So, what exactly is a Dacia Jogger? It’s a wagon version of the Dacia Sandero with a more extended platform that fits (nearly) seven seats. It’s also close to being a family SUV because it has a slight ride height and a stepped roofline.
It’s the only one on the market, but it’s comparable to traditional estate cars like the Skoda Octavia Estate or the electric MG 5 EV. But with a starting price of less than £15,000, you might be more interested in this as an alternative to a four-year-old Citroën Grand C4 Space Tourer or Vauxhall Zafira.
The Dacia Jogger lineup is simple, which is a nice change. There are only three trim levels: Basic, Comfort, and Extreme SE. For now, there is only one engine – a peppy little 1.0-litre engine mated exclusively to a six-speed manual gearbox. Dacia is also expected to release its first Jogger hybrid model, but that won’t happen for a year or two.
Most people will opt for the mid-level Dacia Jogger Comfort, which has 16-inch Flex wheels that look like alloys but aren’t, bright modular roof rails, climate control, and an 8-inch media system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
It feels like a cheap car inside, with hard plastics and old rotary knobs for climate control (not necessarily a bad thing…). The 8-inch infotainment system hangs off the dash like an afterthought on the Comfort and Extreme SE models.
However, it’s big enough for adults to sit in the second row and excited kids to sit in the third. You don’t get a lot of trunk space with all seven seats in use, but fortunately, the two seats in the trunk are very lightweight and can be obliterated without too much hassle. We suggest doing this on a semi-permanent basis. If you need a real seven-seater, look elsewhere.
The Dacia Jogger weighs in at just over 1200kg, and its small 1.0-litre engine moves it quite happily (at least, it does when the car isn’t full of people). Compared to the Volkswagen Golf Estate, the sound is loud and not smooth, but there must be trade-offs somewhere.
Because of its lightweight, it feels snappy enough on open roads, though the steering is light and bumps up a bit off-road. It may settle in a bit when fully loaded, but it doesn’t sway as much as you’d think a car like this might be in cornering.
Dacia Jogger is a good car. It’s a new car with a refreshingly low price tag that bucks the trend of high-end SUVs. You can’t say enough about how good the deal was. You get a seven-seater sedan for the price of a very modest Ford Fiesta. But it has other skills too, like an impressive range of uses and a fast 1.0-litre petrol engine. Although some hard plastics were in the interior and there is no more sound insulation, the Jogger is an excellent deal for a new car.
Comfort and interior design Dacia Jogger
“Although the Dacia Jogger is different in many ways, the interior is pretty standard. It looks and feels like a Dacia Sandero, which means it’s something simple and useful.”However, buyers who don’t want the latest technology and touch-sensitive climate control buttons will love it. Dacia Jogger. The Dacia Jogger Essential, the base model, does not have an infotainment screen. Instead, he has a phone holder.
It is straightforward to get used to the cabin. The seats are comfortable but don’t expect things like lumbar support or power adjustments. Even though you sit higher than any standard hatchback, you won’t be towering over other drivers. There are some nice things about the Jogger’s cabin, so it’s not all bad. We like the fabric that runs across the dashboard’s width, and the angled air vents are a nice touch.
Driving in a Dacia Jogger
The 16-inch wheels and soft suspension on the Dacia Jogger make it feel good. Although it doesn’t have a high-tech ride, it’s no less comfortable than truck carriers.
The Dacia Jogger is so agile that it’s easy to forget that it’s smaller than the Ford Focus Estate. This makes passing through a narrow alley or crowded parking lot easier. All models come with parking sensors in the rear, and Comfort SE and Extreme SE models also have front and rear parking sensor that shows what’s behind the car. The Dacia Jogger is much better than a traditional people haulier like the Volkswagen Touran if you have a small driveway.
Around town, the light clutch pedal and steering are also helpful, and the manual gearbox is handy. The Dacia Jogger isn’t the best car for driving outside the city, but it has excellent grip and doesn’t feel like a boat when cornering. It’s too bad Dacia doesn’t offer all-wheel drive on the Jogger, but that would add cost and complexity few people could want.
What engines and gearboxes are available for the Dacia Jogger?
The Dacia Jogger only comes with one engine: a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine called the TCe 110. You might think a car the size of the Jogger wouldn’t have enough power with its 110PS and 200Nm of torque,
Dacia Jogger weighs only 1205 kg, which is not much more than the latest Mazda MX-5. That helps get things moving, but we can’t say how fast the Jogger will be when it’s full-on stirrups.
All Dacia Joggers come with a 6-speed manual transmission. This is easy to use and has a light clutch pedal that helps. If you want an automatic, you must wait for the Dacia Jogger Hybrid, which will be released soon.
MPG and fuel costs: How much does a Dacia Jogger cost to run?
WLTP tests show that the 1.0-litre petrol engine in the new Dacia Jogger can reach 49.6 mpg. Like most small turbocharged engines, it will hurt fuel economy if you try to get the maximum performance out of it, but it should be very effective for everyday driving. With a 50-litre fuel tank, the Jogger should be filled approximately every 400 miles.”
