Logan 1.4 1500km report EDIT: now 40,000 kms

[ashutoshb]

I bought a car which I totally rubbished at the first look. My complaints were....impotent engine and cheap interiors. Some of you guys must be remembering that I had even booked a Palio. How it got cancelled..not important/off topic. When I booked the Logan...I had a few things in my mind...reasons why should I go for this car. 1) Space 2) Comfort 3) Bootspace. All three practical reasons. I listened to my head and not the heart and looked at the car in sheer practicality terms. I had to buy a car which I'll keep for the next five years. With marriage, kid/s, more outstation trips than before....figuring in the five year plan...I somehow couldn't think of buying a hatchback.

I needed a car with a boot with a petrol heart (since 95% will be city driving). Due to budget constraints (5L) I had limited choices. Esteem & Ikon didn't have the interior space I was looking for. And I never liked the Indigo's looks. So the final choice with all parameters keeping in mind was the Logan. At 4.77L Ex showroom, the Logan 1.4 was the one in my budget.

The waiting period was one month. and after thirty days of wait..finally I got my car on June 11th. It's been more than three weeks and I have done more than 1000 kms. In this report I will try to tell...What I liked and disliked in my car.

Ride:
One of the best around...take my word for it. Minor potholes/ rough patches....you will not even notice... Initially I wanted to upgrade to lower profile 15 inchers but didn't want to mess up with the ride. So decided to retain the stock 185/70 R14 tires.

Space:
No more elbow scraping in this one. It is pretty spacious for a 6ft-100kg man like me. The seating position, the steering level, legroom is just right for me. One of the major reasons for going for this car. Even during the test drive, before the booking, this was the first thing I noticed. And that the car can seat five normal sized adults in comfort is a bonus.

Interiors:
Spartan...nothing to praise about. The a/c knobs are too low. And with a bottle in the cup holder..it is impossible to even touch them. The design of the AC vents is a marvel...you can rotate them in any direction..very useful. The door pockets and the glove box are deep and useful in keeping misc stuff such as documents, CDs..etc.

Power/Pickup/Gearshift:
75bhp on a car of this size is a little less. But the engine is smooth, and pickup is pretty ok. I'm driving sedately till the first service is over. But crossed 140kph once. The overall performance has improved since day one. Friends in Romania tell me that this car can do 165kph. So will try to achieve that figure once the first service is done. And I love the gearshift...its real smooth....miles and miles ahead of the indigo.

Airconditioning:
Almost all the guys who sat in my car have praised its airconditioning. Set the blower speed at one and its more than enough.

Fuel Efficiency:
Have not calculated the exact figure...but its hovering around 10-12kpl (all city...stop and go...with a/c on all the time). Fellow Logan owners in Romania say it should improve after the first service.

Summary:
Want to showoff, want luxury, want to drag race at red lights...look elsewhere. This car is Mr.Practical. Will transport you to the destination in comfort with the least hassles. Let me give you an example....A trip to the airport to drop my brother. Five full size adults (sitting in comfort) plus two XL size suitcases. Could never have imagined this in a hatchback. This car has faced more brickbats than any other car in this country. But..to me...this is the ideal car..the perfect one.. I can now say that I made the right decision.


PS. I may have missed certain things..please feel free to ask if there is any thing left unanswered in the report. For pics take a look at my garage.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

The report i have been waiting for!

Have to say, i have also said some thing negative about Logan. But those are from what i could understand from specs.

Good review! I guess i should check out the car. But it hasnt been launched here yet. :(

All the best with your new car. And give us updates on the experience. Cause many of us depend on you now for updates on the Logan. Big responsibility

[speedzak]

Woah Man!
That was a surprise. Never thought you would fall for one.
But now it is your perfect car. : WAS!

Enjoy her and do keep us informed about your service experiences and other updates.

[Mpower]

Good Review. Car seems to have all the mechanicals basics right.
What was the on road price in Delhi?

[Guderian]

A well written review !
One Q here - I had noticed that the Logan's wipers were still the European sided for left had drive and homologation/mod. for the Indian right hand drive was not carried out (?).Any issues with that - visibilty impairment or any such thing ?

