Reasons for settling on for a Logan 1.5dCi DLX

[rkparur]

Very good decision Anil. In my openion, white LOGAN is more attractive than silver coloured one.

[anilkalvani]

i have been told i will get the car this evening!!!!
will take my digicam & upload pics...

[vkochar]

Excellent write up Anil. I will be looking forward to your reviews in the future on the Logan.

More and more Logans have started appearing on our roads, In fact on my last vacation I went on a road trip to rajasthan and on the way I saw countless Logans being run ( more than anything else ). Looks like the FE and the comfort of this car is making it sell really well now.

Also I personally think the White colour looks awesome on the Logan.

In the latest Issue of ACI they have put a comparison test of Logan, DeZire & Indigo. The DeZire won because it was loaded in terms of equipment but Logan & DeZire got same points overall.

Its just a matter of personal choice between these 2 cars.

[anilkalvani]

Just Got our White Logan 1.5dCi DLX yesterday. We had not even thought about it but when we landed at the showroom, we realised it was the 7th today. Then there were many deliveries (around 12). So we asked them whats the rush. We were told it was Akshaya Trithya which is a very auspicious day to make purchases. Then on top of that the number that we got for the car, its total adds up to 7!!!!!! Can you believe the luck!!! Drove her around for 30 kms after taking delivery... I had taken along the team bhp pre delivery inspection but i did not check it thoroughly u can understand when one gets excited.... will post more details in the days to follow....

adios,
Anil

[arunmur]

Lovely car the logan is, It is a car contradictory to the fact that more space = more cost. It also comes with a good engine. Sadly, though most of my friends feel that its cheap looking.

[Seran Manian]

No they were not dealer fitted. In fact when I wanted to get them fixed by dealer, he had no stock of the Beige / black combination I wanted. The price he demanded was 5500. Then I went to the market that week end and got beige ones fitted for 3000!

Thanks for your compliments. Keep posting about the performance. I had a long trip last two days (about 600 Kms). Got a millage of 23 KMPL (442 Kms - 19.4L ordinary diesel).

[Seran Manian]

Nice pics Anil. Every time I see a diiferent coloured Logan I am impressed. It happened with Black, Red and now white. Ofcourse you have to keep it clean and tidy! Reverse parking electronics may be handy. They give a version with 4 sensors mounted in the rear bumper. Nice and useful one.

[anilkalvani]

Originally Posted by arunmur

Lovely car the logan is, It is a car contradictory to the fact that more space = more cost. It also comes with a good engine. Sadly, though most of my friends feel that its cheap looking.

thats the whole problem, its the perception of many... but as i said i care two hoots about anyone... its seriously VFM now that i am driving it... If you're getting European Build, Great Rear Comfort, Mammoth Boot Space, Frugal fuel Economy for 1.25lacs lesser than a Ford Fiesta & 1.75lacs lesser than a Hyundai Verna what else do you need?

[joshisd]

Excellent writeup, Anil! I felt you have read my mind and then wrote up this article! I share exactly the same views about Logan, and I booked Silver Logan DLX a week ago!
Expecting delivery next week some time.

Wish you all the very best with your new car!

Regards
Suneel

[anilkalvani]

Wish you luck too Suneel. One word of advice though Give the dealer the balance amount only after you see the car before registration whether he is giving silver colour or not & other things mentioned in the Team-bhp PDI list note the Chassis & engine number & then give him the balance cheque/pay order .

[arunmur]

Despite the fact that it is far better build than the Indigo, Many people choose the Indigo(Indian car sentiment, i guess). It also has a lovely diesel engine, i TD'd it about 3 weeks after launch when my friend was looking for a car. I fell in love with every thing in it, but sadly more than 4 people known to me TD'd, some even liked it but they wanted more from the car. If at all M&M pushed their attitude away of saying that we want to build only SUV(in a world where i only see lowering demand for them) and priced the Logan about 50k less, they would had the cards. But even at this price it is indispensable, there is no other car at its price giving the space it gives.

