Dacia Logan MCV (2013 - 2020) 1.5 dCi Laureate 5d Owner Review

A month with a Dacia Logan MCV II DCi90. It's got Pearl Black paint, roof bars and a Renault 1461cc diesel engine. These are all the ingredients of Victor Meldrew runabout, when for the same money you can buy, well, almost anything on the used market, including a Maserati, or a quite decent Jag. But, for some reason, a new Dacia estate appealed more than a farty Maserati, particularly so when the Logan saves £300 a year vehicle excise duty, and does 62 mpg. The first week was spent cooing with surprise at the grunt of the wee turbo-intercooled Renault engine. It's got a turbolater. You press the throttle, and some time later, the turbo kicks in and you surge into the back of a bus. The real shove happens at around 1800 rpm. You've then got until 4000 rpm to complete whatever it is that you're doing, because by after that, little else is forthcoming. This might sound limiting, but the long gearing means that, for the most part, the car is surprisingly lithe. This must have been going through the mind of the zesty Golf TDi driver who got into the headlights of the Dacia on a dual carriageway today, and couldn't get out of them. " Oh!" he must have been thinking. "That Dacia Logan is surprisingly lithe." It's as if Dacia designed the Logan to sit on autobahns cruising at 80mph. So they also fitted the Lauréate version with a cruise control. It does exactly that. 80mph is perfect. There is also all the other stuff you need, like a tyre pressure sensor, satnav, Bluetooth, aircon, electric windows front and rear, spare tyre, trip computer, service indicator. It's a bit closer to a Passat estate than VW would like. With 1200 miles on the clock in the first month, some stuff is beginning to bed in. The brakes have suddenly acquired an on/off switch and feel over-boosted. These has caused a readjustment in braking effort, when, even with drum brakes on the rear, the car wants to stop in its own length with the merest dab of a Gucci loafer. The 500 litres of rear space is a blessing. Three consenting adults on a weekend jaunt can just about fill it, but for the most part, you'll always have space to spare, unless you have a dog, or children, or a bicycle. In general terms the car is exceedingly pleasant to drive, assuming you find 'boosty' engines a thrill. There is an Eco button, which turns the sprightly Logan into a sort of lumpen van, so that will probably remain off, unless the car goes to Marseilles on the motorway. Even without Eco mode, the car will do around 650 miles on a tank of diesel, which is enough to get from London to Zurich without a stop. So far, everything is Much Better Than You Would Think. This should be Dacia's motto. The Logan MCV Turbolater Lauréate is proving to be very pleasant indeed, especially for just £11,000. We do have a Passat estate in the family, the Logan is a much nicer to car to drive. My last car was a Merc E Class Estate. I prefer the Logan; it doesn't generate huge service bills.