Dacia Logan

Numbers first, because with the Dacia Logan they are the story: 1.2 L 16v D4F I4, 31 kW, 91 N⋅m. Dacia built from 2004, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Its designer of record is Renault Technocentre.

Where it came from

The Dacia Logan is a family of automobiles produced and marketed jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its Romanian subsidiary Dacia since mid-2004, and was the successor to the Dacia 1310 and Dacia Solenza. It has been produced as a sedan, station wagon, and as a pick-up. It has been manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, and at Renault (or its partners') plants in Morocco, Argentina, Turkey, Russia, Colombia, Iran and India.

The pick-up has also been produced at Nissan's plant in Rosslyn, South Africa. It has also been marketed as the Renault Logan, Nissan Aprio, Mahindra Verito, Renault L90, Lada Largus (the MCV), Nissan NP200 (the pick-up), Renault Symbol (Mk3), Renault Taliant, and as the Renault Tondar 90 depending on the existing presence or positioning of the Renault brand. Since its launch, the Dacia Logan was estimated to have reached over 4 million sales worldwide as of 2018.

Under the skin

Under the skin sits 1.2 L 16v D4F I4; it is rated at 31 kW, 91 N⋅m; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1090-1360 kg. Power-to-weight lands near 28 horsepower per tonne, which is leisurely, which for a car of its age and purpose is the point. The gearbox is a 5-speed manual / 4-speed automatic. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2630 mm (sedan) / 2905 mm (station wagon & pick-up) / 2900 mm (panel van). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

In context

Where it sits in Dacia's history is not in doubt: the Dacia 1310 / Dacia Solenza came before it; the Dacia Lodgy (for MCV) / Dacia Dokker (for van) followed it; it was built at ubl| | Romania: Mioveni | Brazil: São José dos Pinhais (Renault Brazil) | Colombia: Envigado (Sofasa) | India: Nashik (Mahindra) | Iran: Tehran (Pars Khodro, IKCO) | Morocco: Casab. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Daihatsu Move Latte, the Daihatsu Tanto, the Suzuki Lapin. Nearby in the Dacia catalogue sit the Dacia 1100 and the Dacia 1210.