Dacia Logan MCV
Our first impressions of the UK's cheapest estate
The Dacia Logan is the cheapest estate on sale in the UK with a staring price of just £6995. Although we've pushed the boat out and gone for a plusher Laureate model.
Date: 28 October 2015 | Current mileage: 364 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 59.1mpg
So after saying goodbye to the much-loved Suzuki SX-4 S-Cross - a car which was spot on in terms of pretty much everything I needed from a family car including being well priced, I'm switching to something that is all about value. Step forward the Dacia Logan MCV. Britain's cheapest estate on sale.
So how cheap is cheap? Well remarkably, the Logan MCV starts at just £6995. That gets you the basic Access model and basic is certainly the word to use. It has wind-up windows front and back, steel wheels and you don't even get a radio. If you want proper no-nonsense and cost-effective motoring this is the model for you.
We've gone for a rather more plush Laureate version fitted with the 1.5 dCi 90 engine. This comes in at £10,795 which is still incredibly cheap for an estate. If you look at something like a Skoda Fabia Estate, you'd be paying at least £15,090 for a diesel.
And our Laureate model gets plenty of standard kit. Air conditioning, front fog lights, heated and electrically adjustable door mirrors, electric front windows, Bluetooth, trip computer, cruise control, alloy wheels, a height adjustable driver's seat, remote central locking and a leather gear lever are all standard. Plus a CD radio. And remember this is a car that costs less than £11k. Nothing out there can match Dacia when it comes to value for money.
Simple but user-friendly - the Logan interior is also comfortable
We have splashed out on metallic paint at £495 along with the £95 emergency spare wheel - to be on the safe side. Plus we went for the MediaNav navigation system with its 7-inch touchscreen and Bluetooth music streaming. At £300 this looks a bargain compared to how expensive navigation and upgraded infotainment systems can be in other cars. The Logan may be cheap but Dacia hasn't skimped on safety. All Logan MCVs come with ESC stability control, front side airbags and Isofix child seat mounts on both outer rear seats.
I must admit I was a little apprehensive switching from the Suzuki to the little known Dacia. But after just a few days I was pleasantly surprised. Forget for a minute that this is a cheap car and you can appreciate it for what it is - a genuinely good small estate.
If you didn't already know, Dacia is owned by Renault - indeed in some markets its cars are sold with a Renault rather than Dacia badge. So you won't be surprised to see plenty of older Renault bits inside. It's far from a sophisticated interior but it's well though out and surprisingly comfortable. I
It may not look that big compared to the likes of the Ford Focus Estate, but the Logan is big inside with a huge boot that makes it ideal as a family estate. And with all my photography equipment to carry around, that space will really come into its own. That said, I have already found one area where Dacia has cut costs - the rear boot catch has no plastic cover and I've already caught my hand a couple of times.
What's in a name?
Matt has already covered 2000 miles in the Logan and has also just about worked out how to pronounce Dacia properly...
Date: 11 November 2015 | Current mileage: 2106 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 50.1mpg
So what's in a name? Especially when it comes to cars? Well according to Dacia, you actually pronounce it 'Dat-cha' which sounds very much like something Chaz and Dave might blurt out mid song. In fact I’ve heard many people pronounce this in far more absurd ways, so Datcha it is.
I’ve just hit the 2000 mile mark in a very short space of time in the Logan MCV - the latter part standing for max capacity vehicle if you wanted to know - and spent quite a few hours in it heading up to Newcastle and back over the last week.
In a car where there are few thrills there is something which immediately stands out as being impressive - namely the MediaNav system with its 7-inch touchscreen. It's good - in fact it's very good. In a budget car you might expect a token gesture of a sat nav system but the Dacia one is brilliant.
There's nothing flashy but it's simple, neat and does the job. And does it well. There's not a single button, it's all touchscreen, but handily there aren't masses of menu systems to wade through to find what you want.
The Dacia navigation system had a funny turn before sorting itself out
You can connect your smartphone via Bluetooth and play your music just like a premium system, but there's no premium tag attached to the price. At £300 it's an absolute bargain.