Any idea about the maintainance of this car.

[anilkalvani]

Am not exaggerating, but on european forums the logan is called the romanian hummer... its a tough rugged car & people who've had it from the start vouch for its reliability.... maintenance is regular, 1st service at 1500-2000kms, 2nd at 10000 & 3rd at 20000 or 1 year whichever is less... spares are definitely cheaper than the fiesta & verna but you cant compare it with the indigo. But i have owned the indigo & i am more than convinced that i will never touch an indian engineered car & i will never conside the Scorpio too even though its from Mahindra... See the Logan is sold in Romania, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey & many others as Dacia Logan & as Renault Logan in Argentina, Russia, China, Columbia, Africa, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Iran & India. In Mexico it is badged as a Nissan. It has sold more than 750,000 Logans since its launch in 2004. These are my reasons why after my experiences i decided on a 'tried & tested' car. And as i have mentioned in my earlier review, its my opinion only, not for others to follow dude. I may be wrong.

[anilkalvani]

just recalled that about 5-6 months back, i was coming back from delhi & on the seat besides me was an executive from Hyundai Motors. We got talking about their future plans & all & then i happened to ask him that why are cars overpriced (my main target was the verna diesel). he told me that in actuality cars that are imported here face very high taxes compared to other countries. Even after localisation, we have Excise, Octroi, Sales Tax, till it reaches the Showroom. I reasoned with him that fine i agree that taxes are high but why does India get trimmed down versions? for that all he said was it was management decision (read: cost cutting) otherwise car manufacturers dont find production & assembly lucrative here. On further prodding, he told me that there is also a great amount of red Tapism Involved at Higher levels which i will not get into if you know what i mean. So if you are saying that the Logan should be priced about 50k's less, there's a reason why they wont reduce prices. Plus i came to know from the Showroom that Renault still imports its engine. Hence the higher prices. Tata also has the advantage of sourcing Steel from its own company Tata Steel which brings the cost of vehicles down significantly. Maruti also sources its steel from Tata Steel but you and me know the thickness or shall we say 'thinness' of Sheet metal used by them. Any sane car manufacturer would like to have high sales volumes. So there goes.

[rippergeo]

@anil-
I remember doing a TD of the logan before I purchased the verna. I was thoroughly impressed by the logan.

like you said, there is no better diesel car at that price.
there may be more fun diesel cars,there may be better looking cars, there may be faster cars but they are all... far behind the logan when it comes to practicality

congrats

PS- you should never say you settled for the logan. saying that makes it look like you made a big compromise. for the reasoning and logic you applied, there isnt a better choice available.

[anilkalvani]

Got my baby ICED yesterday will post more pics in a few days.... drove the car for over 50kms yesterday... my observations
1. pick up way better than the Indigo & since the car is still not run in, i'm maintaining rpm below 2500 & i'm not kidding but we were 4 of us going uphill & it had great pulling, maybe coz of the max torque coming at 2000rpm & it did not feel sluggish.
2. engine is 60% silent compared to Indigo & even though there's a slight grunt, its very refined.
3. With a full load & up down roads with speed-breakers, the car did not scrape the bottom even once, impressed!
4. The suspension is very good as the road was not smooth and the car took all potholes without any problems and at higher speeds it was even more stable. I took her to 80 once & believe me she was more stable than my Viva.
5. The a/c was very effective in the mumbai heat. As i always do, switch on the blower, roll the windows down till all the hot air escapes & then roll up the windows & put the a/c on.
6. The dealer did not fit the remote boot opening & has promised it during the first service. That was the big problem i face yesterday, took her to a couple of malls & had to switch off the engine give him the key to open the boot & restart the car.... very irritating!!!

All in all a good drive yesterday in all conditions, traffic, bad roads, highway stretch so tested her well yesterday... will post more in the coming days & will click some pics of the awesome ICE i've got fitted. I got Autocop done too. Need to get Seat covers & Reverse Parking Sensors done now. More Later.

Anil