Dacia Logan – in a class of its own

ROAD TEST

Performing a double take on the price of a car is nothing new – usually because you can’t believe it really costs so much.

So it’s a breath of fresh air when a model like the Dacia Logan MCV comes along and blows its rivals back a couple of decades.

MCV stands rather aptly for Maximum Capacity Vehicle because the Logan offers Volvo V70-rivalling boot space – 1,518 litres when you flip fold the rear seats – for as little as £6,995.

And no, I haven’t missed a number off, it’s way less than the money you would pay for the most basic city cars and £1,150 less than the cheapest non-Dacia model, the Kia Picanto.

The Logan is effectively an estate version of the company’s Sandero supermini, sharing exactly the same underpinnings, engines and transmissions, but with a different look beyond the driver’s door.

The only difference is £1,000 in price to account for the Logan’s estate body and while it admittedly looks pretty ordinary, there’s something rather refreshing about the Logan.

While premium car makers are heralding virtual dashboards and apps for just about everything, the Logan doesn’t even come with a radio if you go for the entry level of the four trim grades – Access, Ambiance, Laureate and Laureate Prime.

That said, all versions come with anti-lock brakes, ESC Electronic Stability Control, ASR traction control and four airbags.

Every model has roof bars to help with the likes of camping kit and bikes while there are body-coloured bumpers and daytime running lights as standard.

And upgrading to the test model’s flagship Laureate Prime trim brings 15-inch alloys, sat-nav, Bluetooth, Cosmos Blue metallic paint plus a Comfort Pack of leather steering wheel and electric rear windows. An especially neat touch is the blue seatbelts.

The Logan may not be the most dynamic car to drive but Renault’s dCi 90 diesel engine is both strong and quiet with reasonable acceleration.

Best of all is the fuel economy – the official Combined return is 80.7 miles per gallon and our own figure wasn’t too far off at 72mpg.

If you’re someone who gets easily brassed off about paying through the nose, or just wants proper value from your motoring, the Logan’s in a class of its own.