Dacia has no plans to make a diesel Jogger, but a hybrid model will be available for those who want a more fuel-efficient car.
More details about the Dacia Jogger Hybrid 2023
The Dacia Jogger stands out in a market where crossovers and small SUVs are becoming more popular. Even though it looks like a station wagon, it rides a bit higher than most and has cladding on the outside to make it look more rugged. It also has a new look for the brand, with a more noticeable logo across the grille.
Its exterior design has a lot going on, but it all works well together and should appeal to people who see a car as more than just a way to get from point A to point B. Even though it is a front-wheel-drive car, the Jogger looks like a car ready for an adventure.
Dacia likes to keep things simple, but the Jogger has some intelligent features. For example, the roof rails can be unlocked and turned 90 degrees so that a roof box or bike rack can lock onto them.
The space inside is also pretty good, and even with all seven seats in place, there is still 212 litres of space for luggage. The trunk space goes up to 699 litres when the back seats are folded. Removing the third row altogether is easy, giving you 820 litres of space. Since the Jogger was made to be a hybrid from the start, it doesn’t affect the area in the back. This is a big plus compared to some plug-in hybrid SUVs, which often have less space in the back than a C-segment hatchback.
You can get a Dacia with a straightforward, no-frills interior, but the Dacia Jogger Hybrid comes with some extra features as standard. One of these is a 7-inch digital instrument display that shows information about the hybrid, such as the battery charge level and fuel gauge, which won’t change much if you drive carefully.
You can change the position of the driver’s seat reasonably. Our test car had a colour touchscreen that works with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a place to hold your phone. There’s also a USB-A port for charging right behind it, which is handy. Since it is a hybrid model, it has an automatic transmission. Dacia also has an electronic parking brake as a standard feature, making room for an armrest with more storage space underneath.
One of the main reasons to consider the Jogger Hybrid is that it has a lot of space in the back, and the middle row of rear seats has a fold-and-lift system that makes it easy to get into the third row. Most so-called seven-seat SUVs can’t fit an average-height adult in the back seats, but this one can. The back seats also have big windows, so it doesn’t feel too cramped.
The Dacia Jogger Hybrid has a gasoline engine with 1.6 litres of capacity that works with two electric motors. One of the electric motors is a high-voltage starter generator. The electric motor gets its power from a small 1.2kWh battery in the back of the car, under the third-row seats, where a spare wheel would usually be (Dacia provides the Jogger Hybrid with a tire inflation kit as standard). It’s different from other hybrids because it has a high-tech multi-mode gearbox that doesn’t use clutches. Dacia says this makes gear changes smoother and more efficient.
The battery has enough power for the Jogger Hybrid to start moving with just the electric motor at the beginning of a trip. As it does this at slower speeds, a speaker on the outside makes a sound to warn pedestrians that it is there. It moves smoothly and quietly, and the combustion engine will start soon. You can feel it working, and sometimes it seems to rev faster than the car’s speed would suggest because it sends power to charge the battery. This happens independently, so the driver doesn’t have to do anything special. The car takes care of everything.
The hybrid system will help you most if you drive in a town or city where your average speed isn’t too high, and you stop and start a lot. In these situations, the gasoline engine can be turned off more often, letting the battery and electric motor move the car. Even when the engine starts up, the Jogger Hybrid stays smooth as long as the controls are held steady.
As you drive on more open roads, the hybrid system’s parts work together more, and the four-cylinder engine makes the difference. But sometimes, like on steeper climbs, it can sound strained and make you slightly out of breath. Positively, the Hybrid 140 doesn’t have the transmission elasticity that some other hybrids with CVTs (continuously variable transmissions) do, so it responds better to acceleration inputs.
Most importantly, the Dacia seems good at getting good gas mileage. When we’ve had the car, we’ve travelled on many different types of roads, from country roads to city streets to highways. The vehicle used 4.8 litres of gas per 100 km, the same as the official WLTP figure. When we had the car, only two of us were in it, so gas usage would probably go up if all the seats were filled, and there might be some luggage on the plane. Still, it’s a decent score for the car and, on a good day, matches what you might expect from a diesel-powered model.
What you pay for and what you get
While we won’t know how much the Dacia Jogger Hybrid will cost in Ireland until the car comes out in the second half of 2023, we think it will be the most expensive. At the moment, the Extreme TCe 110 is the most costly Jogger. It will cost you 28,440 euros. Dacia Ireland could try to price the Jogger Hybrid under €30,000. However, the Hybrid 140 comes with some additional standard features, will have a lower engine tax, and can save you money on fuel over the time you own it.
summary
Although it costs more than the regular petrol models, the Dacia Jogger Hybrid 140 will undoubtedly be very popular. It’s a good choice for a family car that’s cheaper to buy and operate.
