Value for money, but accelaration could be better. Review on Mahindra-Renault Logan

I purchased Logan 1.4 GLX(my driving is not much, so decided for Petrol engine) around two months ago after going through multiple reviews and test drives of Logan, Accent and Swift. My inital desire was to purchase Dezire from Maruti but went for other cars as Maruti was not taking booking for Dezire.

The tilt lowards Logan was mainly because of the back seat comfort that Logan provides. Mahindra had also sent a new car for test drive, whereas the Accent car for test drive was a car that had been driven for 60, 000 kms. The sales person said the dealer was not allowing a new car for test drive - that indicated to me that they do not seem to be putting their best foot forward. Finally, I got a discount of around Rs. 20000(insurance and std. accessories) and so the price difference between Accent and Logan went upto Rs. 37000 odd for me. The final on road purchase price was around Rs. 5, 38, 000.

I have not driven the car much - haven't taken it for a long drive. I have driven it for around 400 kms within the city, getting enough chances to shift gears.

Plus point definitely is the seating comfort that the car provides. Back seat is very spacious with enough leg room, even for a tall person. Even person sitting in the middle does not feel uncomfortable. I am sure this would be very useful when one undertakes long drives.

Looks are very relative - someone might like and someone might not. I personally like what I see. Small adjustment is required when operating indicator and light/vipers as they have swapped positions in the car. This does not take any time - maybe 2 days or so - so, there is not need to worry about that.

The big negative point I think is its gear shift. I am really not comfortable moving from 3rd gear to 2nd(I have to push harder towards left when moving the gear from 3rd to 2nd) and sometimes from 1st to 2nd. That indicates that when I have to bring the gear stick towards me, there is trouble. My left hand's fore arm pains after driving. Test drive did not seem to indicate such problem, but then test drive was for a shorter period. I have driven Maruti 800 of my father and I did not face this kind of problem.

But sometimes I feel that the problem could be with the way I drive(i.e., change gears) as so many other Logans are there on the road and also I do not remember reading about gear shift problems in other reviews. Other than gear shift, I have no complains as of now.

I would like to know from other owners of Logan if they have faced similar problems? As of now, I cannot give this car a high rating. Seating is fine, but driving comfort is more important. The first service is due in a week's time and I will tell this problem to the service centre. But I do not have much faith in getting this problem solved, though till now dealer(Vijai Auto Sales, Kormangala, Bangalore) have been responsive. But I think they took a longer time to deliver the car(3 weeks) then they should have.

I will update this review after a month or so, after the service and some more driving(maybe a long distance one too).

Note to Mouthshut- This is the 8th month of 2008, and it does not appear in'Model Year'!

*An Update on Oct 4, 2008

*The car has been driven around 1200 kms till now, with some drives to airport and back(100 Kms totally).

Some of the members of this communitiy commented that gear shift problem would go away after some time - glad to say that this has indeed happened. I had described the problem to service centre and they said they addjusted clutch plate. Whether they did anything or not, I do not have any more problem with that.

The much bigger problem I noticed was related to accelaration or performance - especially when AC is turned on. I had specifically tested for this while doing test drive as I had noticed similar problem in someone's Santro some months back. During the test drive, I did not notice any problem(of car feeling like a drag when trying to accelarate), but now car really slows down the moment AC is turned on. I wonder if the car for test drive had the engine tuned to perform better? Or is there any chance of car improving after sometime? Anyway, I am hoping for the best.

*An Update on Dec 8, 2008

The car has now been with me for around 5 months and I have driven it for around 2500 kms, and have got adjusted to the car. Overall, I now feel that the car is a good value for money, though Accent is not that far either. Accent has slighly better interiors but seats are not as wide as Logan. Looks etc. are dependent on personal choice and owners get used to looks after a certain period. While making a major purchase like car, one has to be very clear as to what one wants in a car - price, peformance(accelaration, mileage etc), looks, service etc. have to be considered before the purchase. I had lot of wishes and a specific budget, and that does not work out. Now I am adjusted to the car, and am satisfied. There will always be a better car, but probably more pricey. With all this in mind, I am now in a position to recommend the car to someone else, while keeping in mind that accelaration is not very good.

An update on Dec 13 2009

On the final free service around 5 months ago, I complained about the tough steering to the service centre. The surprising input - it is good and should not be compared with other cars(Maruti, Hyundai etc)! This is really funny, If some comparison will take place, it will definitely be with other cars, not with itself! Anyway, I took an independent opinion and they also said that it cannot be improved further. I was completely pissied off and decided to sell it off. I succeeded, with huge loss but was happy to get that off my back. But the positive point, the last time I checked the mileage, it was 14+ in city with AC on, even though service centre people did not go beyond 12. I think I am a good driver.

Now, I will definitely not recommed this car to anyone, especially with so many other cars getting launched, especially Tata Maanza. Even Renault has realized that Mahindra overpriced the car and kind of took Indian market/consumer for granted. I am now the proud owner of Verna SX petrol, but that story is for another review.