ROAD TEST Renault logan 1,6 expression
Report: Mike Monk
Affordable
savoir faire W
HILE the rest of the
automotive world
were diversifying
product line-ups, creating new
niches and expanding model
ranges (especially upwards on
the price scale), Renault was
No-frills family motoring thinking slightly ahead. After
forming an “alliance” with the
is making a comeback then ailing Japanese brand
Nissan, and a successful take-
over of Eastern European compa-
ny Dacia, the French automaker
knew it had to look for new ave-
nues to expand its business. That
the Third World is a potentially
lucrative market has been no
secret to the automotive sector…
but it seems that Renault was the
only company willing to take the
plunge, and its answer was the
Logan. And how it has paid off.
Since its launch in 2004, the
cheapest Renault model – or
Dacia, Nissan or Mahindra,
depending on the market – has
sold close to one million units
worldwide.
The brainchild of then Renault
CEO Louis Schweitzer, the Logan
was created to serve the needs
of developing nations. Initial
production was carried out by
Dacia, mainly for Eastern
Europe, but such was the popu-
larity that the model is now pro-
duced in a number of locations
on different continents and sold
in 60 countries. In June 2007
Logan production began in
Nashik, India, as part of a joint
venture with Mahindra. This her-
alded the production of right-
hand drive versions and meant
that, soon after, South Africa
was added to the list of coun-
tries in which the model would
be made available.
The Renault Logan débuted
here in November 2008. There is
just one model, the 1,6
Expression, and at R99 500 it is
one of the most affordable
saloons available locally, beaten
only by the entry-level Geelys.
It is undeniably basic in
design. Slab sides and near-
66 CAR February 2009 CAR February 2009
Renault Logan.indd 66-67
See where the Logan is produced in a video on
square edges characterise the
shape. There are splashes of
chrome on the grille slats either
side of the familiar Renault dia-
mond, and a pair of foglamps to
break the monotony. It is not
offensive or unbearable, just
nondescript. Plastic wheel cov-
ers conceal steel wheels. At the
rear, vertically stacked tail-lamps
flank a high boot lid. In white,
the colour of our test unit, the
Logan looks a bit bland. In dark-
er hues it looks much nicer. It
may not delight the eyes, but
the boxy design does result in
lots of interior room.
At first glance it is obvious
that the Logan has an unusually
high ride height. Conceived as it
is for emerging countries, this
model boasts a full 172 mm of
ground clearance, better even
than some SUVs we’ve tested!
Ingress is easy thanks to the
large doors and highish stance.
Inside, not everyone will appreci-
ate the beige trim, but the colour
does raise the ambience of the
interior. Good luck keeping this
lot clean though, especially if
you have a youngster or two…
Seats are soft and large but
also very flat, which means they
lack support. Even though this is
Light interior trim helps to lift ambience but is not practical
for family-use. Facia design is not user-friendly.
a bargain basement model, the
driver’s seat features height
adjustment. However, our tallest
tester did note that the safety
belt’s B-pillar upper attachment
point was too far forward for the
belt to effectively restrain him.
The seat may be adjustable
but the steering wheel isn’t.
Behind the wheel are stalks
sourced from the Renault parts
Price R99 500
0-100 km/h 14,32 secs
bin. Basic, white on black dials
100-0 km/h 3,14 secs
supply major driving info. The
execution and design may be Top speed 153 km/h
neat, but there is no red line on Economy 8,64 litres/100 km
the tachometer. Luggage 440 dm³
In fact, the facia design is just Airbags 1
about our biggest gripe with the
Logan. Firstly, it is covered in Actually a very
faux wood, so tacky that it would important arrival. A
embarrass the trees. There’s no solid value for money
real need for it, as a soft touch proposition. Pity about
