What's the news?
Dacia is adding a fifth model to its fleet of affordable cars, this time jacking up the Logan MCV estate and making it look more capable of taking on the wilderness. This newcomer will be called the Logan MCV Stepway, as it shares much in common with the high-riding Stepway version of the Sandero hatch. The Logan MCV Stepway will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month.
Exterior
Like its related Sandero stablemate, the Logan MCV Stepway features lots of black cladding around the lower perimeter of its bodywork. This is offset by satin chrome-effect skid plates at the front and rear, which necessitate different bumper treatment for the Stepway. The whole car also sits 50mm higher than a regular MCV, affording the newcomer 174mm of ground clearance, and like the entire Dacia range that was facelifted at the tail end of 2016, the MCV Stepway has new light signatures and daytime running lamps in their 'stacked rectangles' arrangement.
Elsewhere, the tougher Logan has a front grille that's similar to the Duster's, 'Dark Metal' door mirror caps and roof bars, black tail lights and 'Stepway' logos on the front doors. There are two colours for it at launch, which are Azurite Blue or Mink, and the 16-inch Stepway Dark Metal 'Flexwheels' are basically fancy trims that slot over steel wheels.
Interior
The general quality of the interior materials was improved in the update of the Logan MCV in 2016 and the Stepway version benefits from all of that goodness. The four-spoke steering wheel is coated in the 'Soft Feel' finish and it has the legend 'Stepway' picked out at the bottom of the boss in blue. You probably won't have missed the 3D weave of the two-tone seats, which are emblazoned with big Stepway logos, too.
Although Dacia Ireland has yet to confirm the situation for the Irish market, it would appear that Dacia is only going to offer the Logan MCV Stepway in high specification, meaning it will come with MediaNav Evolution, rear parking sensors, air conditioning, DAB and Hill Start Assist. Options will include leather trim, a reverse parking camera, cruise control with a speed limiter and height-adjustable seats.
Mechanicals
Dacia will offer the Logan MCV Stepway with just two engines, which are the same pair as utilised in the Sandero Stepway. The petrol is a 0.9-litre turbocharged three-cylinder motor with 90hp/140Nm (150Nm on overboost), as well as stop-start functionality, with a five-speed manual handling the drive. It'll do 5.1 litres/100km (55.4mpg) and emit 115g/km CO2.
The diesel is the Renault-Nissan Alliance's venerable 1.5-litre dCi, also rated at 90hp, but with a more useful 220Nm. It, too, has a five-speed manual gearbox and stop-start, meaning 3.9 litres/100km (72.4mpg) and 100g/km CO2.
Anything else?
So, the Logan MCV Stepway is going to the Geneva Motor Show, but while it's a brand-new car, there's already a special edition of it, called the Summit. And, to keep things fair, the Sandero Stepway and Duster 'soft-roader' models also get Summit SE spec. These cars are based on the highest possible equipment level in a market and there are two exclusive exterior colour options - Nordic Grey or Magma Orange (this last one is for the Sandero Stepway only). On the Stepways, the 16-inch Grey Flex wheel covers are fitted, while the Duster gets 16-inch diamond-cut black Cyclades alloys.
Inside, there's an orange theme. The seats get Burnt Orange piping and top-stitching, while the 'Stepway' logo switches from white to the same hue, and the carpet mats, centre console cover and air vent surrounds are all finished in Burnt Orange too. Pricing of the Summit SE models will be announced in spring, nearer the summer launch, assuming it's coming to Ireland of course.