Given a choice between a Dacia Logan and a Renault Clio, I chose the Dacia. There are few logical reasons for you to do the same, but the Avis clerk assured me that the Dacia had the wider back seat, and I needed to move four adults and a toddler in a car seat around an island. It turned out her advice was sound, and the Dacia did accommodate my party of five in reasonable comfort.
What is a Dacia, if not the butt of a Top Gear joke? I can’t tell you about its provenance, other than to say that the make is Romanian and that Dacia is now owned by the Renault-Peugeot conglomerate.
I can tell you that the Logan is one of the cheapest cars I’ve ever driven. The doors use but a single seal, everything in the interior is rough plastic, and there is hardly a nod to convenience, let alone luxury.
The interior: Plastic-fantastic, with different grains of coarse black plastic making the various panels of the dash and doors. Rear passengers must “roll their own” when they want to open or close their windows. Front passengers are indulged with electric windows, and the driver has single press up and down for his window. The only brightwork on the dash is a faux carbon fiber faceplate around the radio and HVAC controls. (When even a Dacia Logan has a carbon fiber interior, you know it is time to move on from the carbon fascination.) There is a convenient pocket in the dash which can hold a wallet, cellphone, or your two-year-old’s jungle leaf.
There is not much else to say about the Logan’s interior. It had the ISOFIX connections I wanted for my daughter’s car seat. Two adults shared the rear bench on an hour and a half loop around the island and didn’t complain. The front seats had plenty of leg and elbow room but are some of the least supportive seats ever.
Island pricing is a beach, as they say, and the same $100/day that would put me in a glorious Chevy Camaro SS at LAX gets me the keys to a Dacia Logan on Moorea, French Polynesia. I might as well hoon the Dacia too. Given that the car barely makes 75 hp, no one is likely to mind.
The Dacia’s saving grace is that it is a manual, a 5-speed in this case. It has one of the vaguest gearboxes I’ve ever driven, with long throws and guesswork for gates, but it gives me something to master and avoids infuriating me in the way a cheap automatic would.
The Dacia’s engine is gravelly, underpowered, and unrefined, but not without character. It is a mid-range belter (belcher?), building power as the tachometer swings towards 4k rpm. A driving instructor once complimented the electric smoothness of my 2005 Mazda3’s 2.3L engine; at the time, I had no idea what he was talking about, having never driven a rough and poorly balanced engine. Now that I’ve experienced the grumbling Dacia powerplant, it is easy to see the grace of all other engines.
Redline? The Dacia doesn’t have one. Or at least no one grabbed the red paintbrush before its instrument cluster left the factory. There appears to be an electronic rev limiter at 5k or 6k, but I can’t tell you exactly where.
Still, the Logan has enough squirt to merge into island traffic and pass mopeds when needed. (It helps that the highest posted speed limit on the island is 60 kph.)
The steering is an interesting system to consider in the Logan. It is heavier than what I’d expect out of an econobox. Does Dacia actually save dosh by fitting more modest steering assistance? I have to use a bit of muscle to twist the wheel during three-point turns and parking lot maneuvers. I am not complaining; I prefer this weight for squiggling around the island.
Moorea’s ring road does twist and turn. Surprisingly, the Logan is willing to play in the turns. I can keep to the posted speed limit through most of the bends and have faith the car will make it through. This is not at-the-limit maneuvering I am trying here, but rather 6-tenths driving. The Logan, even with its basic suspension hardware, manages its roll and corners competently at a brisk island pace. Most econoboxes sap all pleasure out of drives; I actually consider going out for fun runs in the Dacia.
Is there any consumer advice to take away from my rental? Exotic locations can make bad cars better, and even the most poorly built car can exhibit a bit of verve when the road swerves. I picked the Dacia Logan as a joke, but it turns out the car has more to offer to a lover of driving than I expected. (Still, I don’t blame you if you rent a Renault instead!)
Mike's Steering Column 