Dacia Jogger is one of the most visually appealing new cars on the market
APPROACH the all-new Dacia Jogger from the wrong angle and it is not the most visually appealing new car on the market today, it looks a bit awkward at times, especially from the rear quarter angle. The high, but not high enough roof line, the puzzle of “is it an estate or is it an SUV”, well, looks alone do not answer that question, but give the Jogger a chance and it does set the record straight. It is a tall estate-looking car with 200mm of ground clearance and three rows of seats allowing for seven occupants, call it what you like, it is seriously practical.
And there-in lies the reasoning for the high-ish roofline, the three rows of seats. The higher roofline gives the space required to accommodate the three rows, which are structured in a Land Rover-esque stadium style tiered seating, and as a result all seven seats can be used by adults with leg room for those up to 190cm (6’3”) according to Dacia.
The rest of the interior is quite good also, nice materials bar the use of some black hard plastic in places. My test car was the top spec Extreme SE priced at €27,185 and it came with a surprising array of features, an 8” touchscreen display, rear view camera, front and rear park sensors, wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto, blind spot monitoring and heated front seats.
The Jogger weighs in at a little over 1,200kg, surprising for a car of this size, and as a result the Nissan-Renault derived 1.0 litre 3-cylinder turbo petrol unit generating 108BHP pulls quite well around town, with the car feeling engaging and even nippy at times.
The steering is light and fairly direct given the height and length of this car, but get the Jogger out onto the open road, or full of passengers and the little 3-cylinder does struggle. The Jogger surprised me, I expected a miserable interior and a poor driving experience, but I got neither of those. The interior is a nice place to be, it has all the real-world useful extras that I would want, and it drove well around town.
My biggest take away from my time with the Jogger though, is how Dacia can make this car, with all the kit it has and all the seats it has and still be able to sell it for the price they have set for it. The range starts at an unbelievable €23,290 right up to €27,185 for the top spec Extreme SE model. The next most affordable seven seat car on the market right now is a staggering €15,000 more expensive than the Jogger.
This is not just a cheap car, it is an economics lesson for every other car manufacturer out there, better value can be achieved, and Dacia have the know-how.