Bizarrely, on the first day I drove the Logan, the system seemed to immediately lose all its confidence and tell me it had a fatal error. As the picture above shows. It was as though it had admitted defeat. In truth nothing had gone wrong at all and turning the car off and back on again saw the error message disappear. Since then nothing has gone wrong.
It's how navigation systems should always be in my opinion. And it makes you realise how over-complicated many have become. The Dacia one just does the job without adding all the extras you don't necessarily need. On top of this, the sound system is also very good and can be controlled from the steering wheel stalk, simplifying the whole process further.
This may be my first experience of a Dacia - it was not a name that was known in the UK a few years ago - but I've been very impressed so far. Budget car or not, it's a good estate that is exceeding my expectations.
The Dacia dark and the light
Matt is having trouble seeing the speedo display in our Logan. And is getting all confused by daytime running lights...
Date: 25 November 2015 | Current mileage: 2937 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 57.9mpg
Something I initially noticed from the first time I sat behind the wheel of the Logan was the dash and its layout. Although this is a cheap car, absolutely everything you need is here. You have a trip computer on the washer stalk which can cycle through everything from mpg, range, temperature and even gallons of fuel used.
The instrument cluster has a nice clear speedo and to the left of the rev counter includes a little gear change up light in order to obtain maximum economy. Along with the brilliant MediaNav system it's well equipped. Is there really anything else you need in the car?
Well perhaps. You do need to be able to see all this info and that's where there's a very strange anomaly in the Dacia. Without turning on the side lights it's almost impossible to see any of this information.
Maybe I’m being a little unfair here as the on board computer on the right hand dial is clearly visible as its a bright LCD screen. But the speedo and revs are virtually indistinguishable as they are deep set into the dash with hardly any ambient light to show the figures.
So from the first time I drove the car I found myself having the side lights on in the middle of the day just in order to see the speed I was driving at. In fact, I’ve never driven the car nearly 3000 miles with the side lights on.
Matt is a big fan of the The Darkness. Or not as the case may be
It's a small problem and easily solved, but here's the thing - the Dacia Logan MCV has daytime running lights in exactly the same place as the sidelights, in fact they are the sidelights. So it appears Dacia has decided that it's safer to run with bright daytime running lights without being able to clearly determine what speed you're driving at.
Now here's the next strange anomaly. The daytime running lights then effectively lose a bit of light and become darker. So you could argue, "so what, the daytime running lights need to be brighter don’t they". Well yes, they probably do. But it does seem a bit of a pointless exercise as you really can't see the speed you're driving at without the sidelights on during the day.
This means you're running darker daytime running lights (sidelights) during the day which aren't as effective as the actual daytime running lights and so you never use them. I wonder whether by switching to sidelights the power is slightly diverted to the dash light and hence the daytime light just draws slightly less power and is darker.
It just seems a very strange waste of time as you really will only drive this car with the sidelights switched on. Fortunately, the Dacia is equipped with a warning alarm so that you can't leave the sidelights on and drain the battery when you exit. See, the Dacia isn't as basic as you think...
What's the noise all about?
After 3000 miles in the Logan MCV, Matt is finding the din created in fifth gear at low speeds is unbearable.
Date: 9 December 2015 | Current mileage: 3402 miles | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 58.2mpg
I’m now just over 3000 miles into the Dacia and another slight annoyance has crept up enough for me to have a little moan. And actually it's not me that initially noticed it, but the rest of my family every time they sat in the car. In fairness I had actually noticed, just never mentioned it as I thought I could live with it.
The problem? Driving in fourth gear at around 2000rpm is no problem. Accelerate only slightly into fifth gear and the noise in the car actually becomes unbearable at these revs. In fact the only way to be comfortably in fifth gear is to be driving a lot quicker. Anything under 50mph and the labouring sound of the engine deafens you.
It's the closest you’ll get to sound waves actually vibrating you and not just your ear drums. At which point the resonance is almost exactly the same as your own internal resonance resulting in the sound becoming worse as the kids start shouting and groaning to add to the almost vomit-inducing noise.