plastic would have worked just the ‘communist com-
mittee’ design!
as well. Switches on the radio/ – HO
CD/MP3 player are miniscule,
and careful attention is needed
to ensure you hit the correct but- Nice engine, great
ton. Four large switches are gearbox, good pack-
placed directly below the radio, aging and price –
controlling, among other things, should work
the front electric windows and – PP
central locking. Even lower down
on the facia are the ventilation
controls. We find these are
placed far too low and, posi- A great buy,
provided Renault
dealers treat their
customers fairly
– JV
Why does budget
have to mean
ugly? I would opt
for a second-hand
choice
– IM
A very good overall
package for the
price – KL
67
12/18/08 11:56:05 AM
 ROAD TEST
tioned ahead of the gear lever as
they are, access to them is not
easy either. A pair of drinkhold-
ers is also located in front of the
gear lever.
Rear accommodation is more
than adequate – even our resi-
dent six-footers found plenty of
headroom. Oddly, the switches
for the rear windows are placed
between the front seats aft of the
handbrake. The rear seat does not
fold down, but there is a volumi-
nous 440 dm³ of luggage space.
One has to use the key to open
the boot, as there is no release
inside the car or on the remote.
As you set off, you immediately
realise that the exterior rear-view
Seats are soft and large
mirrors are too small. In a crowd-
ed city one needs to keep a vigi-
lant eye over one’s shoulder
rather than rely on the mirrors.
Otherwise, major controls are
light and responsive. The gear-
shift in particular was lauded for
its precise and smooth action.
The steering rack is hydraulically
assisted but not too light in
operation. The helm does not
provide lots of feedback, but it is
fairly precise.
Motivation comes from a
1,6-litre eight-valve engine.
Multi-point injection provides
the fuelling. Peak power is a
modest 64 kW, developed at 5
Engine is a 1,6-litre eight-valve unit that develops 64 kW.
68
Renault Logan.indd 68
500 r/min. Maximum torque is
rated at 128 N.m and peaks at a
low – for a modern petrol
engine – 3 300 r/min. We did
note that the engine felt lumpy
at idle. While not particularly
strong, the engine does feel
perky low down in the rev
range. At high revs there is a
hint of harshness, but only at
the far end of the rev range.
The Logan may feel sprightly,
but we recorded a leisurely 14,32
seconds to 100 km/h from stand-
still. However, that kind of time is
par for this type of car, so we
weren’t too disappointed. Top
speed was measured at
153 km/h. If you plan to overtake
briskly, be prepared to use the
gear lever and a heavy right foot.
On our test strip the, ABS,
with EBD, did not work any Slab-sided design results in lots
magic into the stopping times. of space in the cabin and boot
The best figure we recorded in
our 10-stop 100-to-zero test was
3,05 seconds, with the average
of 3,14 just gaining a “poor” rat-
ing in our book. Renault Logan Geely CK1 Tata Indigo
One side effect of having a Expression 1,6 1,5 GT 1,4 GLS
high ride height is that the sus-
price R99 500 R102 995 R104 995
pension has a long travel. This
provides a soft, cosseting ride cyl/capac 4/1 598 4/1 498 4/1 405
that absorbs bumps with no power 64/5 500 69/6 000 63/5 500
fuss. Handling is better than torque 128/3 300 128/3 400 115/3 000
expected – the soft suspension gears/drive 5/F 5/F 5/F
does not hurt the handling too 0-100 km/h 14,32 14,31 13,2 est
max speed 153 169 160 est
fuel index 8,64 9,3 9,0 est
luggage capac 440 280 –
Serv/maint plan opt – M2/45 000
Geely CK1 1,5 GT Tata Indigo 1,4 GLS
One of the first Chinese cars we test- The Logan’s countryman is lacking
ed, and at the time we were not com- in the refinement and quality
pletely overwhelmed.The unrefined stakes. It is also a much older
engine is an issue, as are uncomfort- design. At R10 000 more than the
able seats and a few build quality Renault, it does come with a main-
niggles. tenance plan – but is it worth the
gamble?
CAR February 2009
12/17/08 10:26:35 AM
 ROAD TEST

