Dacia Jogger review

Dacia has delivered a fantastic family car that offers seven-seat flexibility and plenty of practical space, all at a price which means that you won’t have to break the bank to put a brand new model on your driveway.

The Jogger is brilliant in its simplicity and, with no other new seven-seater car offering anywhere near this value for money, it should grab the attention of family buyers. Yes, it’s quirky-looking and a little plain inside, but it’s good to drive and virtually unbeatable as an overall package.

At a time when the cost of living is spiralling and many families are having to reconsider their financial priorities, it’s refreshing to see companies like Dacia keeping an unwavering, laser-focus on making practical, quality cars at an affordable price.

Lining up between the Sandero Stepway and Duster SUV in the Dacia range, the front-wheel-drive Jogger is an estate/MPV hybrid that is unbelievably cheap to buy, even undercutting some new city cars. True seven-seater rivals don’t really exist at this price point, so buyers will really only have the alternative of looking towards used examples of mainstream SUVs such as the Kia Sorento, Skoda Kodiaq and SEAT Tarraco.

Of course, the elephant in the room is the Jogger’s one-star Euro NCAP safety rating, although Dacia is refreshingly candid about where it sees the Jogger’s position in the wider automotive market. The Romanian manufacturer has stated that the Jogger is its safest model to date and the low NCAP score was a ‘direct result of conscious decisions made by the company’. It also believes that Dacia customers are not willing to pay for electronic aids that would improve the car’s rating. 

This straightforward approach has certainly struck a chord in the UK, with over 200,000 sales since the brand arrived in 2013, and the Jogger is well set to build on these impressive figures.

Based on the Sandero supermini, the Jogger’s front-end looks pretty similar to its smaller stablemate, although a stretched wheelbase and a higher roof line at the rear mark it out as the more practical proposition.

There’s just a single engine option; a 108bhp 1.0-litre, three-cylinder petrol unit mated to a six-speed manual transmission, while the three available trim levels underline the simplicity of the range. The entry-level Essential includes rear parking sensors, cruise control, air-conditioning, a DAB radio and Bluetooth, but we’d recommend upgrading to the mid-range Comfort trim which adds useful modular roof bars, electrically-adjustable door mirrors, front parking sensors, climate control and an 8-inch media touchscreen.

The Jogger range starts from around £15,000, while the most you can possibly spend is a little over £18,000 if you opt for the top-spec Extreme SE model with the only two options on the price list: metallic paint and a spare wheel.

For an alternative review of the Dacia Jogger, visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk…