Dacia Logan

Dacia Logan

Manufacturer	Dacia
Also called	Renault Logan Nissan Aprio Mahindra Verito Renault Tondar 90
Production	2004–present (facelifted in 2008)
Assembly	Mioveni, Romania São José dos Pinhais, Brazil Envigado, Colombia Moscow, Russia Casablanca, Morocco Nashik, India Tehran, Iran Pretoria, South Africa
Predecessor	Dacia 1310
Class	Small family car
Body style	4-door sedan 5-door station wagon 5-door van 2-door coupé utility (pickup)
Layout	FF layout
Platform	Dacia B0 platform
Engine	1.0 L I4 16V Hi-Flex 1.2 L I4 16V 1.4 L I4 1.6 L I4 1.6 L I4 Hi-Torque 1.6 L I4 16V 1.6 L I4 16V Hi-Flex 1.5 L I4 dCi
Transmission	5-speed manual 4-speed automatic
Wheelbase	2,630 mm (103.5 in) (sedan) 2,905 mm (114.4 in) (station wagon & pickup) 2,900 mm (114.2 in) (van)
Length	4,288 mm (168.8 in) (sedan) 4,473 mm (176.1 in) (station wagon) 4,450 mm (175.2 in) (van) 4,496 mm (177.0 in) (pickup)
Width	1,740 mm (68.5 in) (sedan, station wagon & van) 1,735 mm (68.3 in) (pickup)
Height	1,534 mm (60.4 in) (sedan) 1,640 mm (64.6 in) & 1,674 mm (65.9 in) (station wagon & van) 1,554 mm (61.2 in) (pickup)
Curb weight	1,090 kg (2,400 lb) - 1,360 kg (3,000 lb)
Related	Dacia Sandero Dacia Duster Renault Clio Mk.III Nissan Tiida/Versa Nissan Note Nissan Cube Mk.III Nissan Micra K12

The Dacia Logan is a small family car car produced jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its subsidiary Dacia of Romania. It is manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, and in Colombia, Brazil, Russia, Morocco, Iran, India and South Africa. It is also marketed as the Renault Logan, Nissan Aprio, Mahindra Verito or Renault Tondar 90 depending on the existing presence or positioning of the Renault brand.

History

Designed at Renault’s Technocentre near Paris, the Logan was the result of four years of development of Project X90, announced by Renault in 1999 after the buyout of Dacia in 1998.^[1]

During a visit to Russia by French President Jacques Chirac, Louis Schweitzer noted that at Lada and Renault dealerships the €6,000 Ladas were selling very well while the €12,000 Renaults stayed in the showroom. "Seeing those antiquated cars, I found it unacceptable that technical progress should stop you making a good car for €6,000." (He later revised this target to €5,000). "I also drew up a list of specifications in three words – modern, reliable and affordable – and added that everything else was negotiable."^{[citation needed]} In fact, the cheapest version of the car is €5,900, and the price can reach €11,200, 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 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 €7,500.^[2] It was an unexpected success with people wanting an inexpensive, no-frills car they could repair themselves.^{[citation needed]}

The Logan was launched in India in April 2007 as a collaboration with Mahindra, who helped Renault cut costs by 15%.^[3] 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^[4]. 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 now introduced the name Verito to the car which now only bears Mahindra badges.^[5]

Facelift

On the 1st of July 2008, almost four years after the release of the first Logan, a facelifted version called the Dacia New Logan was announced.^[6] The new version features a more modern design and a more attractive and more comfortable interior.^[7]

Features

Dacia Logans waiting to be shipped on the river Danube at the Passau port

The no-frills cockpit of the Logan MCV

The Logan is based on the B platform used by the third generation Renault Clio, Renault Modus and Nissan Micra. 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).

Safety

In June 2005 the car achieved a 3 star rating at the EuroNCAP crash tests.^[8] This result confirms initial expectations stated earlier by Renault.

Depending on equipment level, standard on some variants and optional on others, Dacia New Logan comes with up to four airbags. In terms of active safety, all versions of New Dacia Logan feature the latest-generation Bosch 8.1 ABS which incorporates EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and EBA (Emergency Brake Assist).

