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Dacia Logan MCV Laureate 1.5 dCi review
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The Dacia Logan MCV is the cheapest estate car on sale in the UK
Verdict
This diesel-powered top-spec Dacia Logan MCV is the one that most buyers are predicted to go for, and we can see why. The 1.5-litre diesel feels modern, smooth and punchy, the ride and handling are both reasonably good and there’s so much space on offer that you’ll struggle to ever fill it. With a pretty lengthy equipment list you won’t even feel like you’re driving a budget car. Being a value-driven car will be the Logan’s only problem – its price and practicality won’t be enough for most people to overlook its frumpy image.
The Dacia Logan MCV is the cheapest estate car on sale in the UK, but what happens if you’ve got more than the £6,995 starting price to burn?
• Dacia Logan MCV estate review
Go for the top-spec diesel Laureate version tested here, add a couple of options and you’ll still only spend about £11,000 – around £3,000 less than a basic Clio with the same engine.
But what you get in the Logan that you don’t get in the Clio is a seriously spacious 573-litre boot. If you want this level of room you have to look at models like the Ford Focus Estate and SEAT Leon Sport Tourer, and that means spending more like £17,000.
Your priorities really have to be on space and value, though, because the Logan doesn’t deliver thrills, luxury or style. The back end looks grafted on like a bad extension, the interior is finished in basic materials and you notice small niggles like the lack of a footrest.
You do at least get cruise control, air-con, electric windows all-round and can specify a 7-inch media and sat-nav touchscreen for £250. Once you accept the Dacia for what it is, it’s actually a very likeable car. It rides quite well, even soaking up large potholes that more expensive cars would struggle with.
It’s really refined on the move, too, and this 1.5-litre diesel engine is smooth and quiet under acceleration. The official 0-62mph time of 12.1 seconds sounds slow, but in reality you’ve got plenty of torque for driving around town and carrying heavy loads in the boot – it’s a much better choice than the sluggish 1.2-litre petrol we tested last week.
In fact, our complaints about the way this Logan MCV actually drives are few and far between, making it a great choice for simple A to B transport. You even get fuel economy of more than 70mpg, CO2 emissions low enough to qualify for free road tax and can upgrade the standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty to seven-year/100,000 miles for just £850.
This is value motoring at its very best, but the Logan’s basic approach won’t get down well with all buyers.
Key specs
- Price: £10,795
- Engine: 1.5-litre 4cyl turbodiesel
- Power: 89bhp
- Transmission: Five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: 12.1 seconds
- Top speed: 107mph
- Economy: 74.3mpg
- CO2: 99g/km
- Equipment: Electric windows, air-con, cruise control, front fog lights, Bluetooth
- On sale: Now
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Disqus - noscript
11 grand for a new estate, hats off to dacia. greedy euro manufacturers no doubt could do this but won't
10 grand for a top spec diesel powered Dacia estate.
It sure shames some rivals who used to score on practicality and value but now will charge you nearly double this car's for a base spec diesel car offering similar boot space.
As has been said its brilliant value A great family car and cheap as chips to run and insure can,t fail can it
Well looks as tho Dacia have done it again, Its about time other manufacturers gave us a cheap estate car.
It looks at bit rubbish for a family car but if it was marketed as a cheap works estate/van I think they would sell a bucket load to small businesses.
Er...surely Dacia is a euro manufacturer ...it's in Europe and it's owned by Renault. The low cost reflects the low wage economy of Romania.
dont be fooled by the price tag materials used in the car especially inside are very cheap for 11 k you can get a beatiful ford mondeo estate with spec you cant get on dacia nonethless a good try
A 3 year old used Octavia S or SE estate makes much more sense for around £11k. Will still be worth more than this after another 3 years, and will look even fresher!
Ladas actually build Dacias now - the Lada Largus is the Sandero.
They have one, see the Dacia Dokker Van
Yes that's actually a van but that's not really my point. A lot of people like the converted estate to van i.e. blanked out rear windows scenario, so it doesn't look too industrial but does the job.
Also, it's not available in the UK at present.
I love how uninformed people dare to speak about these sort of things. First of all, the Lada Largus is not a Sandero, it's a first gen Dacia Logan MCV. Now, regarding the Octavia estate alternative, just think for a second... what sort of people buy an estate car? There are companies which buy them as fleet cars and there are persons who need to travel a lot and carry a lot of things, so yeah, you could buy a 3 years old Octavia but you'll have no warranty on that car anymore and it's going to be a pretty high mileage car. If you factor in the running costs, the tax band, the insurance group and all of these things, you'll find out that the second hand Octavia will be a few grand more expensive in the long run. Want more peace of mind or value? add the 7 year warranty and you get a pretty much worry free car. You really are a snob, aren't you?
weirdly enough, even if wages in Romania are lower than in western europe, Renault are complaining about the high wages workers from the Dacia plant in Romania have. That's why the UK version of Duster and the basic versions of Sandero are built in India and Morocco. If I'd live in the UK and consider buying a Dacia, I would go for either a top spec Duster, a top spec Sandero or the Logan MCV, all of which are built in Romania with a much better built quality. Also, here in Romania you can get dirt cheap spare parts for Dacia's and I'm sure that will be the case for the UK market in a couple of years. After all, there must be a reason why so many Germans and Frenches buy these cars.
Dacia Logan is virtually the Renault Megane Sport Tourer estate, built approx 2004-10. I had a 2006 1.6 petrol version for 7 trouble-free years and 45k miles. Bought for £10k new (£4k discount) and sold for £1.9k. It was unmarked, did 40mpg in comfort, nothing fell off and had original tyres/brakes/cambelt etc. A gem, dismissed by motor journalists but very highly praised by owners.