Dacia Sandero Stepway (2013 - 2021) Comfort TCe 100 Bi-Fuel 5d Owner Review

This car is a surprising find. I read what James May (Jame May - he of Top Gear) had to say about Dacia. He loves the brand and is quite the supporter of Dacia. I was in the market for part exchanging my Peugot 107 and this model caught my eye. It is factory built bi fuel. So you can fill with lpg (57 pence per litre) and also standard unleaded. This sounded really good. I wanted a new or near new one and this one was a late November 2020 model with 6,700 miles on it. I bought it from a main Ford dealer and I am in the first week of ownership so my comments are early days but so far the fit and finish seem up to any other car. A similar Renault Clio or Kadjar whould cost an awful lot more than I paid for the Dacia. A humble Ford Fiesta top specification can be up to £25,000. Even though this is around 1,000 cc it's little 3 cylinder Clio engine pushes out a respectable 100 bhp. This little ''Stepway'' version car has SUV raised up style and my one is just before the 2021 facelift. But I think the 2013 to 2020 models are very accomplished but for me the factory fitted lpg did seem like a good way to go. It is only a little more fiddly to fill up (but easy once you use the car provided adaptor) and the money it saves is brilliant. The lpg tank is as safe if not more so than a petrol tank. You really feel quite smug as you realise how much money you save and the lpg tank only needs a cursory inspection from an approved fitter annually. Overall I cannot comment on longer term reliability, but the finish is good and my one has metallic blue paintwork. It really is a frugal beast, especially in terms of purchase cost as well as mpg too. Plus you have a theoretical range of 800 miles if you use both tanks. You lose only the spare tyre recess, but each car has some car ''slime'' for tyre emergencies. It drives well and as good as any Japanese or European car. I suspect it's not quite as accomlished as a Ford or Toyota or VW but think of all the money you save. Why be a badge snob? Plus ''What Car'' voted the 2021 version as ''Best Small car'' and the pre 2021 versions share quite a bit of family likeness. My 2020 one is a keeper and to be honest I'd consider part exchanging it in a couple of years for the facelift version - what a winner. I am well pleased so far.