I’m actually not exaggerating here. It's actually unbearable to drive like this forcing you to change back down into fourth gear.
Logan could really do with a sixth gear
So I find myself only ever using fifth gear on motorways. But here's the thing - I thought that maybe it's just me changing gear too early? However, cleverly the Dacia has a gear shift indicator on the dash - which tells me to change up early. Not so clever at the given revs which cause the deafening din.
There's not much you can do about this apart from wear ear defenders which isn't something I’d recommend. Especially as you'd have to supply the whole family with them. It's purely in the gearing and I cant help but think that if the ratios were set slightly differently - and the Logan had a sixth gear - this would not be so much of an issue.
Other than this noise issue the gearing seems perfectly matched to the 1.5-litre dCi engine. At any other time or speed there is absolutely no problem with engine noise. In fact the Logan MCV is very quiet. Come to think of it there’s pretty much no engine noise and from the outside, it doesn't sound as agricultural as some smaller diesels tend to.
There's no apparent wind noise or any of those annoying creaking noises which you’d expect to develop fairly early in a car with this starting price. It is just quite unbearable at that moment between 40-50 mph between fourth and fifth. What's worse is the eco button. Drive in this mode and it feels like days before the car accelerates away from the problem.
Bluetooth giving me the blues
The Logan MCV comes with an impressive and good value infotainment system but the quality of the Bluetooth connection leaves a lot to be desired.
Date: 23 December 2015 | Current mileage: 3948 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 58.6mpg
I'm nearly at the 4000 mile mark in our Logan MCV and again something has cropped up which isn't so much a niggle for me, but seems to be for anyone trying to call. Namely, the Bluetooth connection.
Now it may not be the connection that's the problem, but something is up with the quality of the call. The multimedia system is absolutely top notch in terms of setting up while using the phone is incredibly intuitive. If you need to make a call its all hands free and very quick to use.
It's simple to call the last person you spoke to or scroll through your phonebook contacts. It's just as easy answering a call or changing the volume - all at your finger tips on the stalk by the wheel. The problem seems to be the other end. No one can hear me. In fact just about everyone I speak to says that they can't hear anything or the usual is I’m told it's a really bad line.
Now normally I’m on either the M25 or M1 and the reception is usually very good, so it's clearly a problem my end. Trouble is, for me it's perfect. I can hear everything clearly. It's just they can't hear what I’m saying. This quickly becomes a problem when every other word spoken is usually "pardon", "sorry" or "say that again?
Our Dacia is proving a great small hatch. Apart from the poor Bluetooth connection
But the problem doesn't end there because if you connect your smartphone or iPod to the infotainment system via Bluetooth to listen to your music, every so often everything goes silent for a second and then seems to catch up on itself again. It's not a problem for phone calls, but listening to music can be unbearable when it happens 10 times in one song.
However, it can be rectified as fortunately there is a USB port at the front of the system where you can plug your smart device immediately into the system thus removing the Bluetooth connection. This solves the problem, however the phone calls still leave the person calling you none the wiser to anything you're saying.
On the subject of the music player, it is brilliant if you connect this way as all your music collection is then available on screen and can be selected at the tap of a finger. It's very user-friendly and the sound quality once you have almost turned the bass setting to zero is fantastic.
Set the bass to its default position and the sound that comes out of the speakers is pretty much identical to the sound I mentioned in my previous update. Again ear defenders kind of defeat the object when all you want to listen to is Duran Duran. Or perhaps not...
Keyless Dacia is key
Matt isn't always a fan of lots of unnecessary electronics in modern cars but the back to basics Logan MCV is proving a step back too far.
Date: 11 January 2016 | Current mileage: 5251 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 56.7mpg
It's time to dispel a myth that even I have found myself repeating regularly in pretty much any modern car today. The words (or expletives) that usually spring to mind are "what's wrong with just having a key" or another favourite, "where's the start button?"
All this is usually blurted out when instructions haven't actually been read. Or just simple impatience being the actual problem, leaving me with the firm belief that modern cars would all be much better if we just did away with all this electric keyless start button business.
