You often hear us lament about the lack of a truly small, inexpensive truck for sale in the U.S. market except the aging Ford Ranger, and they don't come much tinier or cheaper than the new Renault/Dacia Logan Pickup, which will start at €7,250 ($10,689 USD) when it goes on sale in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey this year before expanding into other markets, though not the U.S. The Logan line already includes a sedan, a wagon and even a van, and the new Pickup gives Dacia a vehicle that will likely appeal to both consumer and commercial tradesmen alike. It can carry 800kg (1,763 lbs.) in its bed, accommodate items up to 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) in length, and stow 300 liters (10.6 cubic feet) of stuff behind its seats. Engine choices include a 1.6L gas motor making 90 hp and 94 pound feet of torque at 3,000 rpm, as well as two versions of a 1.5L dCi diesel producing either 70 hp and 118 pound feet of torque or 85 hp and 148 pound feet of torque from 1,900 rpm. The cabin, of course, is spartan and looks as if it were hewn from a single giant piece of plastic, but it gets the job done with no frills.
What say you, is there a market for the Logamino in the U.S., or did the return of the Subaru Brat in the form of the Legacy Baja quench our thirst for such vehicles? Don't think too hard about it as it's not going to happen, but we're having fun imagining the shenanigans we could have with this Romanian export.
