Finally booked my logan

Hi Friends,

Am the latest member to join this community .. I would like to share my experience in buying my first car .. Logan 1.4 GLX T.red.

Its been almost a year since I started looking out for a car. I have almost test driven all the vehicles from 3 to 10 lakh segment and am finally settled and happy with logan. Heres a brief introduction.

It all began last April when I thought of purchasing a new car having driven my dad's Maruti 800 for almost 8 years faithfully. Had visited the maruti showroom and test drove the Dzire zdi model. The feeling was just amazing, the car flew from 40 to 120 after it touched 2000 rpm and it was exhilarating .. it was love at first drive. Just after finishing the test drive went for logan test drive, they offered 1.4 glx .. the drive was comfortable and the view from the driver seat was good unlike Dzire wherein I had to trust my instincts rather than be sure of where the vehicle ends (if you are a frequent maruti 800 driver you would know) .. but the kick was not to be there .. Dzire was in my mind as it was love at first drive but Dzire had its own problem .. no backseat legroom .. ugly looks and 6 months waiting period and above all whether there would be the same kick in petrol model. After checking the specs I came to know that it was the torque that kicked in at 2000 rpm which was absent in petrol versions.
The logan dealer was after me to purchase the vehicle saying there would be a cartel soon and prices would increase and i wanted to avoid him and hence told him I didnt liked the car and currently I am under a big finance crunch and cant go for the vehicle. It was around this time that I read about fiat linea and I really liked the features (esp the blue&me). A popular car site had mentioned its price to be 6 to 8 lakhs and launch date to be around mid June. Then began a never ending wait till december ..

Meanwhile test drove many other cars summing it up as to why I didnt chose them (most of the reasons .. I didnt fit in them):
1.GM Motors - Spark, Aveo, Aveo UVA: Broad center console which made it sure I couldnt reach the clutch.
2. Ford - Fiesta, Fusion, Endeavour: Broad center console and low steering ... very uncomfortable for me .. Though endeavour was way out of my budget i test drove it to prove it to the ford dealer how i dont fit in any American cars unlike Japanese cars. But the cars a beauty its worth the money
Had also test driven Ikon 1.4 duratorq but will talk about it in detail as it is compared with Logan.
3. Hyundai - Santro - Very nice good car but not a significant upgrade from a maruti 800
I10 - Very spacious, and uber cool interiors but expensive almost price of logan 1.4 GL
Getz- Spacious, not so good interiors, but why not buy a swift?
Verna diesel- Wow!! The car is a beauty, its a perfomer but its costly and its petrol sibling not very recommended.
Accent- Low steering meant i couldnt drive..

4. Maruti - Astar - No Space .. my maruti 800 seemed more spacious, but the engine is one of the best I drove .. its better than swift petrol in my opinion .. the car performed and it was fun taking it above 130's and 140's though engine noise was heard at this speeds. Suspension is ok.

Swift Petrol Zxi: One of the worst swifts .. the test drive vehicle was a lemon, the clutch didnt respond and I had to release it till eternity to get the car moving and it would suddenly move, the clutch response was of only 1 inch. You just tap the clutch and its full clutch, very irritating to drive and my leg started aching . Suspension was pathetic and the dealer kept on enforcing its rally based suspension. The engine made noise equivalent to the noise one experiences in a stadium when sachin clears the boundary. Very bad experience decided against swift, this was the worst car i ever drove.. (swift is a nice car and I have driven my friends swift petrol which is well maintained)

5. Honda City - The latest model, the cars a luxury , also I fit in perfectly. The pickup is simply awesome, You can fly in it :p the acceleration is mind boggling but it comes at a price and for me a scratch would hurt a lot . The steering wheel felt very very light and it didnt gave me any confidence while speeding over 100. Suspension is v.good but noise insulation is not upto the mark, and the horns were irritating ... it was as if the horns were placed inside the interior/cabin/cockpit.

6. Indica Vista - Low steering and hence a difficult ride for me.
Palio I didnt test drive as it was heard its going to be out of production soon.

Will continue on Ford Ikon and Fiat Linea soon ... this is my first review, please do bear with me for my mistakes

Hi Icono,

Great to see your review on all other cars but where is your opinion on the Logan bro? eager to see that as well.

Your detailed note on each of the other cars, gives me confidence that I made the right decision by going in for the logan.

hey icono, will they deliver you the new look logan?????????

can you upgrade your mileage in city of mumbai with a.c. on and without a.c. on????????

please, i require the numbers.............

and nice reviews and please post the reviews on logan as well....