[AUTO_CRAZY]

Logan drive is comfortable , space is MAX (INDIGO is cramped when compared ), even the petrol iengine is noisy , may be they have removed all the insulation material to reduce cost, but cant reallly make out the best point of LOGAN when compared to others....
IKON sure cannot be compared, but still the car is ...............not so great. Every aspect of the car shows the cost reduction, when the indian auto-market is booming and when customers look for more than a car, still you get the basics in the LOGAN. When the expectation is to go upmarket still you get the basics, .

The interiors are very basic. The dash is one piece. Hood lever is on the left ....................Indian LOGAN is the first RH drive unit for Renault so they have not even changed that considering the cost .............if you open the left side doot you can see a patch on the left side of the dash, you can make 5 seat comfortable. But is that what is needed today ?
Already they have come up with 2 new variants withiin so short time. We appreciate Mahindras quick reflex.
Hope Scorpio magic works on Logan !!!

[BUSA]

Thats a very nice review buddy, thanks for sharing, the problem with the Logan is not thats it is bad in any respect, but its a bit overpriced when compared to the pricing in other countries.

Your car looks very very good, black on the Logan is good, a relief from the beige which every one is buying and your alloys go well with the colour. Do keep us updated.

[ashutoshb]

thanks all for the appreciation!! will keep u posted.. will update once the first service is done with.
Mpower - the on road price at that point of time was 5.15L
Guderian - the left wiper leaves a few drops on the right side i.e. the driver's side but doesn't affect the visibilty. i think that can be rectified.
Auto crazy - i admit the car is basic. but mahindra never said that this is a luxury car. Logan means space..acres of it. It is for those who want a no nonsense mode of transport. Those who want more can look elsewhere..simple. But I'm sure Mahindra will comeup with upgrades sooner or later. And they should give free upgrades to owners like us!!

[ashutoshb]

All prices taken from official websites. Ex-showroom NOIDA. Don't know how much cash discounts the dealers/companies giving. But looking at the below mentioned prices..I don't think the Logan is expensive at all. Add 9K for all doors aftermarket PWs.

Logan 1.4 GLE (PS) Rs.471,915
ESTEEM LXI (PS + Fr PW) Rs.478714
Ikon Flair (PS + All PW) Rs.4,75,000
Indigo GLS (PS) Rs. 4,60,082

[GeekSrik]

ashutosh, very nice review, crisp and to the point. i ve been one of the negative blah blahs about logan. though I never doubted its practicality nature concerning owning a sedan and the space part. guess its upto the priorities on who buys what. its not the most classy looking cars around, but I personally think a sedan should look simple and elegant. to some extent which the logan does.

congrats on your baby!! and enjoy the ride. and do keep us fully posted on how this car goes on and on! maybe the second version of the logan with a few more nifty features must make the sales look more cheerful and bright. and mahindra is one company that does listen!!

[snaronikar]

Hi, ashutoshb,

Do you have any idea how the diesel variant is performing?? I see a quite a few in Bangalore.....though I could not make out whether it is Diesel or Petrol as the variant name is only on front fender.....

[sreenivass]

enjoy the ride Ashutosh. Utility of Logan space is apparent in your review, can you say more about drivability in city, NVH especially on full load.

[ravibhat]

Nice Report, Logan is good practical choice I do agree ashutosh, I liked Logan even compared with few cars 1 segment up.

Ravi.

[ashutoshb]

thanks geeksrik, ravibhat!!
snaronikar - i only took a test drive of the diesel logan! that too for a few kilometers. so i'll not be able to tell how is it fairing. But it is a good car with decent power, smooth acceleration and a fairly decent mileage. But for a better perspective i think we will have to wait for someone at tbhp to buy one
sreenivass - drivability in city is more than perfect i'll say. in stop and go traffic you can easily cruise in second or third. i've been done 0-40 in second gear and 15-50 in third gear. So you can make out that less downshifting is required...which is a boon in city traffic. The engine is smooth (way better than the indigo petrol & the esteem). Even with the a/c on..the car never feels underpowered and cruises smoothly. I've taken it to the highway only once..but since its still in its run-in period..i didn't cross 100kph. But the NVH levels are fine. Will be able to update you on this better after i've had a few more runs on the highway.

[esteem_lover]

Excellent review ashutoshb. Is this your first car ? if not, what was the previous car that you had ?