With prices starting at £18,195, the Dacia Jogger costs around the same price as a basic supermini (Image: Jack Mortimer)
What we love
- Impressive value for money.
- Modern, economical engine.
- Large luggage capacity with seats folded.
What we don’t
- Hard plastic on door cards and dashboard.
- Compromised legroom for middle occupants.
- Wide turning circle.
The Dacia Jogger might not be the cheapest model offered by the Romanian company, but its £18,195 starting price makes it cheaper than many of the leading superminis. Styling is modern, taking a lot of inspiration from the Duster SUV, however accents on the top-of-the-range Extreme version, such as the copper-coloured door mirrors, may not be to everyone’s taste.
Inside, the Jogger has plenty of leg and headroom in the front and rear rows, however space for the middle occupants is somewhat compromised compared to other MPVs. All seven seats are comfortable, although some parts of the interior feature hard plastics.
Standard equipment on the Jogger Extreme is very impressive, including a responsive touchscreen with sat-nav, keyless entry, reversing camera and heated front seats.
Powered by the 1.0-litre turbocharged engine already seen in the Renault Clio, the Jogger has reasonable performance for such a large car, and can average 47mpg under normal driving conditions.
Whilst most car companies are now shunning MPVs for SUVs, the Jogger is a practical choice for drivers looking for an affordable family model.
Dacia has been one of the world’s biggest automotive success stories in recent years. Just 20 years ago the Romanian company was still making a licenced version of the Renault 12, a family saloon first introduced in 1969.
However, following it’s launch in the UK market in 2012, the company has gone from strength to strength, offering a variety of models using Renault technology at a fraction of the price.
The latest model in the range is perhaps their most interesting yet. Whilst the vast majority of car companies are shunning their once popular saloons, hatchbacks and estates for rugged-looking SUVs, the Dacia Jogger is a brand new MPV.
Better yet, the seven-seater follows Dacia’s theme of offering incredible value for money, with prices starting at £18,195, around £1,500 less than a basic Vauxhall Corsa.
As a result, it is easy to imagine that the Jogger would follow the traditional format of a ‘cheap and nasty’ family car with frumpy looks and ancient mechanicals. However, as I found out, this could not be further from the case.
Matte-black trim on the wheel arches and bumpers help to give the car a more SUV-like appearance (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Styling:
The Dacia Jogger may buck the trend of SUVs but parts of its design certainly mimic one. The flat, clamshell bonnet and matte-black wheel arches help to give it a much more rugged feel than most estates and MPVs.
The front end, revived just a few months after the Jogger initially went on sale, is very modern too, featuring a brilliant white bars on the grille and a rendition of Dacia’s latest logo, similar to the DeLorean badge from the 1980s.
However, whilst the Dacia comes in a variety of very nice shades, the top of the range Jogger Extreme has copper-coloured trim on the air intakes and door mirrors, a colour which can create a rather divisive contrast to the rest of the bodywork.
Whilst some materials used are cheap-feeling, the Jogger’s interior is modern and roomy (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Front Seats:
Behind the wheel, the Jogger is just as modern-feeling, with big white ‘DACIA’ lettering on the steering wheel and a mix of features accessible through the eight-inch touchscreen or via the very tactile-feeling dials to control the air conditioning system.
Admittedly, I found that quite a few parts of the interior, such as the top of the dashboard and door cards were made from hard black plastic. However, whilst this is not the poshest feeling material in the world, it can easily be kept clean.
Nevertheless, the front seats of the Jogger are an incredibly comfortable place to be, offering bags of leg and headroom.
Space in the middle row is compromised, however passengers can make use of handy tray tables (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Middle Seats:
Being 6ft2, I am never the greatest passenger in an MPV, typically being put in the front passenger seat out of sympathy to avoid me riding along with my knees covering my ears.
As a result, I was initially a little disappointed in the middle row. With the front seat set up with my typical driving position, there was only just enough legroom for me to sit comfortably.
Middle row passengers may not get bags of room compared to other seven-seaters, however there are some very useful tray tables, albeit ones that fold upwards, requiring occupants to spread their legs in quite an undignified manner in order to get up.
The Dacia Jogger has a surprising amount of legroom in the rear, with opening windows (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Rear Seats:
However, the biggest surprise I had during my time with the Dacia Jogger was the rearmost row, usually the worst seats in the house.
Compared to the middle row, I had bags of leg and headroom, significantly more than most international flights I have been on.
Moreover, whilst most rear seats in MPVs are very thin to neatly stow-away, the Dacia’s are more or less as thick and contoured as the rest. They can also be flipped forward or removed completely to give the car more luggage space.
The Jogger Extreme has a responsive eight-inch touchscreen with sat-nav and smartphone replication (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Technology:
Up until recently, the Dacia mindset is to keep the cost low by creating an entry-level model with practically no standard equipment worth speaking of, with the first Sanderos sold not even coming with a radio.
These days, things are different, with the basic Jogger Essential getting rear parking sensors, Bluetooth connectivity and a manual air conditioning system.
Whilst the top of the range Jogger Extreme I tested is hardly a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, it was incredibly well-equipped for the money, featuring heated front seats, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, keyless entry and active braking, all of which feel very nicely designed.
With all seats up, the Jogger has around 200 litres of boot space, around the same as a supermini (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Boot Space:
With all seven seats up, no MPV has a particularly capacious boot, however the Jogger was able to carry three bags for life full of shopping without invading passenger space.
Taking the rear seats out and folding down the middle row, I could easily turn the MPV into a Transit Connect-sized van.
As a two-seater, the Jogger has an impressive 2,085-litre luggage capacity, about 200 litres more than the £36,000 Volkswagen Touran.
The petrol version of the Jogger uses the same 110 TCe engine as the latest Renault Clio (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Engine:
The Jogger I had on test featured a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, mated to a six-speed gearbox, to produce 110bhp.
Whilst a 1.0-litre in a seven-seat MPV sounds like a recipe for disaster, it actually feels incredibly lively with plenty of torque available from the get-go.
A Dacia Jogger is hardly going to outpace a Golf R, however the standard petrol version can accelerate from 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 114mph.
Whilst the Jogger is not the most manoeuvrable car in the world, it has a good ride quality (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Driving:
With a very reasonable level of performance, the Dacia Jogger is an easy car to drive, despite it’s large size. I was initially a little concerned that there would not be enough space to warrant a six-speed gearbox in such a small-engined car, however was pleased to find it was both light and incredibly flexible.
Ride quality is good, with the Dacia capable of soaking up most rough patches of road in my area, and the steering is light and surprisingly agile. There were a number of occasions in which I had to remind myself that I was in a seven-seater rather than a supermini.
Drivers looking for the best fuel economy can get the Jogger with a full hybrid setup, however I was quite impressed that I managed to average 47mpg out of the petrol version under a variety of motoring conditions.
The Dacia Jogger is unconventional but incredibly impressive value for money (Image: Jack Mortimer)
Conclusion:
It is incredibly difficult to judge how well the Dacia Jogger fairs against its rivals as there are practically no alternatives that offer the same amount of space and practicality at the same price.
Though it could seem that making a car no other manufacturer would no longer even consider making anymore may sound like a recipe for disaster, the Jogger proves the seven-seater MPV still has an important place on the roads.
Whilst some parts are, understandably, cheap feeling, and some styling elements may not be to everyone’s taste, I was incredibly impressed at how much space, performance and technology drivers can get for the price of a conventional supermini.
