[hossdoc]

I had been considering a suitable replacement for my Mom's 2009 Indica Vista Quadrajet Aura because the car had some "unsolvable" niggles and the OE Goodyears were trashed despite having run only 20000 km.
The main considerations were -
1) Back seat comfort and space - she has a chauffeur
2) Ride quality - she has a very bad back
3) Should be easy to drive - for the few occasions she self drives the car
4) Diesel - Her daily commute to work and back is 40 km, plus a lot of other running adding up to at least 1500 km per month
5) Sedan with a decent sized boot - because we all travel a fair bit, there are many airport/railway station runs.

My first thought was to upgrade to a Manza Quadrajet Aura but I was a tad put off by the inability of Concorde Motors, Cochin to sort out the issues we were having and also the change in attitude of the sales staff who were so courteous and eager two years ago. A cousin of mine was raving about the Logan and insisted it would be perfect for our requirements. I must admit I was quite skeptical because of all the rumors floating around but decided to go and take a look anyway on the 11th of Feb 2011 and drove up to TVS Mahindra on the NH47 Bypass in Cochin.
I was so pleasantly surprised by the car and their service and the fact that they offered me a very handsome price for the Vista on the spot, that I booked the car immediately, did not even look at any other option. I did not even test drive the car myself but sat in the back seat while the sales person drove the car and that sealed the deal, the ride IS truly fantastic. I settled on the middle variant, ie the DLX, because it is a full 60,000 cheaper than the DLSX which is not much better specified for a chauffeur driven car anyway. Also the faux wood fascia on the DLSX is quite horrendous.
They had two cars available off the shelf, Toreador Red and Mist Silver, and I chose the latter because it suits the Logan and is kind of chameleon like, with a hint of green or gold in different lighting conditions. The only extra I asked for was remote locking. There were no discounts as there is now a high demand for the diesel variants, but they did throw in mats and mudflaps for free
The sales guy drove home with me, got a few signatures including one on the all important cheque, promised to deliver the car on the 16th, and drove off with the Vista, all in all a very smooth and painless transaction.
On the 14th morning I had another pleasant surprise when he called to say that the registration was done, remote locking installed and that I could come and collect the car on the 15th at 10 AM and that they would complete delivery formalities in half an hour.
They delivered yesterday as on schedule with a lovely little cake cutting ceremony involving all the staff and the half hour was spent explaining all the features of the car and taking feedback from us. At the end of it all, before handing over the keys they asked me to either ring a bell installed near the exit indicating all was well, or sound the horn of happiness sitting next to the bell. I of course rung the bell, took possession of the keys.
Fired her up and drove around a bit just to get acquainted and the first thing that struck me was the noise. It is noisy but in a pleasant way, not the gruff grating sound in the tata cars. Its a smooth diesel thrum with a lovely superimposed turbo whistle. The second thing was how tractable the car is in traffic. It pulls cleanly at 30 km in 4th gear and in Cochin that is a real boon. It certainly does NOT feel underpowered as the 65 BHP max output might suggest. Then there is the soft smooth gear shift. I can see my Mom driving this around with ease.
Did around 20 km, filled her up, took her home for Mom to have a look (she was thrilled) and then went straight to Emperor to have her kitted out with some extras - ICE (JVC HU with BT, lightning audio component pairs front and rear, lightning audio sub, lightning audio and alpine amps) and HID lamps transplanted from my old Accent CRDI, sun film, rear park sensors, black art leather seat covers, carpet mats and of course number plates, all for just 14k!

LOVE
-----
1) The size - this car is deceptively BIG. It makes Blacky (my Accent) look like a midget
2) Spacious interiors
3) Cavernous 510 L boot
4) Comfortable seats, front and rear, true five seater with great legroom, headroom and all other body parts!
5) Visibility
6) Ride quality
7) Driver Information display - all essentials - clock, trip, distance to empty, average fuel consumption, odo - are covered
8) Horn - nice and sharp
9) Ease of ingress and egress.
10) No perceptible turbo lag, very tractable and easy to drive in the city
11) The big fuel tank = less frequent visits to the filling station

