Here is the feat's text from 5e

When you use your action to Dash, you can use a bonus action to make one melee weapon attack or to shove a creature.

If you move at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before taking this bonus action, you either gain a +5 bonus to the attack’s damage roll (if you chose to make a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 10 feet away from you (if you chose to shove and you succeed).

This is why it takes both a bonus and normal action to use. They've just wrapped it into a single button to click rather than allowing "Main hand weapon attack" to use a bonus action instead after you dash.

Also you're hardly stuck with it, respecting your character is only 100 gold and can be done an unlimited number of times.

It should be able to go as far as a dash but also let you hit. This is pointless on rogues who can dash as a bonus action.