Dacia Jogger 1.6 HEV Expression 5dr Auto

Ten Second Review

Dacia's Jogger aims to blend the sensible virtues of an estate car with the usefulness of a compact seven-seat MPV and the style of an SUV. All at affordable pricing that will see you doing a double take. It gets modern engineering tech too. Here, we look at the improved version.

Background

You'd have thought in today's market that every conceivable market niche would have been filled. Yet in the rush to deliver every conceivable kind of SUV, one segment has been ignored; that for a truly affordable 7-seat family car. And who better to fill that niche than Dacia? If you want seven seats in a family car these days - even in a converted van - you'll need well over £30,000, which Dacia thinks is ridiculous. So in 2021, the company took its Sandero hatchback and lengthened its platform enough to insert a third seating row, so creating this car, the Jogger. At the same time with this model, there are Crossover-inspired looks a world away from the dull conformity of the forgettable Dacia compact estate this contender effectively replaced, the Logan MCV. In 2023, the Jogger was even engineered with the option of Dacia's first hybrid engine - which has been improved as part of the package of mid-term updates we look at here.

Driving Experience

Almost all Joggers are going to be sold in mainstream TCe 110 form, with a 1.0-litre three cylinder petrol turbo unit that produces 109hp and nearly all of its maximum 200Nm pulling power from just 1,700rpm. It's mated to 6-speed manual transmission. The alternative to this unit is a 1.6-litre petrol hybrid 155 unit which has to be had as an auto. This combines a 109hp 1.8-litre four cylinder petrol engine, two electric motors (a 50hp motor and a high-voltage starter/generator), a 1.4kWh battery (230V) and an automatic electric gearbox with four gears for the ICE engine and two others for the electric motor. Dacia expects the Jogger Hybrid to be able to run up to 80% of its time on electricity in urban driving and it offers 155hp and 62mph from rest in about 10s. Across the range, under the skin sits the stiff Renault CMF-B platform shared with the Sandero hatch. Don't expect this to deliver particularly engaging handling dynamics; this car isn't intended for that kind of driving. But it'll be easy to use in town, thanks to a light electrically powered steering system that requires little effort to turn at low speeds. There's an 11.7-metre kerb-to-kerb turning circle. There's more camera safety kit than used to be on Dacias. This one gets an improved Automatic Emergency Braking System (AEBS). And can be fitted with Blind Spot Warning, which illuminates an LED light within the door mirror to warn the driver if another vehicle may be concealed from view.

Design and Build

This improved Jogger is set apart by new headlights with a fresh LED headlight signature featuring an inverted 'T' that's connected to the revised grille by a line of pixel-like dots. At the rear, the LED tail lamps have a smarter pixel design, the vertical lights an extension of the tailgate window. Dacia has added new protections on the wheel arches, lower body and fog lights in its patented 'Starkle' material - a kind of recycleable dark plastic. And there are fresh wheel designs. Otherwise, all is as before. The Jogger is still the longest model Dacia makes, measuring 4.5m thanks to the 30cm wheelbase increase it enjoys over its Sandero hatch stablemate. You'll spot the visual SUV vibe here - 200mm of ground clearance, modular roof bars and scuff plates see to that. And disguise the fact that from the B-pillar forwards, everything is pretty much the same as a Sandero. There is though, a 40mm step up at the rear to offer the additional height and width needed for the extra seating row. Under the skin lies a modern Renault CMF-B platform. Inside, Dacia has made a few subtle updates to this improved model. There are smarter, more durable fabrics on the seats, the dashboard and the doors. And the redesigned dashboard vents feature an inverted 'T' design, matching the smarter exterior light signature. There's also a revised steering wheel. And an updated multimedia system with a 10-inch screen (up from 8-inches). A fresh interface design has been added for the 7-inch digital instrument display. As before, access to the second row is easy thanks to the 2.9-metre wheelbase, with wide-opening doors and reasonable knee room; you could seat a couple of adults there reasonably. The rear-most chairs are obviously only for kids and reaching them requires a little bit of athleticism. With these extra pews in place, the boot volume is only up to 213-litres, so you won't fit in more than a few shopping bags with all the rows in place. These additional pews don't slide or fold into the floor, so when you're not using them and you need extra boot space, you have to take them out (fortunately, they only weigh 10kg each), freeing up as much as 712-litres of space. If you need more room, the middle row seats roll forward and split 60:40. Maximum carrying capacity is 1819-litres.

