Dacia Jogger
REPORT 3
£18,745 OTR/£19,640 as tested/£313pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
Can the cheapest MPV cut the TopGear mustard?
DRIVER
Sam Philip
WHEN YOU’VE GOT A JOGGER, EVERYONE WANTS TO BE YOUR AMI. ON holiday in the French Alps I get roped into helping a neighbour shift an old washing machine to the tip and a couple of old gas cylinders too The Jogger swallows the lot with ease bien sûr I am paid for my troubles in cheese which is very much the best form of payment
The Alps it transpires are Dacia country Sanderos Dusters Logans a few Lodgys the mountains are full of them And everyone wants to talk about the Jogger Even beyond its conversation starting skills it proves just the ticket for a big French holiday I’d worried especially with a trio of bikes on its roof whether its litre cyl might feel a bit breathless on the autoroute but it maintained kph with ease
Cars at the cheaper end of the spectrum can be a bit tiring on the motorway a bit blustery a bit unrefined a bit noisy but the Jogger’s a cracker OK it doesn’t swallow miles like a Bentley Continental but can you fit a washing machine and a pair of massive gas cylinders in a Conti?
And I know I’ve mentioned this a few times already but I’m going to keep repeating it the Jogger really is massive With the two rearmost seats removed its boot swallowed another kid’s bike plus everything a family of four needs for two weeks abroad plus everything a family of four forgot they needed for two weeks abroad and then had to buy at the first supermarché all with the load cover still in place
Ah man I really like this car At the risk of anthropomorphising the Jogger already feels like a proper member of the family And like a nice member of the family at that not a weird great uncle of dubious views and dubious odour It’s big it’s nononsense it’ll basically pay for itself in giftcheese What a machine