Now by end of November .. Ford launched its new model Ikon with fiesta engine and with a killer price. The TV Commercial was very good indeed, which made me very eager to buy it .. had even finalized on the date on which I should get my car.. Then all my plans flopped.. I test drove the Ikon .. I didnt fit .. the steering wheel was way too low and i couldnt reach the clutch .. I couldnt drive it for more than 15 mins, my left leg started aching within 5 mins of starting the drive. Ikon was a big no no .. I would have to hire a driver if i were to buy this car.
Here are the bad points I found in Ikon ..
1. Loud diesel engine noise .. (very loud) may be the test drive vehicle was a lemon but it was a big let down .. it was as if driving a truck.
2. Bad Power window switch placement .. if you are fat and fill in the seat you cant reach it .. if you are not fat(not slim either) then also you would fill in the Ikon driver seat.
3. Ugly interiors .. somehow beige plastics with bad quality looks ugly. The test drive vehicle was very dirty .. there were stains all over .. wonder how could a vehicle get so dirty within a week.
4. No boot opener .. the dealer said so .. but i thought this problem was fixed in Ikon
5. AC cooling very bad.
(Well i feel the test drive vehicle was real bad .. but AC cooling really did turn me off)
Not so bad points.
1. Sporty driving ensured you wont look at the mirrors often .. ( I didnt during my short ride .. may be my pain was too much to look into the mirrors) but in sporty driving positions you tend to look into the mirrors rarely.
2. Decent pickup.
Good points
1. Rear leg room was very good .. there was ample space.
2. Exteriors look nice esp the front after the new grill (grill-less) job.
3. Price.

So no more IKON.. now only one competitor left for Logan .. the fiat Linea..
I must admit it sure is an italian beauty .. it hands down beat the logan on looks and interiors but then already bitten by the palio mileage reports there was fear going for the petrol version and the diesel version would be way too costly than the petrol logan. I really loved Linea but I loved the top end diesel model which would be foolish for me with a daily running of 30 KMs. So didnt even test drove .. I was called by tata dealer to check the linea as soon as it came to their garage some 20 days before the launch .. my reports are based on that .. but after seeing the prices made up my mind to go for Logan.

My decision on Logan can be compared to a candidate solving a multiple choice question wherein he doesnt know the right answer but he strikes out the wrong answers and then chooses the right one

Though this decision though took me almost an year its giving me immense satisfaction, For me Logans like a wife(perfect for me) and Linea like a girlfriend (hehe just a joke )

And now the decision on which model to choose ..
With Power windows, Power steering, Boot opener and Trip Computer 1.4 GLX was a clear choice .. but then there was a better option 1.6 GLS .. again used the same principle .. list out the additional features and strike out the unwanted ones .. then check the price difference with the ones you want and then decide whether these features are worth the price.

On comparison found these to be the differences:
Lumbar Support
Stereo
Driver seat height adjust
Rear defogger
Remote door locking
Front fog lamps
Driver Airbag
Keyless Entry
1.6 Engine
NO ABS (only on GLSX version)

My dealer didnt have any GLS model on display and hence I couldnt test most of the features but then
Lumbar support - Would be very generalised .. either it would suit you or it wont .. didnt want to take a risk. Its better to get it done later (either cushions that suit you or mechanical ones) . I didnt check the Logan lumbar support so cant comment on that.
Stereo - Always wanted to avoid stock ICE's
Driver Seat height Adjust - I had encountered 2 kinds of seat height adjusts .. ones in Ford fusion .. very pathetic .. and ones in Linea and Honda city .. very very good .. but without steering wheel adjust I couldnt add much value to it.
Rear defogger - Agreed .. a good value addition
Remote door locking - Doesnt cost much.
Front fog lamps - Agreed
Driver Airbag - Agreed (but why not a co-passenger one too?)
Keyless entry - Couldnt very well understand the difference between remote door locking and keyless entry.
1.6 Engine - Well since I have been very cost conscious I preferred 1.4 as I really needed to get atmost mileage out of my vehicle .. I didnt see the requirement of 1600 cc engine with not much of a power difference in my day to day usage.

So with rear defogger , single AirBag, Fog lamps and a reduced mileage the difference is almost 65000 Rs. The decision was made simple.

Features I would have liked/recommend to mahindra:
A new version GLX + ABS
Steering height adjust in GLS model.


December was the ripe time with all automotive companies with major discounts and a 60000 discount on Logan, but my dealer played some spoil sport(it was not his mistake though) .. he mentioned the discount was on older models(without trip computer and interior changes) and the only available vehicles were white and sahara beige .. didnt like both the colours and so thought of waiting for more time .. My dealer suggested to wait till Feb as by then the stock would be fresh with 2009 model. Then came the current discount 50000 off on latest Logan.
Jumped at the opportunity.. My dealer said the discount is already 50000 and he wont give any more. So called up 2 more dealers and negotiation took place for almost 2 days. Finally every dealer peaked at a discount of 60000 Rs with matting and mud flap, this was it .. so booked it from my dealer (as it was near to my home and moreover had troubled him a lot .. it wouldnt have felt nice if I had booked it from somewhere else.) . Made my final payment today and am expecting a delivery next Friday. The dealer gave me the engine number and the chassis number of the vehicle I would be getting before I gave the check and he mentioned the same in the receipt too, throughly professional and it did make me feel good/relaxed.

