The Dacia Logan is a small family car produced jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since 2004. It is currently in its second generation and has been manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, and at Renault's plants in Morocco, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Russia, Colombia, Iran and India. It is also produced as a pick-up at Nissan's plant in Rosslyn, South Africa.
It has also been marketed as the Renault Logan, Nissan Aprio, Mahindra Verito, Renault Tondar 90, Lada Largus (the MCV), Nissan NP200 (the pick-up) or Renault Symbol (the third generation), depending on the existing presence or positioning of the Renault brand.
From 2004 to July 2015, considering only the Dacia Logan model, 1.5 million units were sold worldwide. The same number was reached in 2014 for the Renault Logan/Symbol. Thus the Logan has then been sold at more than 3 million units till mid-2015.
Video Dacia Logan
Logan I (2004-2012)
During a visit to Russia by French President Jacques Chirac, Louis Schweitzer noted that at Lada and Renault dealerships the EUR6,000 Ladas were selling very well while the EUR12,000 Renaults stayed in the showroom. "Seeing those antiquated cars, I found it unacceptable that technical progress should stop you making a good car for EUR6,000." (He later revised this target to EUR5,000). "I also drew up a list of specifications in three words - modern, reliable and affordable - and added that everything else was negotiable." The cheapest version of the car is EUR5,900, and the price can reach EUR11,200, depending on equipment and customs duty. (The base model for Western Europe, where it is badged as a Dacia but generally sold in Renault dealerships, is somewhat more expensive).
The Logan was designed from the outset as an affordable car, and has many simplified features to keep costs down. It replaces many older cars in production, including the Romanian Dacia 1310 series of Renault 12-based cars.
It was officially launched in June 2004, and began marketing in September 2004. Renault originally had no plans to sell the Logan in Western Europe, but in June 2005, began importing a more expensive version of the car, starting at around EUR7,500. It was an unexpected success with people wanting an inexpensive, no-frills car they could repair themselves.
The Logan was launched in India in April 2007, as a collaboration with Mahindra, who helped Renault cut costs by 15%. India was the first right-hand drive market for the Logan. It was almost an instant success with impressive sales in the first few months. Since then Mahindra and Renault have parted ways, but the Logan continues to be sold by Mahindra, with technical support from Renault. Its awkward styling has resulted in lower than expected sales. The company has later introduced the name Verito to the car, which since then only had Mahindra badges.
Facelift
On 1 July 2008, almost four years after the release of the first Logan, a facelifted version called the Dacia New Logan was announced. The new version features a more modern design and a more attractive and more comfortable interior. This facelift was adopted on the station wagon in October the same year.
Features
The Logan is based on the Dacia B0 platform, also used for the Renault Clio II and for other Renault and Nissan models. It has 50% fewer parts than a high-end Renault vehicle and has a limited number of electronic devices. This makes the car cheaper to produce and easier and cheaper to repair.
Some parts are also much simpler than those of its competitors. For example, rear-view mirrors are symmetrical and can be used on either side of the car, the windshield is flatter than usual, and the dashboard is a single injection-molded piece.
The developers have taken into account several differences between road and climate conditions in developed and developing countries. The Logan suspension is soft and strong, and the chassis sits visibly higher than most other compact cars to help it negotiate dirt roads and potholes on ill-maintained asphalt roads. The engine is specially prepared to handle lower quality fuel, whereas the air conditioning is powerful enough to lower the temperature several degrees (temperatures above 40 °C are common in the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea).
Trim levels
In Romania, it was initially available with four trim levels: Ambiance, Preference, Laureate and Ambition. The basic level Ambiance featured a driver airbag, body-colored bumpers, wheel trims and central locking. The second level Preference added a passenger airbag, power steering, electric front windows, radio, two rear seat head restraints and remote locking. The third level Laureate added front fog lights, air conditioning, trip computer, electric mirrors, three rear seat head restraints and a multi-adjustable driver seat. The top level Ambition also had ABS, electric rear windows, CD player and alloy wheels. The 1.6-litre gasoline engine was available only on the Preference level and above. In September 2005, the 1.5-litre diesel engine was introduced, initially not being available on the Ambition level. In January 2006, a new intermediate trim level called Laureate Plus was added, which in addition to the Laureate level featured ABS, electric rear windows and CD player. Also, the diesel engine became available for the Ambition level.