Engines

Name[9][10]	Capacity	Type	Power	Torque	Top speed	Combined consumption
1.0 D4D Hi-Flex	999 cc	16 valves DOHC	57 kW (77 PS) at 5850 rpm	99 N·m (73 lb·ft) at 4350 rpm	160 km/h (99 mph)	(gas/ethanol)
1.2 D4F	1149 cc	16 valves DOHC	55 kW (75 PS) at 5500 rpm	107 N·m (79 lb·ft) at 4250 rpm	161 km/h (100 mph)	5.9 l/100 km (48 mpg-imp; 40 mpg-US)
1.4 K7J	1390 cc	8 valves SOHC	55 kW (75 PS) at 5500 rpm	112 N·m (83 lb·ft) at 3000 rpm	162 km/h (101 mph)	6.9 l/100 km (41 mpg-imp; 34 mpg-US)
1.6 K7M	1598 cc	8 valves SOHC	64 kW (87 PS) at 5500 rpm	128 N·m (94 lb·ft) at 3000 rpm	175 km/h (109 mph)	7.3 l/100 km (39 mpg-imp; 32 mpg-US)
1.6 K7M Hi-Torque	1598 cc	8 valves SOHC	70 kW (95 PS) at 5250 rpm	138 N·m (102 lb·ft) at 2850 rpm	175 km/h (109 mph)	(gas/ethanol)
1.6 K4M	1598 cc	16 valves DOHC	77 kW (105 PS) at 5750 rpm	148 N·m (109 lb·ft) at 3750 rpm	183 km/h (114 mph)	7.1 l/100 km (40 mpg-imp; 33 mpg-US)
1.6 K4M Hi-Flex	1598 cc	16 valves DOHC	82 kW (111 PS) at 5750 rpm	152 N·m (112 lb·ft) at 3750 rpm	185 km/h (115 mph)	(gas/ethanol)
1.5 dCi K9K	1461 cc	8 valves SOHC	50 kW (68 PS) at 4000 rpm	160 N·m (118 lb·ft) at 1700 rpm	158 km/h (98 mph)	4.9 l/100 km (58 mpg-imp; 48 mpg-US)
1.5 dCi K9K	1461 cc	8 valves SOHC	63 kW (86 PS) at 3750 rpm	200 N·m (148 lb·ft) at 1900 rpm	167 km/h (104 mph)	4.6 l/100 km (61 mpg-imp; 51 mpg-US)

Marketing and production

Renault Logan, manufactured at the São José dos Pinhais factory of Renault Brazil

Nissan Aprio (Mexico)

Renault Logan 2011 in Colombia

Renault Logan 2011 in Ecuador

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: Romanian, the pilot plant of the Logan Programme, Russia, Morocco, Colombia, Iran (two assembly plants), India, Brazil (since 2007),^[11] South Africa. 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.^[1]

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.^[12] 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 is sold as the Nissan Aprio, given the better reputation of the Japanese brand in the Mexican market. This Nissan Aprio has a 1.6-litre 16 valve inline-four engine with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission.^[13]

In India, the Logan was marketed as the Mahindra Renault Logan.^[14] In 2005, Renault partnered the Indian utility and commercial vehicles manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Limited (M&M). 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. M&M continues to manufacture and market the Logan in India and Renault will continue to support the car through a licence agreement for the supply of key components and technology. The Logan was marketed with the Mahindra-Renault logo until the end of March 2011. M&M also holds the licence to sell the Logan in India, Nepal and South Africa. Launched in 2007, Logan could not make the mark in the Indian market, selling just over 44,000 units since then, and over 2,600 units in Nepal and South Africa.^[15][16]. Mahindra has now renamed the Logan as the Verito and has replaced the Renault badges. The car bears a few cosmetic changes to freshen it up.^[17]

In 2007, Iran also began selling Logan models as Renault Tondar 90^[18] by Renault-Pars Co. manufactured in Pars Khodro and Iran Khodro.^[19] After a mere month of production, more than 100,000 Tondar 90 have been ordered, even though deliveries will start only in May 2007.^[20] 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.^[21]

Production began with a 4-door sedan, followed by a wagon in September 2006. Four other models, a pickup truck, a hatchback, a Van and a new sedan version followed in 2007 and 2008. Dacia sales for 2006 were over €1.5 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.^[22] On September 3, 2009, it was announced that one million Dacia cars on Logan platform X90 have been produced at Mioveni plant: 576,887 Logans, 246,869 Logan MCVs, 144,931 Sanderos and Stepways, 19,897 Logan VANs and 11,416 Logan Pick-Ups.^[23]

Brand[24]	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Total
Dacia	22,833	135,184	184,472	230,294	257,013	309,457	1,139,253
Renault	-	9,915	63,134	137,022	252,438	224,118	686,627
Total sales	22,833	145,099	247,606	367,316	509,451	533,665	1,825,880

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.^[25] 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.^[26]

Models

Logan MCV

Dacia Logan MCV

The Logan MCV (Multi Convivial Vehicle), launched at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, is the station wagon version of the Logan.^[27] It has five or seven seat versions, with a luggage space between 200 and 2350 litres depending on how many seats are folded, and numerous storage spaces for smaller objects.

