The Birth of the Stepway Models
Even before Dacia dreamed of the Duster, Renault’s no-nonsense sister brand already had a Sandero Stepway. Nowadays, Stepways are an integral part of the Dacia range. It all started almost 20 years ago with this Dacia Logan.
When you say Dacia, you probably immediately think of the Sandero and Duster. In perception, these two model names are inextricably linked to the no-nonsense Dacia, although the Romanian brand in 2025 is completely different from what it was about twenty years ago. Dacia still profiles itself as a value for money brand, but nowadays dares to carry an electric car and models with mild-hybrid and full-hybrid powertrains. Dacia has gained so much confidence through the successful years that with the Bigster it dares to try its hand in the SUV segment above the Duster. About twenty years ago, Dacia’s delivery range was completely different. The Spring was not yet around, we had never heard of the Bigster and even Duster, and even the first ideas for the now-gone Dokker and Lodgy had not even been put on paper. But there were adventurous models!
Dacia Logan Steppe Concept: recognizable, but unprecedentedly luxurious for Dacia.
We are of course talking about Dacia’s Stepway versions. You probably know them from the Sandero Stepway, but there were many more models that were dressed in an adventurous Stepway jacket. For example, the Dokker and even family MPV Lodgy have appeared as adventurous Stepways, complete with somewhat rugged-looking black trim around the wheel arches and bumper work that should suggest that the Stepways also feel very much at home on sandy paths. For the Stepway origin, we have to go back almost 20 years. To the Geneva Motor Show of 2006, to be precise.
A Different World
At that grand edition of the Swiss car show – where the Alfa Romeo 159 Sportswagon, BMW Z4, Ford S-Max, Peugeot 207 and Volvo S80 debuted, among others – Dacia immersed the visitor in semi-off-road-worthy pampering. The Dacia Logan Steppe Concept was the absolute star of the Dacia show. What was it? A real preview of a lifestyle version of the first generation Logan MCV, as Dacia itself described the design study. It had put in the work. The Logan Steppe Concept stood on 17-inch alloy wheels, had a more rugged-looking and completely made of black plastic thicker bumpers complete with skid plates, black plastic wheel arch extensions and ‘roof rack integrated into the roof’. Dacia even came up with real xenon headlights for the show car, complete with LED daytime running lights. More powerful brakes were hidden behind the larger light metal, but the changes did not stop there.
Just look at the adapted side mirrors, or the silver-colored door handles. Don’t forget that this is a Dacia from 2006, a time when it didn’t get much more exciting than the two rear doors of the Logan MCV. Speaking of those rear doors: on this 19-year-old study model, they were partly executed in black. Even more special: with a slight touch, the rear doors opened completely electrically. Unprecedentedly lavish for a Dacia.
Pampering
The interior was also crammed with contemporary gimmicks and gadgets that Dacia could not deliver at all in a production model. We not only mention leather upholstery and, according to Dacia, ‘high-tech fabrics’, but also certainly the screens integrated in the back of the headrests on which the rear passengers could watch DVDs. According to Dacia, those screens were also ideal for ‘self-filmed freestyle moves from their latest snowboarding adventure’. And look at that center console? No normal car radio in it, but a real mp3 player! Completely 00s.
Dacia Logan Steppe Concept: with real event seat.
But there was more than that. Much more! For example, there were storage compartments against the ceiling, a then futuristic-looking instrument panel, a gated and also gigantic gear lever and buttons that, according to Dacia, would also be easy to operate with gloves on. Anyone who wanted to relax after practicing their freestyle moves for a few hours could relax on the folding rear seat behind the doors of the ‘tailgate’. A touch of Range Rover! Behind it you could easily store and heat your soaking wet gloves and ski boots. However, the four shoes placed there seem to form the image that two people are spending their lives horizontally in the Logan. The rear seat was removable, there are countless storage boxes and even a real first-aid kit.
In 2009, the Sandero was the first Dacia to have a Stepway version.
PracticeThe majority of the inner conceptual tricks never reached the production stage. In fact, there has never been a Stepway version of this generation Logan MCV. In 2009, the first Dacia was Stepway-ed: the Sandero. The external extras that made the Logan Steppe Concept a real eye-catcher three years earlier remained intact in a weakened form. The second generation Logan MCV did get a Stepway variant, but had to wait for its facelift. The Sandero is currently the only Dacia that you can get as a Stepway. The Spring is always overloaded with cross-elements, as is the Jogger. The Duster and Bigster are SUVs and have the Stepway elements by nature. Nowadays very Dacia, but without this Steppe Concept it might not have been there at all. On to adventure, Dacia thought 19 years ago. And so it happened.