In September 2006, several improvements were introduced to the range, such as a new button for the trunk-lid, a new knob for the gear lever, crystal rear lamps, as well as new designs for the wheel trims and the alloy wheels and three new paint colors. Also, the new top of the range level Prestige was introduced, which featured larger door mirrors, body-colored bumpers (entirely), side moldings and door handles, leather-trimmed gear lever and steering wheel, as well as other interior refinements. It was only available with a new 1.6-litre 16-valve gasoline engine, which developed 105 hp (78 kW).
In July 2007, a more powerful version of the 1.5-litre diesel engine was added, developing 85 hp (63 kW). It was initially made available only for the station wagon, on the Preference and Laureate levels, and in September 2007, it also became available for the sedan version, on the Laureate, Ambition and Prestige levels.
In June 2009, the new 1.2-litre 16-valve petrol engine was added for both the Logan and the Sandero. The engine was capable of developing a maximum power of 75 hp (56 kW) and 107 N?m (79 lb?ft) of torque.
Safety
In June 2005, the car achieved a three-star rating at the EuroNCAP crash tests. This result confirms initial expectations stated previously by Renault.
Depending on the equipment level, standard on some variants and optional on others, the facelifted Logan comes with driver, passenger and side airbags. In terms of active safety, all versions feature the latest generation Bosch 8.1 ABS, which incorporates EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution) and EBA (emergency brake assist).
Engines
Marketing and production
The Logan, vital to increasing sales of the Renault group to the 4 million mark by 2010, is manufactured in nine production and operational assembly centres: Romania, the pilot plant of the Logan Programme, Russia (Avtoframos), Morocco (Somaca), Colombia (Sofasa), Iran (two assembly plants), India (Mahindra), Brazil (Renault), and South Africa (Nissan). Located in Romania, near the Mioveni plant, the International Logistics Network, the official name of the CKD centre, is the biggest logistic centre of its kind not only in the Renault Group but in the entire world automotive industry.
In markets where Renault has a presence, such as European, African and Asian countries (i.e. Romania, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Morocco, Turkey and many others) it is sold as the Dacia Logan. Exceptions are South Africa, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, Colombia, Ecuador, Israel, Egypt, Brazil, Chile, Perú and Venezuela where it is marketed as the Renault Logan, and furthermore Mexico, where the Logan was sold as the Nissan Aprio, given the better reputation of the Japanese brand in the Mexican market. The Nissan Aprio had a 1.6-litre 16 valve inline-four engine with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission, and was assembled in Brazil. It was later discontinued from that market in August 2010, due to decreasing sales, and the Versa replaced it for the 2012 model year.
In Brazil, it was manufactured by Renault at the São José dos Pinhais factory since 2007, with the facelifted model being introduced in 2010. In South Africa, only the pick-up version was manufactured, at the Nissan factory in Rosslyn, starting from 2009.
In India, the Logan was marketed as the Mahindra Renault Logan. In 2005, Renault partnered the Indian utility and commercial vehicles manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M). Launched in 2007, Logan could not make the mark in the Indian market, selling just over 44,000 vehicles since then, and over 2,600 vehicles in Nepal and South Africa (M&M also held the licence to sell the Logan in India, Nepal and South Africa). In April 2010, it was announced that the M&M had bought out Renault's 49% in the Mahindra Renault joint venture. The new agreement gave M&M more flexibility in engineering the car to suit the needs of the Indian consumer. The Logan was marketed with the Mahindra-Renault logo until the end of March 2011. Following the dissolution of the Indian joint venture between Renault India and M&M in 2010, Mahindra retained the rights to produce and sell the Logan under its own name of Mahindra Verito, with minor alterations to the front, but retaining Renault diesel engines. On 26 July 2012, a facelifted version of the car was revealed by Mahindra in New Delhi, and on 5 June 2013, a notchback version was launched in Mumbai, called the Verito Vibe.
