Paul Eksteen
I’D NEVER really taken notice of the Renault Stepway before driving one. It’s funny how, once you’ve stepped into the cockpit of a new vehicle and started taking it through its paces, that you notice how many other people are driving the same car.
Out of the window went the prestige of touting new machinery around town.
I was quite looking forward to the inquisitive stares from passers-by.
On the evidence of my week-long jaunt in the Stepway, it already appears to be a popular motoring choice. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on why…
Visually, the Renault Sandero Stepway Expression is a bit of a hybrid.
There’s some va-va-voom in the sporty front and it injects some testosterone into the overall look and feel. Which only serves to heighten the flat-bottomed functionality of the rear: a box-shaped fifth door very much at odds with the panache one immediately associates with a French name.
It’s a strange pastiche of styles: a midtown tearaway and a soccer mom.
Yet the Stepway manages to play both roles with aplomb.
It was certainly a strange week. Having steered the Stepway through early morning Joburg traffic without incident, I was invited to attend a Hindu religious prayer at which animals were sacrificed.
I carted the carcasses of two goats home and, despite the abrupt ending of that Stepway rear, it carried that shipment with ease.
That means there should be enough space for a month-end grocery shop or the luggage requirements of a weekend away for two.
Then, the day before I handed the car back, two scoundrels attempted a smashand-grab in the congested afternoon chaos of Bree Street.
I slipped the car into a tentative reverse to give myself a little room.
The one would-be robber, perhaps realising my intentions, started banging angrily at the passenger side window.
Thankfully, it held. With his accomplice hesitating, I gunned the Stepway into a narrow gap and escaped. I’ve seldom been more grateful for a dash of turbo.
Inside the car, with its plush imitation leather seats, there is the feeling that you are ensconced in some protective bubble. Maybe I’m just projecting.
But the interior does exude a sense of comfort and spaciousness that belies its snug reality. The centre console holds the biggest appeal, with a bold LCD display housing your radio controls and a built-in navigation system.
The drive is smooth and petrol conscious, with enough kick to take advantage of an open stretch of road, but just as comfortable in the hustle and bustle of your work route.
At R174 000 though, the Stepway Expression isn’t going to appeal to everyone and I’m sure you can find cars offering more room or better aesthetics at a similar price.
Though probably not with a GPS.