Dacia celebrates 25,000th handover
“In just 18 months Dacia, the darling of the European car market, has blazed quite a trail in the UK,” says DieselCar.
“And now, not long since cruising past 10,000 sales, it’s already popping a few more corks of high quality – but affordable – bubbles, after handing over its 25,000th model.”
The landmark is evidence that the firm is “taking on the establishment and winning”, says the mag. “The ‘shockingly affordable’ brand proudly makes an enemy of the unnecessary, offering high-quality, spacious and well-built cars at affordable prices. Clearly, after racking up an awe-inspiring 15,000 extra sales in just eight months, it’s a winning combination. “With its sales still soaring, it’s setting a pace which others are struggling to match. In fact, even now it’s already sitting pretty on an order bank of a further 3,500, and is hunting down established players like Mazda, Mini and Volvo in the sales charts.
“Dacia, Europe’s fastest-growing car brand, is also the most successful UK retail car launch in history. Its ‘pay for what you value’ ethos, offering British buyers exactly what they need is clearly striking a chord.” [DieselCar 17th June]
Dacia pulls its weight
The Dacia Logan MCV did itself proud in WhatCar? magazine’s Tow Car True MPG test. The “lightest and cheapest” of the six cars on test, the Logan is “something of a bargain, even in range-topping Laureate spec”. WhatCar? continues: “It also promises rock-bottom running costs, not least because of its remarkable claimed Government combined mpg figure.
“With a low kerbweight of just 1,165kg and a legal towing limit of 1,150kg, the Logan is better suited to pulling lightweight trailers. We matched it to one loaded up to weigh 800kg. “Driving away from our base at the MIRA test track and out on to the A5, the Logan pulled up to speed well despite the extra weight of the trailer. A downchange from fifth gear to fourth was needed on inclines, but the engine’s 162lb/ft of pulling power meant it didn’t feel laboured.
“Then we hit the M42. The Dacia sat quite happily at 60mph in fifth and felt stable and settled. The return leg on the A444 incorporated several changes of speed limit, which showed the need for patience when accelerating, but there was no need to thrash the engine. “The result? The Dacia returned 34.3mpg when towing, an impressive benchmark for the others to beat.” [What Car? August]
Good advice from Honest John
A Telegraph reader writes in to Honest John to ask for some advice for his son, who is replacing his old family estate.
“With two children and a big mortgage, he can’t afford very much, but he needs a good, reliable workhorse. He’s not worried about lots of toys. “Having just read about a Dacia with a seven-year warranty, I suggested he take a look. Is that a good choice, or should he look at something else?”
Honest John replies: “The Dacia comes with a standard three-year warranty. Extending it to seven years or 100,000 miles costs £850. But a Logan MCV 1.5 dCi Laureate remains the cheapest new diesel estate he can buy. And there are cheaper, lower spec versions, lacking things like radio, air-con and electric windows. Spare wheels are extra on all of them.” [Telegraph 8th July]
Logan dares to look back
The Logan’s entry price, “and this is true,” stresses Giles Smith in the Sunday Times, is £6,995. “Even one of the top-spec Laureate models, which I drove, at £9,795 is almost £2,000 cheaper than anything roughly equivalent by Skoda, and more than £2,500 less than a Seat estate. With seats folded, the Logan offers close to the load space of a Volvo V70 – yet at little more than the price of a Volvo’s wing mirror. Talk about ‘budget-priced room’. You almost expect to open the back and find Lenny Henry in there, having a kip.
“It’s arresting to think that while other manufacturers worry over app interfaces and the best ways forward for infotainment streaming, Dacia is fondly reimagining a world in which you don’t even get a radio. OK, the base-model Logan does come with the wiring for one. Nevertheless – no radio! You couldn’t make a car stand more boldly against the prevailing culture, short of fastening a horse to the front of it. My dad would have loved it.”
He continues: “There’s a temptation with the entry-level car to say the price is the answer to any question you might care to ask about it. What is it like to drive? About £6,995. How are the brakes? About £6,995. Is it any good? About £6,995.
At the same time we’re not talking about salvaged scrap. We’re talking about good-quality Renault parts that happen to be a bit last generation.
“Or not even that: the perfectly acceptable 0.9-litre TCe 90 engine in my test model is also in the current Renault Clio.
“Everything considered, I like the Logan. I liked the way it drove, I liked what it stood for and I liked what it harked back to: a less precious and simpler time.” [Sunday Times 15th June]
Duster brushes off month of mishap
Diesel Car’s Duster has had a “rough month” after running out of fuel and suffering a punctured tyre in quick succession.
It remains “loveable” though to Adam Sloman as its journeys pounding up and down the highways and byways of Britain have otherwise “passed without incident”.
He writes: “Thankfully the Duster’s load-lugging abilities remain as good as ever and this month I’ve pressed it into service as a tyre transporter, with the Dacia swallowing up two complete sets of Falken tyres for two of my MGs. The eight tyres easily fitted in the back of the car once the seats were dropped, yet again underlining the Duster’s versatility.” [Diesel Car July]
Click here to read the full Dacia News Flash.
