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HI, even i got the logan after lots of research. I am posting my experience here.
I was looking for an upgrade from my good old santro to a mid segment car as i needed a bigger car since i started doing more highway runs recently. I started my research with my favourite mouthshut pages
and even i enquired about quality of cars with the drivers who drove it. I finally shortlisted ACCENT GLE , FORD IKON FLAIR , Chevrolet AVEO and LOGAN Petrol. I did not want a diesel since i prefer petrol vehicles due to their NVH(Noise Vibration and Harshness) levels and better refinement compared to diesel cars. Also i wont run anything more than 1000KM per month. So a petrol car is economically more viable than a diesel car considering the fact that a diesel is atleast 1Lakh more than petrol. With that money, i could get 25K km fuel worth of petrol or 3 years of petrol to run. So i decided for petrol car.
Accent was a really good car but the package was really bad for the money as the car even did not have central locking as standard.it tended to understeer sometimes when i took the test drive. it has superb engine but dated style and cramped interiors compared to other cars. i was wondering that Hyundai could have atleast offered central locking as standard. Also the dealer was adamant(DSC hyundai, chennai) that he cannot give any discounts for the car.
Ford Ikon Flair was also a sweet handling car. Full credit to its handling. it handles like a sports car and even thought the engine looks low on paper, its very peppy and enthusiastic engine. Ikon was the cheapest among the cars and was not bad too. i somehow did not like the interior of ikon as it looked mediocre. Also the dealer did not give me test drive of the IKOOL version of the car. so i could not feel it. I even registered for a test drive on ford website and got a call from them and they could not even provide me the test drive for IKOOL. shame on ford.so ford idea was dropped. AVEO was test driven but i did not like the car since it seemed to be overpriced looking at the competition. Also it tended to oversteer at times during the test drive. Sundaram motors is the dealer for AVEO and they wont budge on the pricing. so i left out that option too
I took a test drive of petrol 1.6Litre GLS logan, and that changed the impression of the car. It was really wide bodied car (for wide bodied guys like me :P). Space , space and space everywhere.The interior quality of the top end car was extremely good for the price it offers. One cannot expect leather stuff for this cheap car. It just costed me 5.77Lakh for the fully loaded car. I agree it looks boxy from some angles, leaving that everything about this car is right.
THE GOOD:
1) Car feels prettly powerful at low rpms. this is a good strength of the renault engine. it goes all the way to 125KMPH with just 3500 rpm. the engine rocks even if it looks low on paper. this really helps city driving all the way from 20Kmph to 40kmph in 3rd gear lugging around.
2) Extremeny spacious that 5 people of 6 feet high and 100KG weight can sit in comfy.Boot also is very large to store many things.
3) Good mileage. I get about 10.5KMPL in chennai traffic. Considering that chennai traffic is bumper to bumper and i go through most congested areas, 10kmpl is very good mileage. my santro used to give only 10 and this car betters that, i am very happy. this should improve to 11-12 after 1st service. brilliant mileage in its class.I get a highway mileage of 15.7KMPL.
4)Supreb ride quality. test drive it to feel it. it glides over potholes and one can hardly feel a vibration on the steering. shock absorbers do the job neatly and it gives a cushy feeling.
5) Handling is great that i can turn even sharp curves above 60kmph. Body roll is negligible. i have tried doing this and succeeded well with confidence.
6) The trip computer will give instantenous, average KM covered mileage etc. so we dont need to break our heads to do that evey time we fill the tank. A major tool for the cost conscious indian.
THE BAD:
1) Boxy back side looks. although looks are personal i dont like it
2) Some suspension noise when going fast over long bumps although its not a major fault
3) No clutch footrest as in hyundai vehicles. So higher leg strain , but can get used to it fast
4) Air blower to the leg side is not very smooth. Majority of the air still comes to the higher vent
5) Wiper wipes from right to left opposed to standard left to right. This will irritate for sometime.
THE UGLY:
1)No tray under seat for storage. Only glove box and its overloaded and small. Dash board is waste and cannot store anything because of its shape. Every little thing tends to fall down.
2) CD player cannot play MP3 or other formats. Disgusting. Its quality is good and speakers are very good but lacks this thing....major irritation.
3)AC controls are placed in a very remote position. On needs to look at it every time to find it and operate it
UPDATE:
Heeeee Heeeeeee I love my own decision for going for this car now. I have completed 6000KM and its rock solid car. Noteworthy points here
1) Car handles very good. I can take any turning fast and confidently
2) Mileage is about 11.2KMPL and the trip meter and mileage calculator is accurate
3) Most lovely thing is that I hit 5 autowallahs so far and NOTHING HAPPENED. No DENTS. One BUS wallah hit me and i got a small dent as though it was hit by a small vehicle. Its STURDY and STRONG. Verified to be used in indian traffic conditions
4) Brakes are sure footed. I had to brake from 120 to 30KMPH on pondicherry highway and no squeaks. rock solid
5) No behavioral changes even at 140KMPH. I love this. the car can be flipped with this speed and the handling is confidence inspiring. And the engine roars well now after 5K kms. Once it crosses 50KMPH in highways in top gear, then there is no looking back, the needle climbs to 140 effortlessly.
6) Power steering is responsive for quick city driving and handling is COOL with that
7) Highway mileage is about 15KMPL @120KM speeds
8) Small quality problems with plastics have started showing up but nothing major. GMS motors in chennai have agreed to replace things in warranty whatever goes wrong. SO no issues.
9) One regret is prices came down from what i brought for but always a great car that feels as strong as a truck | 
16th June 2008, 15:29
Nurture her!