So thats it .. the End of a loooong research and a long post .. will update as soon as I get the delivery and will write about my driving experience

nilanjan wrote:

hey icono, will they deliver you the new look logan?????????

can you upgrade your mileage in city of mumbai with a.c. on and without a.c. on????????

please, i require the numbers.............

and nice reviews and please post the reviews on logan as well....

Yes they are delivering me the latest logan .. As per tomlai's advice found out the make and year from the chassis number .. the chassis number mentioned in the bill starts with 9zb so its a Feb 2009 model .. Will update on the mileage once i start driving .. will get my vehicle on 6th March.

dhanushan wrote:

Hi Icono,

Great to see your review on all other cars but where is your opinion on the Logan bro? eager to see that as well.

Your detailed note on each of the other cars, gives me confidence that I made the right decision by going in for the logan.

Hi dhanushan, thanks for encouraging me .. my decision on logan dependent on other cars .. Logan in Mr. Practical .. in the beginning even I was a critic of logan .. used to find complaints and criticize on many aspects like looks, pickup, bad placements of switches etc .. it took time(almost a year) for the thought to sink in that Logan is the current ideal choice for me .. I admit .. pickup is not everything .. every aspects should merge for a suitable car .. and logan is the most suitable car for me.

congrats on your buy icono! you made the right decision! welcome to the forum.. and do post pics of your ride in the gallery section.

icono wrote:

For me Logans like a wife(perfect for me) and Linea like a girlfriend (hehe just a joke )

I liked the way u put it bro

Cheers

welcome ... and glad to have been of some help!

icono,

welcome to the Logan family club..... good and practical "selection by rejection" procedure - if I may call it so!

trust me, you have made a good choice. you will enjoy your ride.

happy and safe driving!

Hey Icono!
Many congratulations on your purchase!
I am sure u wont repent! More so cause u have also found the right place to discuss too - Clublogan.com

Also, a very extensively written report.. Kudos for that too!!

Shud b fun to have u around! Stay Active!

Hi Welcome from me too from YES Germany (again)
I go for my 30000 km service and I have never added oil or coolant to it in all that time .In fact I have NEVER had a problem with it and I have done six journeys from Germany to England in
So you can believe me and all the other members when we tell you that you have made the correct purchase
Stu

WELCOME BACK STUART

Thanks mate
Its a long story but i am back in Germany I will soon be getting a Telephone fitted and I have flatrate and who knows maybe I can phone India for free
if so be prepared to be woken up in the night haha
Stu

hahaha.. Would be pleased to speak to u!
BTW of what i read on facebook, guess ur Logan met with an accident! Hope tat isnt true!

NO it had no accident it got new number plates and then got the old ones back and someone stole the Dacia shields front and back
stu

O good..
The Renault Logos are stolen a lot here as well!

ashutosh wrote:

congrats on your buy icono! you made the right decision! welcome to the forum.. and do post pics of your ride in the gallery section.

Hi Ashutosh, Thanks a lot .. your post helped me a lot in my decision making, had read your reviews in this site as well as Team BHP, reading your post made my decision a lot easier .. thanks a ton

Today visited the dealer as he had called me to see the vehicle before he sends it for registration, I have taken some pics from my mobile (not good quality) will upload them in the gallery soon

vsuprak wrote:

icono wrote:

For me Logans like a wife(perfect for me) and Linea like a girlfriend (hehe just a joke )

I liked the way u put it bro

Cheers

Thanks bro

tomlai wrote:

welcome ... and glad to have been of some help!

Thank you tomlai, today when I checked the car, it had a vin number, the dealer told me the last 8 characters are considered as chassis number. The last 8 characters begin with 9zb though.

Loganromeo wrote:

icono,

welcome to the Logan family club..... good and practical "selection by rejection" procedure - if I may call it so!

trust me, you have made a good choice. you will enjoy your ride.

happy and safe driving!

hahaha .. yes you said it selection by rejection .. thanks

sAuMiL wrote:

Hey Icono!
Many congratulations on your purchase!
I am sure u wont repent! More so cause u have also found the right place to discuss too - Clublogan.com

Also, a very extensively written report.. Kudos for that too!!

Shud b fun to have u around! Stay Active!

Hi Saumil, thanks yaar .. yes clublogan.com I found out very helpful the very first day itself, the chassis number info really helped me a lot .. thanks for encouraging me .. yes I would stay active .. thanks once again

martin245 wrote:

Hi Welcome from me too from YES Germany (again)
I go for my 30000 km service and I have never added oil or coolant to it in all that time .In fact I have NEVER had a problem with it and I have done six journeys from Germany to England in
So you can believe me and all the other members when we tell you that you have made the correct purchase
Stu

Wow !! no coolant till 30000 KMs thats very good .. thanks stu .. I am really very happy with my decision reading all this .. Now am just waiting for my ride .. will get it this Friday.

great icono, now i would decide perhaps on the basis of your comment, whether to go for petrol or diesel..........

please mention the ride quality, engine sound, a.c. quality, pick up, and of course mileage with/out a.c.

I would go Petrol every time as diesel has shorter inspection periods and dearer
Stu