Estate 0.9 TCE 90 Ambiance

So good I forget it's there, unless I'm driving it!

I've finally got round to reviewing this excellent car after 21 months and almost 18,000 miles of use.Firstly, to explain my summing up sentence. I've had plenty of cars, most of which cost more than the £9,000 spent on my Logan, about which I've constantly worried for one reason or another. Reliability problems, faults, worrying about damage to them when parked up, running costs, you know the sort of thing. None of this with the Logan MCV. No faults or warranty claims, a cheap car which I intend to keep for years, so minor damage doesn't bother me one bit. Typical fuel economy of 47mpg on a 400 mile motorway/A road run, most of the time on or above the legal speed limit. Very cheap insurance, tyres cost £50 each and last for ages. After years of obsessional weekly car cleaning and hoovering this car receives no such care but doesn't punish me for its neglect.
Recent extensive home improvements mean frequent trips to the tip with heavy and often dusty and dirty waste. It's like a comedy sketch as I keep pulling more and more out of the car at the tip, long after hatchbacks and SUVs have been emptied. Move a wardrobe 300 miles? no problem. Plenty of room for dog and carrier in the boot, even when travelling with luggage. A low boot lip for loading (and for the dog to jump in).
Despite the review of this car by Jeremy Clarkson, king of the petulant, spoilt, petrolheads, where he descibes it as characterless (to put it mildly), the car is full of character. The tiny, 3 cylinder turbo engine whistles away tunefully. It produces a lovely "thrum" whilst accelerating under load. Use the gearbox sensibly and you can be out there in the fast lane with big boys in German saloons but ease off and 70mph in lane one is relaxing and fun.
Of course the car has faults. Driving position is not ideal, the gearbox rather notchy. Then there's the "scratchy plastic interior". Is that a fault. When I'm busy driving I just don't have the time to look at or lovingly fondle the interior materials of the car. When the boot is full of rubble or sharp-ended timber I'm rather grateful for hard plastics and tough fabrics.
This is a car for the sane motorist, careful with his money, who lives in the real world of modern motoring where cars get knocked about and sc***ed.
Finally, I've not uploaded a photo. Apart from the colour (mine's red) all Logan MCVs look pretty much the same, except mine has a sc***ed bumper which I don't intend having repaired (it would only get sc***ed again the following week).

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