Dacia – affordability and experience
ONCE upon a time there was a long list of cheap and cheerful cars to choose from. Most were made in Eastern Europe and their poor quality did much to reinforce the belief that living behind the Iron Curtain can’t have been much fun.
In effect they were the automotive embodiment of everything that was bad about the Soviet Bloc – drab, grey, poor in quality and totally lacking in style. But the likes of Skoda, Wartburg, Yugo and Lada vehicles (we never got the almost-iconic Trabant in Western Europe) had one key selling point – they were cheap – or for want of a better description ‘dirt cheap.’
For a time, Korean cars from the likes of Daewoo, Hyundai and Kia plugged the affordable motors gap but over time they have moved upmarket in a bid to become serious opposition for European rivals.
Enter Dacia, a once ailing Romanian marque snapped-up by Renault and now having new life breathed into it. The invigorated car-maker now combines traditional East-European affordability with Renault’s experience and economies of scale.
It’s a mix that seems to be working thus far – in many cases Dacias are around half the price of cars they could be considered to be competing against. Okay, they might have their limitations but for someone who doesn’t succumb to badge snobbery and regards a car essentially as a means of getting from A to B they have plenty to recommend them.
The Logan MCV is an estate car – the MCV stands for maximum capacity vehicle – and it’s more than capable of fulfilling the needs of a family. With the model range starting at £7,000 for a 1.2-litre entry-level petrol-powered Access model its afforability is almost verging on the incredulous.
Okay, that entry-level model doesn’t have many features that would be considered as a basic requirement on a modern car, such as electric windows and a radio, but move up the range and familiar creatures comfort and more besides are included.
This model was actually the top of the range Lauréate Prime and features all the bells and whistles one might expect, like daytime running lights, metallic paint, cruise control, alloy wheels and a MediaNav Evolution seven-inch touchscreen multimedia system. Its price tag might be significantly higher at £11,385 but there’s no disputing that’s still small beer for a sizeable family car.
Even such a lavishly-equipped car (by Dacia standards) still has a somewhat basic kind of feel to it but while the inbuilt multimedia system might lack the sophistication of one in an Audi or BMW it is exceptionally easy to use and actually works rather well – the Bluetooth hands-free phone system in particular.
The only limitation I didn’t like was the limited space on offer for rear-seat passengers. The Logan MCV has a truly huge boot (573 litres) and with the rear seats folded down it’s a veritable van (1,518 litres) but it would definitely benefit from offering those travelling in the rear a little more legroom.
Like all Dacias a large proportion of its components are also used on Renault vehicles too – look closely and you’ll even see the badging, meaning there’s no compromising in terms of quality.