The Dacia Logan MCV has scooped the Gold award in the fiercely competitive Family Car category in the Auto Express Driver Power 2016 Awards.
It is the first category win for Dacia in the awards and the UK’s most affordable estate car took the prized number one spot after owners praised it in their responses to the leading automotive customer satisfaction study. In total, almost 50,000 car owners took part in this year’s Auto Express Driver Power survey with 183 models produced by 32 makes judged across 10 categories.
Complementing the success of the Logan MCV in the ownership survey, the Dacia Sandero – the UK’s most affordable car – finished a strong seventh in the equally hard fought Supermini category.
On the Logan MCV’s win, Brian Walters, Director, Research and Insights at Driver Power, said: “This is a fantastic showing by the Logan MCV, being the highest rated family car in four of the 10 Driver Power judging categories: Reliability, Running Costs, Practicality, and In-Car Technology; and also amongst the top five family cars for Build Quality; Ease of Driving; Road Handling; Ride Quality; and Performance.”
Walters continued: “Nearly one-half of Driver Power respondents indicate that Reliability is the single most important of the 10 judging categories. The Logan MCV’s segment leading ratings for Reliability is a tremendous achievement for Dacia.”
Louise O’Sullivan, Head of Dacia UK said: “We are delighted that the Logan MCV has proved unbeatable in such a competitive category and given us our first outright segment win in the Driver Power awards. The owner feedback upon which this win is founded proves beyond doubt that Dacia is not only delivering class-leading affordability in its vehicles but also an ownership experience that is highly rewarding. With Dacia, drivers enjoy a no-nonsense and highly appealing combination of value and quality.”
The category win follows Dacia’s previous success in the Auto Express Driver Power 2015 Awards, the ‘shockingly affordable’ brand being rated the fifth best manufacturer in the UK car industry. Since the brand’s launch in the UK in 2013, the manufacturer and its vehicles have won numerous awards.
Appealing to cost-conscious drivers who have a small budget but a need for a large amount of space, the versatile Logan MCV is available in four trim levels including the new Ambiance Prime special edition and comes with a choice of three engines, including a diesel option that returns up to 80.7mpg (NEDC combined). The Logan MCV is priced from £6,995 OTR.
In the ten years since relaunching in Europe, Dacia has sold more than 3,500,000 vehicles in Europe and the Mediterranean basin. In the UK in 2015, Dacia sold 26,228 vehicles, an increase of 10 per cent compared to 2014. Over 74,000 Dacia models have been sold in the UK since its launch in January 2013.