In 2007, the Logan branded as Renault Tondar 90 began to be marketed in Iran by Renault-Pars, manufactured by Pars Khodro and Iran Khodro. In the first month of production more than 100,000 Tondar 90 had been ordered. Renault Pars is a joint venture, 51 percent of which belongs to Renault of France. Forty-nine percent of Renault Pars' shares is jointly held by Iran's Industrial Development and Renovation Organization, IKCO and Saipa Group. The company was established in 2003. In 2010, Pars Khodro started to produce CNG Tondar 90s which can run on both petrol and CNG. Pars Khodro stopped producing CNG models in 2012. In 2013 IKCO started to produce Tondar 90s with automatic gearbox. The price tag is about 10,000 dollars for the manual transmission trim and 12,000 dollars for the automatic model. IKCO also made the Tondar 90 comply with Euro IV standards.
In the United States, an attempt at marketing electric versions of the wagon, the van and the pick-up as the EMC E36 was launched by the EnVision Motor Company, based in Des Moines, Iowa. They were to be powered by an asynchronous motor with a range of 200 mi (320 km) per charge, that has a top highway speed as high as 75 mph (121 km/h). EMC planned to use regenerative breaking and is coupled to an automatic shiftless button transmission. The battery can be charged through a J1772 plug or from wall outlets of either 110 or 220 volts. This venture has since collapsed into bankruptcy.
Logan production began with a 4-door sedan, followed by a wagon in September 2006. Four other models, a pick-up truck, a panel van, a related hatchback (the Sandero) and a facelifted sedan followed in 2007 and 2008. Dacia sales for 2006 were over EUR1.5 billion, 19.6% more than in 2005. Annual production has reached almost 250,000 cars, half for exports. As of March 2009, more than 1.3 million vehicles on the Logan platform have been sold worldwide. On 3 September 2009, it was announced that one million Dacia cars on the Logan platform X90 have been produced at the Mioveni plant: 576,887 Logans, 246,869 Logan MCVs, 144,931 Sanderos and Stepways, 19,897 Logan VANs and 11,416 Logan Pick-Ups.
One of the reasons for the increase in sales is the dependability of Dacia cars. In a recent survey conducted by a French magazine, Dacia cars were voted one of the safest cars in France. Another reason is their low maintenance and repair costs. According to the survey, Dacia cars were the cheapest to maintain and repair. In Germany, Dacia was placed on the second position in the 2010 Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study released by J. D. Power and Associates in June 2010.
Models
Logan MCV
The Logan MCV (Multi Convivial Vehicle), launched at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, is the station wagon version of the Logan. It has 5 or 7 seat versions, with a luggage space between 200 and 2,350 litres depending on how many seats are folded, and numerous storage spaces for smaller objects. It has a wheelbase longer by 275 mm (10.8 in) than the saloon, and larger rear doors for easy access to the third row of seats. It uses the same engines as the saloon, and an important improvement was the availability of side airbags. It has been considered a competitor for compact MPVs, for its dimensions and the 7-seat capacity.
Sales on the Romanian market began in October 2006 with prices ranging between EUR8,200 and EUR12,550, while sales to other countries began in early 2007. A revised version, with the new lights and bumper from the New Logan saloon, was released in late 2008. As of June 2010, Dacia produced 300,000 Logan MCVs. Production ended in November 2012, being replaced by the Lodgy.
Since 2012, it is also produced in Russia, by the AvtoVAZ company, under the Lada Largus brand name, after it was previously exhibited at the 2010 Moscow International Motor Show as the Lada Project R90. It is also offered with crossover-style body elements as the Largus Cross.
Logan VAN
The panel van variant of the Logan was launched on 23 January 2007, in Bucharest. It is a small business oriented vehicle, with 2,500 litre loading space and 800 kg payload. The Logan VAN is more or less an MCV without the rear side windows and therefore has the same safety features and uses the same engines as the other models (except the 1.6 16v engine). Production of this model was stopped in August 2012. Since its launch, over 53,000 units were manufactured. The panel van version is still produced at AvtoVAZ.