Renault Logan 1,6 expression TEST SCORE 15/20

Airbags driver’s
Denotes hip point of 1,8 m adult
Air-con manual
Audio system radio/CD + MP3
Auto locking no
Central locking remote, of fob
Cruise control no
Driver seat adjust fore/aft
Foglamps front and rear
Folding rear seat no
Headlamps leveling yes, manual

850
Headlamps auto-on no

810-
1 534 mm
Headlamp wash no

935
Isofix anchorages no 605
Mirror dim (int) manual
Park assist no 145

Sat-nav no
Steering adjust no
Steering audio controls no
Sunroof no
Trip computer yes
Tyre sensors no
Upholstery cloth
Windows all electric
Wipers auto-on no
much, and the Logan has decent
chassis dynamics for what it is.
It certainly didn’t scare us like
some of the Chinese cars we’ve
driven, or have hopelessly low
grip limits. All in all, you can feel
the expertise of a large automo-
tive company’s engineering
team in the set-up.
Test summary
At a shade under R100 000 the
Logan has few rivals in SA.
There are only two other
saloons anywhere close to the
Renault in terms of pricing. In
fact, going on what we have
experienced with those compet-
itors, we’d have to say that the
Logan is without peer.
It has an excellent standard
specification that shames many
more expensive models, is
priced well, handles competent-
ly and rides with composure.
Looks are subjective, so we’ll
leave that up to buyers, but at
this price level there is little
wrong, and simply nothing to
Width (excluding mirrors): 1 740 mm Front track: 1 483 mm Rear track: 1 470 mm
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE:
Cylinders four, in-line, transverse
Fuel supply electronic, multi-point injection
Bore/stroke 79,5/80,5 mm
Cubic capacity 1 598 cm³
Compression ratio 9,5 to 1
Valvegear s-o-h-c, two valves per cylinder Driver aids none
ENGINE OUTPUT:
Max power ISO (kW) 64
Power peak (r/min) 5 500
Red line (r/min) 6 000
Max torque (N.m) 128
Torque peak (r/min) 3 300
TRANSMISSION:
Forward speeds five
Low gear 3,73 to 1
2nd gear 2,05 to 1
TEST RESULTS
MAXIMUM SPEED (km/h):
True speed 153 at 4 510 r/min in top gear
Speedometer reading 164
(Average of runs both ways on a level road)
Calibration: 60 80 100 120
True speed: 53 72 91 110
Odometer error 5,02 per cent over
ACCELERATION (seconds):
0-60 5,76
0-80 9,38
0-100 14,32
0-120 22,88
1 km sprint 36,24
Terminal speed 138,17 km/h
OVERTAKING ACCELERATION (seconds):
3rd 4th Top 3rd gear 106* 115
40-60 3,99 5,63 8,63
60-80 4,34 5,84 9,03
80-100 4,85 6,82 10,46
100-120 – 8,34 13,89
120-140 – 14,16 26,23
POWER AND TORQUE
100
Ground clearance: 172mm
2 630 mm
4 247 mm
3rd gear 1,39 to 1
4th gear 1,03 to 1
Top gear 0,79 to 1
Reverse gear 3,55 to 1
Final drive 4,21 to 1
Drive wheels front
WHEELS AND TYRES:
Road wheels 14x5,5J steel
Tyre make JK Tyre Vectra
Tyre size 185/70 R14
Spare – type and location full-size steel,
under boot board
BRAKES:
Front 259 mm solid discs
Rear 203 mm drums
Hydraulics ABS with EBD
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
*Fuel index 8,64 litres/100 km
11,57 km/litre
Estimated tank range 579 km
(*Calculated overall consumption)
BRAKING TEST:
From 100 km/h
Best/worst stop 3,05/3,26 Frontal area (m²) 2,67
Average of 10 stops/rating 3,14/poor
(Measured in seconds with stops from true
speeds at 30-second intervals on a good bitu-
menised surface.)
GEARED SPEEDS (km/h):
Low gear 39* 43
2nd gear 72* 78
4th gear 143* 156
Top gear 186* 203
(Calculated at engine power peak* –
5 500 r/min and at red line – 6 000 r/min.)
ENGINE SPEED
200 200
Max power
Max torque
725 mm
STEERING:
Type rack and pinion, hydraulic power assist
Lock to lock 3,2 turns
Turning circle 10,5 metres
SUSPENSION
Front MacPherson struts
Rear torsion beam axle
CAPACITIES:
Seating 4/5
Fuel tank 80 litres
Boot/utility space 440 dm³
WARRANTY AND SERVICE INTERVALS:
3 years/100 000 km warranty
Service every 15 000 km
INTERIOR NOISE LEVELS (dB, A-weighted):
Idle 39
120 km/h 73
PERFORMANCE FACTORS:
Power/mass (W/kg) 57
Power/litre (kW/litre) 40
Torque/litre (N.m/litre) 80
Drag coefficient (Cd) 0,36
km/h per 1 000 r/min (top) 33,82
Engine revs/km 1 774
Mass as tested (kg) 1 124
Front/rear weight distribution (%) 61:39
(Calculated on “mass as tested”, gross fron-
tal area, gearing and ISO power output)
TEST CONDITIONS:
Altitude at sea level
Weather sunny, mild, light breeze
Test car’s odometer 1 140
ACCELERATION
200

challenge the Frenchman from 90 180 180 4th 180

India. 80 160 160 160
Judging by the recent 70 140 140 140
3rd
improvement shown by Renault 60 120 120 120
4th
in the JD Power stakes (see 50 100 100 100
2nd
page 89 of this issue) the brand 40 80 80 80 3rd

looks as though it is shaking off 30 60 60 60

2nd
1st
the pariah image developed in 20 40 40 40

recent years. It’s a result that 10 20 20 20 1st

can only boost the confidence of kW

1 2 3 4 5 6
N. m km/h
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
km/h
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
potential Logan buyers… Revs per minute (x 1000) Revs per minute (x 1000) Seconds

70 CAR February 2009

Renault Logan.indd 70 12/17/08 10:28:35 AM