Well here's the thing. We wouldn't. Why? Well because simply put, the Dacia Logan is clear proof that all the electronic extras do have a place in modern motoring. There's no electronic start in this car, just a good old fashioned key to look and unlock. There's not even a fob button for the boot. No, in this car it's the old school process of inserting key in lock and physically turning to open.
Surely this is better than modern day wizardry? Well actually, no it isn't. In fact this is the first car I've ever got in and said that I miss electronic keyless ignition.
That's because using the key does become a bit of a faff, especially when you want to put something in the boot. I may be a little unfair here as there is a lever by the drivers seat for unlocking the boot, but that doesn't help you when it's chucking it down and you need to put everything down in order to find your keys to open boot.
Worse still is the panic that ensues when you've finished loading the boot and have a key attack. That awful feeling that you've lost your keys - only to find out after being completely soaked, that the keys are still in the tailgate.
It's not a huge problem to start with, but it really does get annoying after a while. Worse is still to come though. You also need the key to unlock the petrol filler cap. That's not too much of a problem as it's behind a flap so it's never iced over, but it really is a pain when after filling to spend an eternity trying to fit and lock the cap back in place.
On several occasions I've nearly given up hope. This is the price we pay for progress or in the case of the Dacia Logan, don't pay. I doubt I'll ever curse keyless ignition again. Ironically, if Dacia did add it to the Logan it would probably be very good...
Speed limiter proves to be overly effective
Matt tries out the speed limiter on the Dacia Logan MCV but it proves to be less than successful...
Date: 25 January 2016 | Current mileage: 6892 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 54.6mpg
I have driven nearly 7000 miles in the Logan and I have to say that the car really is standing up well. It's currently returning 54mpg on average. I previously mentioned that the Bluetooth phone quality was dreadful. Even if I had a strong phone signal strength the reception and the phone conversation was almost impossible from the callers end.
However I have learnt that if I make the outgoing phone call then the conversation is very clear. This works great in theory but effectively it does mean that I pay for phone calls If I need to have a conversation while driving. Any received phone calls are almost pointless though as the quality of the call is so bad for them. Perhaps it's just a way for callers to get me to call them back...
So a slight positive with regards to the hands-free phone system, but as ever whenever there is a positive there is also a negative and unfortunately this negative is very negative. The Logan is kitted out with a speed limiter and cruise control. The former I've not used before but thought I'd give it a go.
The button is situated rather awkwardly by the window switches which are also quite difficult to reach at the bottom of the central console by the cupholders. I decided to try the speed limiter on the A1 while driving through a fixed 60mph speed limit.
The Logan MCV's speed limiter proved very effective...
The feature itself works very well when it works, however on this occasion the car decided to not work at all, interior lights turned on followed by the central warning lights and then the car just decided to lose power completely leaving me with no option but to park the car on the hard shoulder with the warning lights on.
So what happened? I have no idea. So I implemented the traditional way of fixing things by turning the car off and then on again. All seemed fine, the engine sprung back to life and I carried on driving down the A1 as if nothing had happened. However I must say I have not used the speed limiter since and probably won't.
The trouble is I do think speed limiters are a good idea with more speed cameras springing up and speed awareness courses costing more money. But obviously in the Dacia, limiting the speed to 0mph is a bit too much.
Obviously this is just a glitch somewhere and more work needs to be done but from now on I think a little bit more awareness just using my right foot might be better when driving through average speed cameras. It's not too worrying though as this is the only thing that has gone wrong in the Logan, 7000 miles on and still the seats aren't even hinting of squeaking!
Boot to the future
The back to basics Logan requires turning a key in order to unlock the doors and boot. Old school. But getting into the boot can prove frustrating.
Date: 8 February 2016 | Current mileage: 7244 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 54.8mpg
You have to rely on turning the key for many things in the Dacia. Obviously starting it, but also opening the doors and boot or just simply needing to refuel the car.
But there is one way you can open the boot without the key. Down by the driver's seat at the side by the door is a small lever which handily opens up the boot. That's all well and good if you need to open the boot before you get out of the car, but not so useful if you're already outside the car.
