Mahindra-Renault Logan 1.5 DLS

On its raised suspension and stiff chassis, the Logan rides over our roads like no other in this class. Low-speed ride is mildly stiff and a few low-speeds jiggles raise their head, but once you are at normal cruising speeds these disappear completely. Now the suspension seems to have an almost unlimited ability to take punishment. Poor sections of road seldom cause you to slow down, big craters don’t cause heart-stopping moments and this means peace of mind behind the wheel. You can also load up the car with five passengers and fill it up with luggage without fear of the belly scraping speedbreakers.

Despite the good ride, the suspension isn’t wallowy. Straightline stability is most likely best in class and the Logan sticks to its line with impressive resolve. Bumps rarely put it off line, bodyroll around corners is not a worry and the steering is linear as well. It does not deliver anywhere as much feel as the Fiesta though, and the Ford is much more willing to change direction too, still the Logan rides better than cars like the Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Tata’s Indigo. 

What you do get is a fair bit of road noise. Insulation is not as good as the competition and this means the threshold of noise is always higher. We also found that braking performance, though adequate, tended to fade when repeated stops were carried out.