Louth Motoring: Affordable & economical seven-seater comfort with the Dacia Jogger

The Dacia Jogger is a 7-seat family car that offers exceptional value for money. That could be the last line of this review but it would hardly be a surprise if you are in the market for a 7-seater and did a modicum of research.

After all, for the price of the entry Ford Focus at €32,294, you could buy 5 of the 6 trim levels from the Jogger lineup here in Ireland.

And one of them could be the Expression trim version in Hybrid format that Dacia has now added to the Jogger range.

I tested the Extreme version which is the top of the range and costs €33,090, so nearly 6 out of 6. Mine was in Cedar green with bronze wing mirrors and decals that I think is the best colour combination fitting the name.

To get your hands on a 7-seater Jogger the entry price is amazingly only €26,090. I’ve driven the non-hybrid version before so what's the hybrid version like and is it worth plumbing for?

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The reason for adding a hybrid to the lineup is to provide better fuel economy and Dacia promises consumption for the combined cycle at 5l/100kms. Not many 7-seaters can claim that.

To get the best from the Jogger hybrid, any hybrid really, just don’t treat it harshly. Just let the engine management technology decide the best use of the battery and electric motors and when to use them and/or the petrol engine.

Remember, this is a family car designed to carry 7 people so you won't want to be testing the limit of its grip in corners when it has a full complement on board, or seeing how fast it gets to 100 km/h fully loaded - official figure is 10s from the 140hp power unit.

If you drive smoothly the hybrid system is smooth. Treat it harshly and the hybrid system mirrors this. I revelled in proving to those I carried just how smooth the Jogger could be.

I even got two normal adults to ride in the two third row seats. I wanted the trip to be as smooth as possible so they could concentrate on the practicality of the seats they found themselves in.

The fact they could fit in, and get in and out of, with considerable ease is a testament to the great design of the Jogger and they are not just token seats.

It's all levers and manual operation but so what? Who needs fancy/gimmicky electric features that you’ll only use for 20 seconds getting in and out.

Above: Interior of the Dacia Jogger

My adults were happy to be there for a moderate trip, moderate being 20-30 minutes.

Any longer and they’d want to upgrade to the middle row but a mid-teen or younger could stay in there for a lot longer, comfortably. The Hybrid model’s ride is a bit firmer than the non-hybrid but not radically.

If you always consider the passengers then the car feels perfectly normal and delivers quite a comfortable and quiet ride.

Performance is surprisingly good with decent acceleration. The steering is quite light and for city and urban driving that is perfectly fine.

It’s a godsend when parking and makes manoeuvring the 4.5m long Jogger a simple enough task.

You get a 699 litre boot when the third row seats are folded rising to 820 litres if you remove them altogether. 2,085 litres of space is the maximum you can create leading to a myriad of roles it can perform and objects it can carry.

Dacia prides themselves on being a value brand which isn't the same as a cheap brand. You can decide for yourself if some of the hard plastic materials used are value orientated or cheap. I personally could live with them when the overall value package is factored in.

The level of specification on my Extreme trim is staggering with all the good things included.

Dacia currently has a zero percent PCP offer making it as easy as possible to get into a Jogger, just like those rearmost seats. One thing you must seriously check out is the accessories available for the Jogger.

Dacia has thought of everything and made the pricing of them as keen as possible.

How do I end the review after giving the game away at the start? Overall, the Jogger offers practicality, versatility with decent economy & performance for that exceptional price.

If you need a family car a 7-seater Jogger makes a strong case in its own right. For those times when you need to carry more than 5, those two extra seats are a really viable option making the Jogger a low-cost daily driver and a really solid, sensible choice.