LIKE
----
1) AC - cools adequately but is not a real chiller as some reviews have stated
2) Gear shift - long throw but buttery smooth
3) Steering wheel - probably the only semi soft touch high quality plastic in the car
4) Instrument cluster - simple but clear
5) Fit and finish - not great but far from bad. Comparable or better than many other cars in the price bracket
6) Looks - yes it IS boxy and is so eighties but it is definitely NOT UGLY like the DZIRE or the Manza. The more you look at it the more it kind of grows on you. Its a design that i feel will not look more or less appealing in time, it is just what it is.
7) The color i chose - Mist Silver suits the Logan. Black is nice too. Avoid the white and red.
8) Two tone interiors are actually quite easy on the eye - not a whole expanse of boring beige that is all too common these days
9) The simplicity and functionality of the whole car
10) Neutral handling and the hydraulic PS
11) The very audible turbo whistle
12) Decent brakes and brake feel
13) Plastic quality - while the switches are all blocky and simple the actual quality of the plastics is not bad. You see worse in much more expensive cars.
14) Boot release - i believe the earlier logans did not have internal boot release
15) Ergonomics of the wiper/light stalks - easy to use even though in LHD configuration and everything clicks nicely
16) Adequate ORVMs
17) Spoiler livens up the broad bland rear end a bit

HATE
-----
1) The OE JK Vectras
2) The cheap sticker badge on the right side
3) The ugly wiper arms and LHD configuration of wipers - will reserve ultimate judgment on function come this monsoon!
4) Placement of power window switches
5) Placement of hood release
6) No rear defogger - the DLSX has it though. This should be made mandatory rather than the stupid headlight beam adjuster which no one really uses. (Don't believe me? Drive at night anywhere in India!!)
7) AC vents - round vent design makes it difficult to adjust direction of blow
8) One indicator light in dash for left, right turn signals and hazard lights - can be confusing

NEUTRAL ON
------------
1) Lack of storage spaces - cubbyholes and bottle holders - never really needed em but might be an issue for some
2) Headlamps - have not tried them yet!
3) Single reverse lamp and rear fog - again why need two when one will do
4) Placement of power window lock under park brake lever - i personally found it easy to use blind at first go but again not might be to everyones taste.
5) Headlight beam leveler - its there...somewhere.
6) Fuel efficiency - too early to comment on but the DID shows 14 kmpl for what little i did today in bumper to bumper traffic with the AC on full blast, so there should be no gripes there.

OVERALL
--------
A decent, spacious value for money(at 6.3 lakhs OTR for the DLX) sedan with a huge boot, awesome ride, smooth engine and excellent drivability in our conditions. THE car to buy at this budget if you live in the back seat and are driven around. The DLX variant seems to be the one to go for as it has the right mix of standard equipment and potential for after market mods.

Here are some pics taken just after delivery. Will update with more after the accessories have been fitted.




She's BIG, and some might say even good looking in an understated way?



Souffle the lab likes what she's sniffing



Rear. Note spoiler and single reverse light on left and fog on right



Flared wheel arches and crease break the monotony in this angle



lots of headroom for tall drivers. Seat adjusted for 6 foot driver. Note ugly freebie floor mats



Acres of space for 3 passengers in rear with front seat adjusted for 6 foot driver. Ugh..those floor mats again...they are going tomorrow.



Cavernous boot lined with more yucky mat.



Simple functional two, er, sorry, three tone dash adds to feeling of space



Inconvenient placement of power window switches. Also note the power window lock to the left and under the park brake lever.



Nice wheel caps...not so nice OE JK Vectra tyres.



Neat engine bay with the surprisingly good Renault 1.5 DCI engine



Why bother?? Real oversight after all those neat little chrome touches on the boot.



Wipers from War of the Worlds look like they are about to jump up and bite you!

[ghodlur]

@hossdoc,

Congratulations on your new buy. The Logan is truly a value fior money buy, known mostly for its frugal diesel engine. I heard the mileage achieved is in the range of 20-22kmpl in city conditions. I had TDed one of the diesel variant but sorry to say I did not find the car inspiring to drive. The low end grunt was very much there asking for more.

Any reason for still sticking to the JK tyres? I feel you should get it changed immediately.

Drive safely, wish you lots of happy mile crunching.