Market and Model

So how much are you going to end up paying? Prices start from just over £20,000 and for the TCe 110 petrol engine and manual gearbox configuration there are two trim levels, 'Expression' and 'Extreme'. Hybrid 155 customers pay from just under £24,000. All of which makes this by quite a stretch the cheapest seven-seater on sale in the UK. Most customers will probably stick with the base 'Expression' model. The top 'Extreme' variant at the top of the range features more off road-orientated styling, with additional black body cladding around the wheel arches and bumpers. Plus it gets front and rear skid plates and 16-inch wheels. Depending on the trim level you choose, infotainment will be taken care of by the brand's 'Media Control' system (working with an improved app). You get a 10-inch 'Media Display' screen, which offers wireless 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto'; and can also be upgraded to 'Media Nav Live' nav-equipped status, where it'll be paired with an Arkamys 6-speaker 3D Sound System. Other features new to Jogger include a wireless 'phone charger, auto high beam headlights, a multi-view camera and power-folding mirrors. The 'YouClip' attachments we first saw on the Spring EV now make an appearance on the Jogger, a simple, ingenious system for securing a wide range of dedicated accessories at key points around the passenger compartment in a practical and robust way. There are three YouClip anchor points: one on the dashboard, one at the back of the central console, and another inside the tailgate. These anchor points can be used for a tablet holder, storage pouch, phone holder or a coat hanger - and you can buy a 'YouClip' accessory attachments for a glasses case and a shopping bag. The Jogger also really needed a safety upgrade; it's had it, with new driving aids meeting the latest European safety standards: including better automatic emergency braking (city/highway with vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist and motorbike detection) and driver attention alert. Making life easier for customers, Dacia has added an ingenious 'My Safety' button, providing easy access to the driver's preferred ADAS configuration.

Cost of Ownership

Dacia isn't bothering with a diesel here and at present, there's no sign of the Continental LPG version of the 1.0-litre petrol unit. So you'll need to like the idea of that same three cylinder TCe 110 engine in conventional form, which records up to 47.9mpg on the combined cycle, giving a decent operating range from the 50-litre fuel tank. the CO2 reading is 132g/km. The Hybrid 155 manages well over 55mpg on the combined cycle and under 115g/km of CO2. This electrified variant includes a 'B' (Brake) mode in its fully automatic, clutchless gearbox, which amplifies the regenerative braking and increases engine braking. This mode optimises energy recovery and driving comfort in urban areas. On to the warranty. Dacia offers its Zen warranty which can cover you for you to 7 years provided you get your car regularly serviced at a Dacia franchise. This is backed by three years or 60,000 miles of roadside assistance. Service intervals are every year or every 12,000 miles and since most Renault dealers look after Dacias too, you shouldn't be too far from a specialist workshop. It also helps that there's a timing chain that'll last as long as the engine. Dacia offers a choice of pre-paid servicing schemes covering you for either two years and 24,000 miles or three years and 36,000 miles.

Summary

We can't help thinking that the Jogger is still Dacia's most appealing car to date. There's some of the practicality of a compact MPV for family trips, an extra seating row so the kids can bring friends home from school and a bit of SUV vibe so you'll feel happy parking it at the gym. Yes, it's unremarkable inside, but the interior's been usefully improved as part of this mid-term update and the cabins of modern Dacias no longer shout 'budget brand' so loudly. Plus most of the kit you really need is available - and a price tag thousands below what you'll pay for a 7-seater from another brand. The Jogger is in many ways just about everything a modern affordable family estate ought to be. And if that's not enough of a recommendation for you, we're not quite sure what is.