It uses the same engines as the sedan.^[28] An important improvement is the availability of side airbags. Sales began in October 2006 on the Romanian market with prices ranging between €8,200 and €12,550.^[29] 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.^[30]

At the 2010 Moscow International Motor Show the new Lada Project R90 was presented as a model based on the New Logan MCV. It is planned to go into production in 2012,^[31] and be sold in Russia as Lada Largus.^[32]

Logan VAN

The van variant of the Logan was launched on January 23, 2007 in Bucharest.^[33] It is a small business oriented vehicle, with 2500 litre loading space and 800 kg payload. The Logan VAN / Express 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). Sales have started in Romania, and now the prices ranging are between €7100 and €9700.

Logan Pick-Up

Dacia Logan Pick-Up

The coupe utility version of the Logan, also based on the MCV, was introduced on September 10, 2007 (October 4, 2007 at SIAB)^[34] and replaced Dacia Pick-Up. Sales have begun in Romania in 2008 and now the prices ranging are between €7300 and €9450.

Starting October 2008 the Logan Pickup is sold in South Africa as Nissan NP200. Visually it resembles a mildly facelifted Logan bakkie and it is being built in South Africa alongside the Renault Sandero.

Concept cars and projects

Dacia Logan Steppe

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.^[35][36]

• Dacia Logan S2000 Test

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.^[37] The cars used are 1.6 MPI versions.^[38]