PS: The description for attachment 503108 and 503113 are interchanged IMO.

[mooza]

Congratulations, Hossdoc, on your new car !

I have been fascinated by the amount of space and comfort this car offers.

The rear seat space makes this car a genuine 5 seater, and the absence of the raised centre portion in the seat will make the middle passenger feel comfortable.

Wishing you many happy miles

[shantyrocks]

congratz buddy on your new car and a nice crisp review too.
The logan is a most under rated car in market right now.
I had the opportunity of travelling in a meru logan and i was surprised at the comfort and space it offers.
We were 3 well built guys sitting on the back seat with minimal discomfort.

How is the clutch?Is it as light as the swift/vista ?

If not for the dated looks the car would have been a success.The rear spoiler does enhance the looks though.

IMO logan looks best in black.

Could you elaborate for the interest of our readers on the problems in your vista?

[Schoudhury]

Originally Posted by hossdoc

they asked me to either ring a bell installed near the exit indicating all was well, or sound the horn of happiness sitting next to the bell.

ICE (JVC HU with BT, lightning audio component pairs front and rear, lightning audio sub, lightning audio and alpine amps) and HID lamps transplanted from my old Accent CRDI, sun film, rear park sensors, black art leather seat covers, carpet mats and of course number plates, all for just 14k!


lots of headroom for tall drivers. Seat adjusted for 6 foot driver. Note ugly freebie floor mats

Attachment 503110

Acres of space for 3 passengers in rear with front seat adjusted for 6 foot driver. Ugh..those floor mats again...they are going tomorrow.

WOW,i think this a logan ownership report on TBHP after a long time .
Congrats .
You got all those accessories for only 14 k , how did you manage that .

The space inside the car looks huge man with front seat arranged for 6ft + people ,its simply mindblowing.

Drive safe and keep us all posted regularly .

Cheers

[VMC]

Congrats on the new buy hossdoc.
The first time I sat on this car was in a cab from BLR Airport to back home. Most of the cabs in BLR are either Logan or Indicab and the first thing I noticed is this cab's engine was very smooth. I asked a couple of questions to the cab driver and he prompltly replied that it was way better than the cars from Tata stable and was also cheap to service it. What was very surprising is this cab was running over 2.5lac kilometers and it felt as if it was a new one.
The only dissapointing thing in this car is the interiors- the look and feel maybe that could have been a lot better.
All said and done I am sure you will love this car for the way it behaves on the road. Suggest you to change to a wider set of tires.
Congrats again and do keep us updated on your experience.

[Reinhard]

Hi hossdoc,

Welcome to TBHP and hearty congratulations on your 1.5 powered Logan. Wish you & your family unlimited safe and happy miles with her. Nice review and I liked your liked/disliked/neutral section. Absolutely agree with #6 in HATE section. These nuts on the roads will never know the meaning of being courteous enough to drive on lower beam throw...

At the same time I'm not able to resist myself from saying I'm sorry to hear that past experiences and sales team have resulted in you not going for the MANZA QJD really. I guess Tata will probably not be able to sort this thing ever...

Nice pictures. I felt the engine looks SE*Y! Nice engine bay. How about the NVH levels?

@shantyrocks-
Well there are concrete reasons why this car didn't get a good customer base IMHO. Have a look at the points hossdoc has mentioned above and you'll know them. Its already hard to take Indian buyers away from MarutiSuzuki. The misses / goof ups that MahindraLogan have done with the originally Romanian Dacia Logan are unforgivable in our market. (Hey hossdoc, please don't feel offended in any way mate. Its a good car without doubt and everyone's priorities and requirements are unique.)
For instance, they could have spent some money to make sure they fully converted the LHD car to RHD with levers and wipers at correct orientation. Frankly I felt it was a crime made by our transport authorities to let a car roll out with wipers placed this way (same opinion about the wiper/light control stalks being reversed as well).
The co-pilot gets a full clear view while driver's glass is half cleared. Okay it may not leave you with a totally wet windshield as a driver, but its a heavy psychological hindrance for sure. I've driven Logan in rains and didn't enjoy it. May be simply because I hated that layout.