However, it is progress of sorts. A lever inside the car you say? Great that means I don't need to use my key for once... Well yes and no. It all depends on what you do next once the lever's been pulled.
If you pull the lever, get out of the car and shut the drivers door, when you get to the tailgate you'll find it still firmly closed, resulting in you walking back to the driver's door and pulling the lever once again. Close the drivers door and you'll once again find that the tailgate is firmly locked. So is it a duff lever or a broken mechanism?
Boot release lever is handy. If you don't then close the door
Well, no, because everytime you pull the lever you can clearly hear the tailgate making a firm clunking sound as it unlocks. So what's going on? I've worked that it's all to do with closing the drivers door. When you do, the air flow through the car pushes the tailgate up and then it closes back on itself and locks. It’s a very tiny movement, but is enough to re-lock the boot.
Pull the lever, leave the drivers door open and when you arrive at the tailgate your boot is unlocked. When you remember this routine it works. So while it was annoying at first I now find it quite funny as it does happen every time you do this.
Not so funny is the rain. When you leave the door open to get to the boot and it's raining, you end up returning to a very damp car seat. Worse is when you then use the key to unlock the boot and go through the routine of not finding your keys again as they’re up in the air hidden, dangling from the tailgate lock.
This is why most cars have a button hidden under the boot. But then this is why the Dacia is cheaper than all its competitors. It's the price you pay, or don’t in the case of Dacia.
How the Logan stacks up against the competition
The Logan is the cheapest estate car on sale in the UK but how does it stack up against the competition.
Date: 22 February 2016 | Current mileage: 7645 | Claimed economy: 80.7mpg | Actual economy: 54.1mpg
If you're after a compact estate car - or indeed any estate car - the Dacia Logan MCV is the cheapest on the market. Like the Sandero and Duster, Dacia has made headlines with its low prices. But there's more to Dacia than just cheap and cheerful - the Logan MCV is proving to be a very impressive small estate, regardless of price.
Yes there are some compromises to be made and the Logan does without some of the modern tech you see on other cars, but what is the Logan MCV like day-to-day as a family estate, when compared to the competition?
In terms of luxury the basic Access model is notably different to our Laureate which comes with pretty much everything you’d want in your family estate. So what are the Logan's nearest competitors? When it comes to size and price, it’s probably the Skoda Fabia estate followed by the Seat Ibiza ST.
But here's the thing. The fully equipped Laureate version I’m driving costs £11,685 on the road. That includes things like the built in navigation system, metallic paint, parking sensors, air conditioning, Bluetooth and cruise control.
Skoda Fabia Estate is the closest competitor for the Dacia Logan
The cheapest Skoda Fabia estate is £12,460 which gets you an S trim model. It's pretty well equipped but you'd have to pay extra for things like air conditioning and parking sensors (just those two would add more than £1000). Plus that price is for a 1.0-litre petrol engine. The cheapest diesel is £14,790.
The Skoda has a very big boot at 530 litres and dropping the seats increases it to a maximum of 1370 litres. But the Logan is even bigger with 573 litres expanding to a whopping 1518 litres with the seats down.
Let's get this into context here. A Mondeo hatch, yes a Ford Mondeo, has a boot capacity of 541 litres. Yep it's bigger than a Mondeo. If you do the maths, you could buy a top spec Logan Laureate and a basic Access model for the price of a top of the range Skoda Fabia Estate Monte Carlo edition. Not bad.
So what's the difference? Well not that much really. The Logan is decent inside, drives reasonably well and is economical. Plus of course it has a massive boot. True it's a bit noisy and does without some of the niceties of the Fabia, but the Logan has plenty to recommend it.
Another thing I noticed yesterday while driving over the Dartford bridge is there’s a new average 50mph speed section before the bridge covering yet more roadworks. I’m not sure how the Logan knew I was in this section but immediately sounded its warning bells to tell me to slow down. The navigation also displayed my average speed over the section and was constantly adjusting to display a true average. Clever stuff indeed for a car thats not so basic at all.
