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A new flagship model will be in South African Renault showrooms come November 2010 - at least as far as the brand’s Sandero range goes.
The French folk say the Stepway (nope, that’s not a typing error) will be the only crossover in the entry level market, its “innovation and uniqueness” generating corporate confidence that the car will be a serious contender in the very competitive A/B price segment.
The car, known in other countries as the Dacia Sandero Stepway, was first shown at the 2009 Barcelona and Frankfurt auto show; the local model, given the supplied pictures, will have slightly different exterior trim.
“As with the rest of the Sandero range,” Renault SA said, “the Stepway will have best-in-class interior space and value for money. The car is 20mm higher than any current Sandero and has a number of styling cues to identify it.”
These, we are told, include chromed trim, front fog lights and black headlights – “all of which combine to give the Stepway an SUV-look that simply shouts stylish ruggedness”.
Like all other Renault Sanderos, the Stepway will be assembled at partner Nissan SA’s plant in Rosslyn, near Pretoria.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance announced in 2007 that it would invest R1-billion in the Rosslyn plant and Sandero production (the first Renault to be made in SA in more than three decades) was flowing strongly by January 2009.
Since then, Renault SA says, the Sandero has become a top-seller; the Stepway, the company hopes, will lead to further growth.
Our office wag wanted to know if it would be built on a ladder chassis.
The French folk say the Stepway (nope, that’s not a typing error) will be the only crossover in the entry level market, its “innovation and uniqueness” generating corporate confidence that the car will be a serious contender in the very competitive A/B price segment.
The car, known in other countries as the Dacia Sandero Stepway, was first shown at the 2009 Barcelona and Frankfurt auto show; the local model, given the supplied pictures, will have slightly different exterior trim.
“As with the rest of the Sandero range,” Renault SA said, “the Stepway will have best-in-class interior space and value for money. The car is 20mm higher than any current Sandero and has a number of styling cues to identify it.”
These, we are told, include chromed trim, front fog lights and black headlights – “all of which combine to give the Stepway an SUV-look that simply shouts stylish ruggedness”.
Like all other Renault Sanderos, the Stepway will be assembled at partner Nissan SA’s plant in Rosslyn, near Pretoria.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance announced in 2007 that it would invest R1-billion in the Rosslyn plant and Sandero production (the first Renault to be made in SA in more than three decades) was flowing strongly by January 2009.
Since then, Renault SA says, the Sandero has become a top-seller; the Stepway, the company hopes, will lead to further growth.
Our office wag wanted to know if it would be built on a ladder chassis.