Add to that, The Manza (and some DZIRE / Etios variants) costs same / lower than the Logan with truck loads of more features and a 90PS (75 for DZIRE) VGT (FGT for DZIRE) Fiat MJD which also carries licensing costs in addition for Tata/MSIL. I'm not sure what will be the case in case of the Logan's Renault engine license for M&M.

Comfort and space are Logan's USPs but M-L didn't properly price/market this car.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Comfort and space are Logan's USPs but M-L didn't properly price/market this car.

With Mahindra taking over the Logan brand, I hope they will surely look into these aspects probably with a good marketing too.

Hossdoc, Does the DLX variant has ABS too or its still a previlage of the top end variant?

[Naparajito]

Congratulations for the new Renault Logan!!!!It's a wonderful car and you get a super silky clutch which is now a hydraulic unit.Ya the OEM tyres aren't good and will wear off between 25k to 30k.U can change those tyres to michelins.Hope you'll get a good mileage after 6300kms which is written in the owners manual.

[Arkin evoisrevo]

Congrats!!! The Logan is one of my favorite cars, and I'm thinking of getting myself one in black, if we need to buy a new car.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Hi hossdoc,


Add to that, The Manza (and some DZIRE / Etios variants) costs same / lower than the Logan with truck loads of more features and a 90PS (75 for DZIRE) VGT (FGT for DZIRE) Fiat MJD which also carries licensing costs in addition for Tata/MSIL. I'm not sure what will be the case in case of the Logan's Renault engine license for M&M.

Hi. You are misinformed. The Logan DLX costs Rs 5.7 lakh ex-showroom here, the DZire VDi, Rs 6.25, and the Manza Qdjt starts at Rs 5.85 lakh.
Between the Dzire and Logan, the Logan definitely makes more sens, as you can save nearly 60-65 thousand (after discounts) and will get some accessories thrown in for free, Unless you badly need Low end grunt or need good resale value. Or, for the price of the VDi, you can get yourself a Logan with ABS + Airbags! Between the Logan and Manza, the Manza makes better sense, unless you want a car that has more compact dimensions (can help in the city) and more reliable than a Tata.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

With Mahindra taking over the Logan brand, I hope they will surely look into these aspects probably with a good marketing too.

Hossdoc, Does the DLX variant has ABS too or its still a previlage of the top end variant?

Nope, only the DLSX comes with a Driver Airbag + ABS. The Fiesta is probably the only car in its segment that offers ABS in the Middle Variant.

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Congrats .
You got all those accessories for only 14 k , how did you manage that .

It's simple!

sun film: 2-3k
rear park sensors 2-3.5k
, black art leather seat covers, 4-10k
carpet mats 1k
and of course number plates - 0.2-1k

[Reinhard]

@Arkin_evoisrevo - Sorry my mistake then...Thanks for correcting...

[Arkin evoisrevo]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

@Arkin_evoisrevo - Sorry my mistake then...Thanks for correcting...

Nah, I don't blame you. 1 1/2 years ago when my grandpa wanted to buy a diesel sedan, the Logan used to cost around 10-20k (if I recall correctly) variant - to variant more than the Dzire. Over the past 1 year it has gone through excessive price cuts, so now, it's priced well.

[ghodlur]

@hossdoc,

How's the AC performance? The car I had Test driven had a poor AC, I had tested the car in the October heat in 2010. One of the reasons for ticking off the Logan from the list.

[dhanushs]

Congrats on the car, mate!!.

THE LOGAN = NO NONSENSE.

A highly practical and extremly frugual sedan. May it server your purpose for thousands of miles. .

Originally Posted by Arkin evoisrevo

...Unless you badly need Low end grunt

The logan has a better, more linear power delivery. Drivabiltiy factor is very high for the logan's 1.5L 65bhp mill as compared to Fiat's 1.3 MJD.

but then, these days, one is becoming more and more addicted to the turbo lag (Read: kick )

[abhinav.s]

Long time since a Logan ownership report showed up on T-BHP.

Congrats on the buy hossdoc. It does look good in the color that you have got. But the interior is very plane jane and will not be to everyone's liking.

The rear seat is the place to be in this car. As pointed by others, its a true 5 seater with good comfort.

Wishing you many happy miles with the car.