Logan 1.6 GLX .... nice buy. Review on Mahindra-Renault Logan

After much thought on which car to buy out of Dzier, Indigo CS and Logan. I finally decided on buying Logan. Here is why:

*Dzire Vxi:

Pros:** Maruti brand, specless A.S.S (after sales service) & cheap spares, ABS. I have a maruti 800 DLX 5 speed.

Cons: The crunch space on the back seats, less leg room, long waiting period (5 months was what I was told), rear window is too small, costly when you are getting a 1300 cc engine.

Indigo CSZxi:

Pros:Tata brand, spacious interiors, OK A.S.S., very competitively priced.

Cons:1200 cc engine barely carries 5 people on small hills, low quality interiors.

*Logan GLX:

Pros:** 2 big brands Mahindra & Renault, spacious interiors, huge boot space, comparable road clearance, 1.4 or 1.6 powerful engine, some really good safety features, good A.S.S. (Pune- Silver Jubilee), fantastically priced for the package (5.96 on road Pune)

Cons: spare far away service centers, yet to check on the spare parts but have been told they are inexpensive since they are made locally at Nashik.

I have already written rave reviews about the fantabulous sales and service shown by Silver Jubilee staff in my dealers review. So I will directly jump on the vehicle. Its a 1.6 GLX variant of Logan. For those who don't know, diesel variants come in only 1 engine which is a 1.5DL/S/X/E. Mine is Sahara Beige in color, petrol variant, the GLX (mid level, I know its different than the contemporary ways of GLX being top most and GLS being the mid version). It has tubeless tyres, a powerful A/C, power steering, power windows.

Beige interiors & a cool digital console for kms and trip meter, no DIS (Drive information system). In the GLS version, addition is a company fitted music system along with ABS and driver side air bag. The safety features, which don't know why, aren't much advertised about but are available in ALL variants are i)Collapsible steering (upon a head on collision, the steering will cut itself off from the axel & drop down.

So that it does not pierce the drivers chest) ii)crimps on the bonnet from inside (again if there is an accident, the shock is absorbed by the vehicle bonnet & not passed on to the driver directly) iii)doors have metal pipes in them so that if there is any hit received from the side, the door doest not bend inwards so as minimise injury to the occupants.

So far I have covered about 2200 kms on it. I have rarely used it in city (once on laxmi road and once in Mandai (pune) is all I could dare to do till now) since I have other vehicles 2 wheelers & maruti 800 for that purpose. But its been a pleasant experience so far. I have taken it twice to Mumbai (from the old highway) just to check the ghats & the vehicles behavior. I must admit the engine really performs. From Mumbai to Pune, from old highway there are steep turns and twists & with total 6 people in the car.

I could cover most of the ghat on the 3rd gear. There are 3 curves on this ghat which are really steep & curvy. I had to put it in 2nd gear over there. Rest whole of the highway & the part of new express) was treated on 4th and 5th. My parents, wife & 8 month old kid had no complains after this great ride to and fro. One note that my parents made was that the back seats were comfortable in Logan, than what they experienced in Dzire(very cramped for even 3) & IndigoCS( sufficient for 3, but little discomforted, probably bcoz the rear seat is colapsible in InidigoCS). My own experience is that its comparable to Honda city comfort wize)

It fetches me about 11 - 12 kms / liter in city and max it has given 13.6 kms on highway. I am following Mr. Sachin Bawaskar's (the Sales manager at Silver Jubilee Pune) direction on good driving and hoping to get better mileage. The company anyways claims that the vehicle has to do about 3000 kms before it reaches peak performance. The first servicing done at Chinchwad at 1100 kms /2 months was also a pleasant experience. There were finer tuning to be done so as to get rid of the sweaky noise from the right door. Not to mention, since there were few scratches and uneven paint as a manufacturing defect on the car, Silver Jubilee gave the vehicle a free rubbing polishing treatment. I was simply amazed at this hospitality and concern shown by the dealer. The first servicing cost me nothing. unfortunatley there was a cardboard missing from the boot, which too the dealer helped me get back within 10 days (KUDOS) !!!

I will keep updating this review as & how I make different trips. In the mean time I will suggest anyone with the budget of about 5.5 to 6L to go for this vehicle & if you are in Pune or Pimpri Chinchwad or areas around take the effort of buying it from Silver Jubilee. It worth every penny.

Done 5000 kms. Made a trip to Pandharpur (about 550 kms to & fro from Pune). Gave me 15+ kms/lit. But there is a knocking problem that has cropped up after the 2nd servicing & I am following up with the service centers on it. One visit to Chinchwad branch was not enough, since I was told to put in fuel additive. However that hasn't really helped much. I am making another visit to Hadapsar to get a 2nd opinion.