Duster

A concept called Duster was unveiled at 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The concept features a crossover-style body and is a collaboration between Renault Design Central Europe in Bucharest, Romania, and Renault Design Technocentre in Guyancourt, France.^[39]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "The Logan Project". Daciagroup.com. 2010-01-28. http://www.daciagroup.com/en/the-logan-project.html. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
2. ^ "Logan arrives on Western European markets". Renault. Archived from the original on 2005-06-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20060207090511/http://www.renault.co.ir/images/pdf/Logan.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-08. 
3. ^ Sirkin, Harold L.; James W. Hemerling; Arindam K. Bhattacharya (2008-06-11). GLOBALITY: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything. New York: Business Plus, 304. ISBN 0-446-17829-2.
4. ^ "EU-inträde ger extra fart åt rumänsk bil". Dagens Nyheter. 2006-12-19. http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=598797.  (Swedish)
5. ^ "Mahindra launches Verito sedan: drops Renault badges, name". www.carmayogi.in. 2011-04-27. http://www.carmayogi.in/new-a-event/197-mahinda-verito.html. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
6. ^ Tan, Paul. "Facelifted Dacia New Logan". Paultan.org. http://paultan.org/archives/2008/07/02/facelifted-dacia-new-logan/. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
7. ^ NEW DACIA LOGAN: BETTER THAN EVER! at conceptcarz.com
8. ^ "Euro NCAP test results for Dacia Logan". Euroncap.com. http://www.euroncap.com/tests/dacia_logan_2005/221.aspx. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
9. ^ "Novo Renault Logan". Renault.com.br. 2011-01-20. p. 7. http://www.renault.com.br/downloads/meu/catalogos/folheto_logan.pdf#page=7. Retrieved 2011-08-02. 
10. ^ "Noua Dacia Logan". Dacia.ro. 2010-04-02. http://www.dacia.ro/export/sites/default/dacia.ro/brosuri/Noua-Dacia-Logan.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-02. 
11. ^ "Renault - 2007 Registration Document". Renault.com. 2008-04-17. http://www.renault.com/en/Lists/ArchivesDocuments/Renault%20-%202007%20Registration%20Document.pdf#page=47. Retrieved 2011-06-19. "In Brazil, Logan, which is locally manufactured, made a successful debut on the market in July 2007." 
12. ^ "Distribution of Dacia throughout the world". Daciagroup.com. http://www.daciagroup.com/eKontentDaciaXFiles/home_ro/ventes/rseau_monde/dacia_pe_glob/index.html. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
13. ^ Shirouzu, Norihiko; Power, Stephen (2006-10-04). "Inexpensive Logan boosts Renault in emerging markets". Post-gazette.com. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06277/727315-185.stm/. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
14. ^ "Mahindra Renault Logan website". Mahindrarenault.com. http://www.mahindrarenault.com/. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
15. ^ "Mahindra buys out Renault in Logan venture". Hindustantimes.com. 2010-04-16. http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/auto/Mahindra-buys-out-Renault-in-Logan-venture/Article1-532209.aspx. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
16. ^ "Renault exits from Logan JV, M&M gets licence". Financialexpress.com. 2010-04-16. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/renault-exits-mahindra-jv/607367/. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
17. ^ "Mahindra launches Verito sedan: drops Renault badges, name". www.carmayogi.in. 2011-04-27. http://www.carmayogi.in/new-a-event/197-mahinda-verito.html. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 
18. ^ "Renault Tondar". renault.co.ir. http://www.renault.co.ir/?lang=en&&page=01. Retrieved 2008-02-05. 
19. ^ "First Logan manufactured in Iran". Payvand.com. http://www.payvand.com/news/06/jun/1231.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
20. ^ "Renault Logan comandat de 100.000 iranieni". Informatiiauto.ro. http://www.informatiiauto.ro/renault-logan-comandat-de-100000-iranieni-sid1001.html. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
21. ^ "No Operation". Presstv.com. http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=114593&sectionid=351020102. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
22. ^ "Renault Launches Sandero in South Africa". Edmunds.com. 2009-03-09. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=143467#2. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
23. ^ "One million Dacia cars produced at Mioveni plant". Romaniantimes.at. http://www.romaniantimes.at/news/Business/2009-09-03/2704/_One_million_Dacia_cars_produced_at_Mioveni_plant__. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
24. ^ "2010 Geneva Motor Show - Dacia Duster, the low-emission off-roader from 11,900 euros". renault.com. 2 March 2010. http://www.renault.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Communiqu%C3%A9%20de%20presse/en-EN/Pieces%20jointes/21971_DACIA_-_GB_DB1D7020.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-02. 
25. ^ "Dacia wins Kudos". Dacialogan.org. 2010-01-13. http://www.dacialogan.org/dacia-wins-kudos/. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
26. ^ "Dacia and BMW Go Head to Head in Satisfaction Study". Autoevolution.com. http://www.autoevolution.com/news/dacia-and-bmw-go-head-to-head-in-satisfaction-study-21735.html. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
27. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
28. ^ "Dacia Logan MCV: space, versatility and value for money". Romania.ido.ro. http://romania.ido.ro/dacia-logan-mcv-break-36/3/. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
29. ^ "Logan MCV : spatiu si polivalenta la cel mai bun pret". Masini.acasa.ro. http://masini.acasa.ro/noutati/logan-mcv-spatiu-si-polivalenta-la-cel-mai-bun-pret-24642.html. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
30. ^ "Dacia Rolls Out 300,000th Logan MCV". Autoevolution.com. http://www.autoevolution.com/news/dacia-rolls-out-300000th-logan-mcv-21877.html. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 
31. ^ "Moscú 2010: Lada R90 Project". Autoblog Español. 2010-08-25. http://es.autoblog.com/2010/08/25/moscu-2010-lada-r90-project/. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
32. ^ "Dacia Logan MCV to be sold as Lada Largus in Russia". autogazette.info. 2011-08-29. http://autogazette.info/2011/08/29/dacia-logan-mcv-to-be-sold-as-lada-largus-in-russia/. Retrieved 2011-08-31. 
33. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
34. ^ "Premiera mondiala: Logan Pick-up s-a lansat la SIAB". AutoMarket.ro. http://www.automarket.ro/stiri/premiera-mondiala-logan-pick-up-s-a-lansat-la-siab-6723.html. Retrieved 2010-11-27. 
35. ^ "Jean-Joseph testet Dacia S2000". Rallye-magazin.de. http://www.rallye-magazin.de/h/schlagzeilen/archiv/d15/d/2005/08/24/jean-joseph-testet-dacia-s2000/index.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
36. ^ [3]^{[dead link]}
37. ^ "Cupa Dacia in al cincilea sezon". Autorally.ro. 2011-04-01. http://www.autorally.ro/index.cfm/page/cnr/subpage/stiri/news/8890/cupa_dacia_in_al_cincilea_sezon.html. Retrieved 2011-06-25. 
38. ^ "Fisa Tehnica Dacia Logan Cupa Dacia". Autorally.ro. 2011-03-31. http://issuu.com/autorallyro/docs/fisa_tehnica_dacia_logan_cupa_dacia. Retrieved 2011-06-25. 
39. ^ "Dacia Duster". Daciagroup.com. http://www.daciagroup.com/stire-latest_news-duster__the_concept_crossover_from_dacia_unveiled_at_geneva_motorshow-851. Retrieved 2010-10-09. 

References

• James Ruppert. Not for U.S. Sale: 2005 Dacia Logan. AutoWeek, January 31, 2005.
• Gail Edmondson and Constance Faivre. Got 5,000 Euros? Need A New Car? BusinessWeek, July 4, 2005.
• Bucharest Daily News
• Molly Moor. France's Renault Takes a Detour. The Washington Post, January 26, 2006.

External links

• Dacia Logan
• New Dacia Logan
• DACIA Logan MCV 1.5 dCI (85 hp) Test drive by Autoevolution.com