Logan Pick-Up
The coupé utility version of the Logan, also based on the MCV, was introduced on 10 September 2007 (4 October 2007 at the Bucharest International Motor Show), and replaced the Dacia Pick-Up. Sales began in Romania in 2008, with the price ranging between EUR7,300 and EUR9,450.
Starting October 2008, the Logan Pick-Up is sold in South Africa as Nissan NP200 for around ZAR115,000. Visually similar to the original model at launch, it received a small facelift in early 2009. It is being built at the Nissan plant outside Pretoria, alongside the Renault Sandero, and is also exported to neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe. As of 2017, Nissan South Africa continues to offer the pick-up.
It was discontinued by Dacia in July 2012, and has been replaced in the model range by a version of the Dokker.
Maps Dacia Logan
Logan II (2012-present)
The second generation Logan was revealed by Dacia at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Official photos with the new Logan were released on 17 September 2012. It shares the same front end design with the second generation Sandero, also revealed at the motor show, as well as other elements too.
Sales in Romania began in November 2012, with a starting price of EUR6,690. It is manufactured in Mioveni, Romania, and in Casablanca, Morocco, at the Somaca factory, for the North African market. There will be no seven-seat or panel van versions of the second generation Logan, as they have been replaced by the Lodgy and the Dokker respectively.
The saloon version was also launched in South America, as the second generation Renault Logan, in December 2013, after being revealed at the Buenos Aires Motor Show in June 2013. It is manufactured at the Renault Brazil factory in São José dos Pinhais (near Curitiba).
In March 2014, it was launched in Russia (where it is marketed as the Renault Logan). The model is produced at the AvtoVAZ facility in Togliatti, Samara.
Also in 2014, the model was launched in Egypt (as the Renault Logan), together with the second generation of the Sandero and Sandero Stepway.
As of December 2014, the Renault Symbol will be made from CKD in a new plant in Oran, Algeria.
The third generation Renault Symbol is a rebadged version of the second generation Logan. It was revealed at the 2012 Istanbul Motor Show, and is manufactured in Bursa, Turkey. It went on sale on the Turkish market at the beginning of 2013, also being released in Algeria and Tunisia.
In August 2015, the new Logan was presented in Colombia, with the pre-sale of a thousand units. It is manufactured in Envigado at the Renault SOFASA factory.
Features
Among the new features introduced with the new model is a new three-cylinder turbocharged 0.9-liter engine, capable of developing 90 hp (67 kW) and 135 N?m (100 lb?ft). The other two engine options are a 1.2-liter petrol engine, available also as an LPG variant, and a 1.5-liter diesel engine, available with two power outputs. Their performance figures are predominantly similar to the ones of the second generation Sandero (see here).
Another addition is the Media Nav system, already introduced earlier in the same year on the Lodgy, consisting of a 7-inch touchscreen display with multimedia functions and a navigation software included. Other new features are speed limiter, cruise control, rear parking sensors, and front and side airbags, as well as ABS and ESP, as standard. The interior has been significantly revised, with new chromed elements added, and the hood is now supported with a strut. A new Eco button, placed on the dashboard, limits the engine revs to 4,000 rpm.
At the end of 2014, Dacia started to produce Euro 6 engines, with reduced exhaust emissions. From August 2015, the 0.9 TCe engine is equipped with the Start & Stop system.
Starting from the end of 2016, the Logan range is offered with a robotized automatic manual transmission, called Easy-R.
Variants
The new Logan is available in three different trim levels: Access, Ambiance, Laureate and Prestige. The Access level comes with black bumpers and power steering, and is available only with the 1.2-liter engine. Ambiance has body-colored bumpers, wheel covers, Eco mode function, power lock doors, front power windows or CD player, and as options there are metallic paint, fog lights and air conditioning. Laureate adds body-colored door handles, fog lights as standard and trip computer, and additionally can be ordered with metallic paint, Media Nav system, leather upholstery, parking sensors, cruise control or alloy wheels. This is the only equipment level available for the 90 hp (67 kW) version of the 1.5-liter diesel engine.
