Car Performance India

IT’S 10pm outside the Hard Rock C66 in Mumbai. The Logan looks very uncomfortable surrounded by BMWs and Range Rovers. Even the valets are looking disdainfully at this ‘Sahara beige’ wallflower -typical behaviour. What they are all missing is the huge talent that this not-so-little Mahindra-­Renault is hiding under its dull looks.

The Logan’s sex appeal may be limited, but if you are look­ing for practicality, this is prob­ably as close to perfection as you can get. Lots of space, com­fortable suspension, very good refinement and a car that is genuinely good value. And we’re not even talking fuel economy that much we have learnt.

It makes for an interesting car as a long-termer, but will the overdose of grey matter and practicality prove charming in the long run, or will we be yawning our heads off like a herd of hippos?

The Logan’s been with us for close to two months and, to be honest, we have mixed feelings. Unlike our other long-termers, when the Logan arrived at Autocar India’s parking lot, there were very few staffers fighting to go for a drive. Not surprising as emotion is the last thing that the Logan triggers in you.

This car was obviously made by accountants. A few days with the car made us wonder if all that cost-cutting was really worth it. There are plenty of cheap bits in the cabin and a few glaring omissions. But the fact that there is no internal boot release takes the cake. You have to turn the ignition off, take the key and open the boot from outside. Hugely irritating if it is raining and a friend has to get his bags out.

Then there are other irritat­ing niggles. Like the wipers that are still configured for a left­ hand drive car, so vision is sometimes less than perfect. The tiny wing mirrors that have an infuriatingly small range of adjustability, adjusting the driv­er’s seat for height needs you to take your weight off it, and the bonnet release is still placed on the left -interesting if you have a very leggy companion, but otherwise infuriating.

Then, right in the middle of getting fussed with some tiny issue, you suddenly realise that you can’t remember the last time you topped up the car’s tank. And the orange back-lit digital fuel gauge has hardly moved!

This is also when you realise that the Logan is quite comfortable. Most of the potholes on your way home seem to have miraculously disappeared under the Logan’s capable suspension. You also realise that on nights out, the three people sitting abreast in the backseat are actually comfortable. They aren’t fidgeting and fighting for shoulder room, and most of them comment on how comfort­able it is. And none of them can tell that this is a diesel.

The 510-litre boot is big enough to swallow three peo­ple’s luggage and the air-con is very effective too, even when the car has just been in the sun.

The Logan is also nice to drive too. Keep the engine above 200Orpm, and performance is peppy, and it’s easy to even keep ahead of traffic. But drop below 1200 or 1300rpm and you sometimes find yourself in a zone where you get a lot of turbo lag and delay; unless you downshift. This is especially true on slopes and bridges.

Overlook the pimples and you will find a cheap ­to run, comfortable and spacious car. It gets under your skin in a manner that is completely unlike how a Porsche might. The Logan has endeared itself to us simply because of its sheer practicality and simplicity.