- Olga Kokorina
- Translated by Olga Apetenok
- Ru He Fr
Dacia Lodgy Stepway. ‘Off-road’ minivan
The Dacia Lodgy is a 7-seater minivan with an increased ground clearance, produced since 2012. The minivan was built on an elongated B0 platform, just like the Logan and Sandero, and the interior was borrowed from the Duster. The Lodgy Stepway is part of the brand’s “off-road” model range, including Sandero Stepway, Lodgy Stepway, Dokker Stepway models. The Duster SUV stands apart. The name “Lodgy” comes from the English word “lodgy”, which means a small house, indicating the size and versatility of the MPV.
The Dacia Lodgy Stepway is a front-engine, front-wheel drive, 5-door, five/seven/eight-seater affordable M-segment minivan, which debuted at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, but went into serial production only in 2017. Unlike its sibling Dacia Sandero Stepway 5-seater 5-door hatchback with an increased ground clearance, the minivan is not available in Israel.
Israeli buyers are looking forward to the new 3rd generation Dacia Sandero Stepway (2020 model year). Its ground clearance reaches 201 mm when empty and 174 mm when fully loaded. The hatchback will be equipped with a 1.0-liter naturally aspirated engine with an output of 65 hp and a 5-speed manual transmission. The advanced version will receive a 1.0-liter turbocharged engine with an output of 90 hp, which can be paired with a 6-speed manual transmission or CVT. But there will be another option, the most fuel-efficient one, with the TCe 100 ECO-G engine running on gasoline and liquefied gas.
Exterior
Unlike the standard Lodgy and Dokker versions, the Lodgy Stepway is distinguished by body-colored front and rear bumpers, silver-colored lower bumper covers, front fog lamps with decorative frames, side mirror covers and protective moldings along the bottom of the body. Moreover, the vehicle comes with 16-inch alloy wheels. There are five exterior colors to choose from, including Azurite Blue, exclusive to the Stepway range.
Interior
The new Dacia Lodgy Stepway comes in 5- and 7-seater versions. The seats are specially finished with blue stitching and feature ‘Stepway’ lettering. Blue color can also be noticed in the design of the front panel. The minimum volume of the trunk of the 7-seater minivan is 207 liters, whereas the 5-seater version with two rows of seats can provide 827 liters. With all the rear seats folded down, the volume grows up to 2,617 liters!
Engines and chassis
The 2021 Dacia Lodgy Stepway is equipped with a new 1.2-liter turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine with an output of 116 or 131 hp. There is also a 1.6-liter gasoline engine that develops 102 hp and two 1.5-liter turbocharged diesel engines. They are called dCi 107 and dCi 116, and the numbers in their names indicate the power. All engines are complemented by a 5-speed manual transmission. The model is front-wheel drive only, so as not to compete with the Duster. The new Dacia Lodgy Stepway is very fuel-efficient: a 1.2 TCe gasoline engine (115 hp) consumes 5.7 liters per 100 km, and a 1.5 dCi diesel engine (110 hp) consumes 4.4 l/100 km.
The standard or optional equipment (depending on modification) includes air conditioning, a multimedia system with navigation, a cruise control system, and rear parking sensors. There are additional pockets for small items at the rear. The top-end version is equipped with reverse parking assistant, a multimedia system with a 7-inch touch screen, Bluetooth and steering wheel controls.