In June 2014, a limited edition was made available in order to celebrate 10 years since the model's launch. There will be produced only 2,000 units of this version, which features new equipment such as automatic air conditioning, double optic fog lights, mirror-mounted repeaters, 16-inch wheels, along with several special design elements.
In October 2015, Dacia launched the new Prestige trim level, which has automatic air conditioning, mirror-mounted repeaters and 16-inch wheels.
Logan MCV
The estate version of the car made its debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The car will keep the MCV name, although it now stands for Maximum Capacity Vehicle, rather than the previous Multi Convivial Vehicle.
It has 5 seats and a luggage capacity between 573 litres (20.2 cu ft) and 1,518 litres (53.6 cu ft), featuring the same standard equipment and engine range as the saloon. It began to be marketed from the second half of 2013.
Facelift
Dacia presented the new Logan facelift at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The Romanian car manufacturer models have a new design, a new steering wheel and some surprises under the hood.
The Dacia designers wanted to give a new look for the Dacia models and the front side comes with several new features. The front and back bumpers have been slightly redesigned and the headlights have a new design that includes LED day running lights (it is the first time that Dacia models offer LED lights).The aesthetic package is completed by a new front grille, similar to the one found on the Duster.
The novelties are found in the interior: the four-spoke steering wheel that includes the horn, new buttons and new chrome lines to suggest a new look. There is also a new glossy plastic that covers the dashboard and fits better with the "MediaNav" multimedia system that has received an updated interface with a better resolution.
Some important changes are found under the hood: the new Dacia models will have a new petrol engine of 1.0 liter and 74 HP that will be more fuel efficient and environmental-friendly.
According to the Dacia officials the Sandero will remain the cheapest model on the market after this facelift and the price will not have a significant increase.
Awards
The Logan was voted official best car of the year Autobest 2005 by the members of the Autobest jury, coming from 15 countries : Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Macedonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and Malta. The members of the jury score 13 criteria like fuel consumption, versatility, roominess or design.
The Logan won the fifteenth Best Compact trophy awarded by Abioto, the Brazilian trade press organisation, by a panel of 67 of the country's most influential motoring journalists.
The Logan won the 'Melhor Carro do Ano 2013' trophy (Best car of the year 2013) awarded by Motor Press magazine, ahead of the Citroën C4L sedan.
On 9 December 2013, less than one month after it was presented to Brazilian journalists, the Renault Logan won the Top Car TV Award in the Best National Car up to 30,999 reais category, ahead of the VW Golf and Fox, Toyota Etios and Ford Fiesta. The prize, awarded by a panel of communications and marketing professionals from various automakers and news organisations, also considered the launch campaign.
Concept cars and projects
Logan Steppe
In 2006, a station wagon concept car, the Dacia Logan Steppe was presented at the Salon International de l'Auto in Geneva. The car was built by noted concept car builders DC Design in India as a forerunner of the Logan MCV.
Logan S2000
The S2000 was a short lived project for a racing version of the Logan.
- Dacia Logan S2000 Test Drive
Dacia Cup
Since 2007, there is a dedicated class in the Romanian Rally Championship, called Cupa Dacia, for Group N adapted Logans. It is a class competed especially by rookies, in the beginning of their careers. The cars used are 1.6 MPI versions.
Notes
References
Further reading
- James Ruppert. Not for U.S. Sale: 2005 Dacia Logan. AutoWeek, 31 January 2005.
- Gail Edmondson and Constance Faivre. Got 5,000 Euros? Need A New Car?. BusinessWeek, 4 July 2005.
- Molly Moor. France's Renault Takes a Detour. The Washington Post, 26 January 2006.
- Autoevolution. DACIA Logan MCV 1.5 dCI (85 hp) road test, review, test drive. 1 April 2009.
External links
- Official Dacia Logan website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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