Dacia

Jogger

The Dacia Jogger is a larger-than-life seven-seater that is big on versatility, practicality and value. There is a choice of trims, but only one engine to select from.

The good

Styling, practicality and price

The bad

Performance and refinement

Tech Specs

Price from

£16,645

Combined Fuel up to

49.6mpg

0-62 from

11.2 seconds

max speed up to

114mph

co2 from

132g/km

Test Drive

Dacia Jogger Extreme SE (2022)

Dacia’s Jogger is a seven-seat vehicle that is big on space and character and has a price-tag that will keep you on the bank manager’s Christmas card list too.

Prices start from just £15,345 and buyers can choose from three trim levels called Essential, Comfort and Extreme SE.

All Jogger models are fitted with a 1.0-litre petrol engine and although that may seem a tad small in the power department, the Jogger is very lightweight so the 999cc powertrain copes just fine, especially if the vehicle is not fully laden.

It can reach 62mph from a standing start in 11.2 seconds, maxes out at 114mph and, according to official WLTP figures, can deliver a combined 48.7mpg with carbon emissions of 130g/km. Credit to Dacia, we were seeing very close to that fuel efficiency figure during our week-long loan.

We opted for the range-topping Extreme SE version costing £18,745 (plus £895 extras) and it certainly had a strong road presence, stretching 4.5 metres in length and with 200mm of ground clearance.

Eye-catching styling cues include a wide, bold grille that is flanked by Dacia’s signature Y-shaped daytime running lights. There are tinted rear windows, front and rear skid plates, vertical tail lights, front fog lights, attractive black 16-inch alloy wheels, along with body-coloured front and rear bumpers. Our car featured fabulous Terracotta Bronze paintwork that that really looked the business.

Moving inside, the interior is pretty much a simple, no-frills area, but it features neat cloth seats and a stylish patterned dashboard, along with satin chrome air vents and door handles.

For such a budget model, the on-board tech impresses with a driver-facing eight-inch touchscreen offering access to the sat nav, smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a DAB radio, Bluetooth and a four-speaker sound system.

The climate control functions, including the heated front seats, are controlled via a separate panel which is good news as it causes less driver distraction, and all dials and readouts are easy to operate on the fly.

On the downside, the link with Apple CarPlay did fail quite frequently during a three-hour road trip which was pretty frustrating.

And there is another worrying issue regarding performance. While the engine delivers ample power and the acceleration through the six-speed manual gearbox is smooth enough, there were occasional random power surges without any pressure on the accelerator pedal. These lasted a few minutes and then died off, but it was quite alarming at the time. And, when stationary at lights, the Jogger did tend to shake quite a lot which is not that refined or comfortable.

But it is worth reminding ourselves this is a bargain basement car and offers a very practical solution to larger families. That’s because there is ample space for seven people inside the Jogger and the cabin is so roomy that adults can fit comfortably in all seven of the seats. The long rear doors and tilting second row seats offer easy access to row three.

There are almost 60 varying seating configurations with up to 2,085 litres of cargo space. With all seven seats in use, the storage capacity drops to 212 litres, but there are numerous practical compartments throughout the cabin, including door bins, a large glovebox, a central cubby, fold-down tray tables and six cup holders.

Isofix child seat fixtures are located on the outer seats in the second row and if just the front two seats are upright, the boot can easily accommodate a large pushchair or bicycle.

The Jogger is certainly comfortable enough pottering around town with the driver benefiting from excellent all-round visibility. The soft-ish suspension cushions the ride over uneven surfaces and the vehicle is actually quite planted on twisting country lanes.

When it comes to safety, the Dacia Jogger scored just one out of a possible five stars which doesn’t compare too favourably with some rivals’ Euro NCAP ratings. But Dacia tends to avoid fitting expensive warning systems to its cars to keep costs low.

Despite the poor score, it did okay when rated for adult and child occupancy with scores of 70 and 69 per cent respectively. So, expect to see the likes of blind spot warning, active emergency braking system, a reversing camera, cruise control with speed limiter, six airbags and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

All in all, the Dacia Jogger is not as much fun to drive or as refined as its fellow Romanian siblings, the Sandero Stepway and Duster, but it does offer the flexibility of seven-seat motoring at a very reasonable price.