematic.

The timing belt takes care of both engines for 60 km. It is better to change it immediately with rollers and pomp, although the latter has an average resource of about 000 km. But since spare parts are inexpensive, it is not worth saving on replacement.



Renault Sandero Stepway engines do not have any branded "children's sores" - they easily take care of 500 km or more, subject to periodic maintenance. Complaints except for the ignition coils, which sometimes fail and the thermostat.

It is not worth waiting for some kind of dynamics from low-power engines - they are designed for power-law operation. Yes, you expect some sportiness from the stylish appearance of the Renault Sandero Stepway, but it is not here and never has been. The only advice for those who love to drive is to choose sixteen-valve engines.



Over the years, the exhaust system of the car suffers. First of all, the fasteners rot, then the resonator burns out. It is not worth waiting for mufflers to serve on a budget car for a couple of decades.

Трансмиссия

The gearboxes of the first generation Renault Sandero Stepway are mostly mechanical. Automatic transmission appeared only in 2011 and there are few copies equipped with these units on the secondary market. "Automatic" is definitely not paired with eight-valve engines, regardless of the year of manufacture of the car.



The units differ in different gear ratios and a few more design nuances. The drive shafts are also not the same - they are more reliable with the Sandero Stepway due to the absence of an oil seal on the left, from where gear oil often leaked from a regular Renault Sandero.
Clutch problems do not deliver at least up to 100 thousand kilometers - if you drive carefully, then it will pass 150.



The automatic transmission is DP2. The unit is commendable for reliability. Switches smoothly, there should be no jerks. But you can completely forget about the dynamics with automatic transmission in conjunction with a 1,6-liter engine. When buying, you need to keep this in mind.

Pendants

Handling and the usual Renault Sandero has never been distinguished by sporty clarity. The Stepway modification is even sadder with this - high ground clearance and excessive softness of the suspensions do their job.

On the highway, the car rides in a straight line, as if on rails, without fear of lateral gusts of wind. But sharp maneuvers are definitely not for him. But in rural areas, the suspensions work out perfectly - due to reinforced springs and strut mounts. The most unreliable hodovke parts are ball bearings. They nurse about 50 km, subject to originality.

Then, in ascending order of service life, they go:

• ? Silent blocks
  
• ? Front shock absorbers
  
• ? Rear springs
  
• ? wheel bearings
  

But even at Renault Logan, suspensions have earned laudatory odes because of their "indestructibility". The Renault Sandero Stepway has a similar pattern.



For cars in the simplest configurations without ABS, you can sometimes hear a knock or creak of the brake force regulator.

Body durability

Despite the years and budget nature, Renault Sandero Stepway is corrosion resistant. You won’t be able to find a rotten copy even at the bottom of the market, but there are individual pockets of rust. First of all, you can find them on the trunk lid, shock absorber strut cups, on the doors in the area where the drain plugs are installed.

The quality of the paintwork is frankly budgetary, body scratches are a common occurrence. It happens that the plastic lining on the arches departs. The paintwork sometimes cracks in the gutter.

Other problems

The electrics of the Renault Sandero Stepway are reliable, especially in the most budget trim levels, where it is at a minimum. Problems sometimes happen with the steering column switches and the horn button.



The generator requires a bulkhead after 120 km on average. In principle, you can continue to operate it, if you do not pay attention to the noise of worn bearings - they are the ones that fail in the first place.

The air conditioner radiator can leak after 150 thousand km, sometimes the alternator pulley flies, but only on copies of the first years of production.
Renault Sandero Stepway is one of the most reliable cars on the secondary market. When buying, the main thing is not to run into a frankly “shabby” copy with twisted mileage.

If the machine has maintained a good technical condition, then with proper care, serious problems with it during further operation should not be expected. Actually, this is the answer to the question about the popularity of this car in Russia.