LAUNCH PAD

Dacia’s Jogger combines seven seater practicality with style and affordability

For anyone in the market for an affordable seven seater, the choices are pretty slim these days. It’s a market Dacia is hoping to claim with its all-new Jogger which has just gone on sale in Ireland with launch prices from €23,290.

A cross between an estate car, MPV and crossover, the Jogger is based on the same CMF-B platform as the Sandero (and the Renault Clio), but features an extended rear end which increases the overall length to just over 4.5m. A step up in the roofline behind the B-pillar gives an extra 40mm in headroom for passengers in the rear, while a near vertical tailgate maximises the internal space relative to the overall length of the vehicle.

That relatively compact yet spacious design allows a third row of seats to be fitted, and impressively they’re generous enough to accommodate full size adults, something many much bigger 7-seater vehicles struggle to do. The second row provides as much legroom as a typical hatchback but rather more headroom.

If the rear seats aren’t needed they can be folded to extend boot space from 212 litres to 699 litres. Furthermore they can be removed completely to offer even more space, something that’s quite easy to do with a weight of just 10kg per seat. Drop the second row of seats and you have a van-rivalling 2,085 litres of storage with load lengths of up to 2m possible. Dacia says there are almost 60 possible ways to split and fold the seats to maximise practicality and versatility.

Another notable feature of the Jogger is its light weight, weighing in at just 1.2 tonnes. That allows Dacia to fit a new version of its TCe 1.0 litre 3-cylinder petrol engine. Developing 110hp and 200Nm of torque, Dacia says it will return fuel consumption figures of 5.7-6.0 l/100km with CO2 emissions of 132g/ km (giving annual road tax of €200). Next year will see the arrive of a hybrid engine, Dacia’s first in its model line-up.

Three trim levels will be offered on the Jogger. Essential trim, priced from €23,290 includes air conditioning, cruise control, rear parking sensors, automatic headlights and Automatic Emergency Braking System (AEBS). It also features Dacia’s Media Control seen on the Sandero which utilises your smartphone in place of a multimedia display. The Comfort trim, expected to be the volume seller at an entry price of €25,090, adds modular roof rails, automatic wipers, front and rear parking sensors with reversing camera and 16-inch ‘Flex’ steel wheels styled to replicate the appearance of alloy wheels amongst others. Inside you get a soft-feel steering wheel, central armrest with storage, electric rear windows, electric parking brake, keyless entry, automatic air-con, blind spot warning, and Dacia’s 8-inch Media Display system with two USB ports and smartphone mirroring.

The ranging topping Extreme SE adds 16-inch alloys finished in black, heated front seats, special floor and cargo mats, and Dacia’s Media Nav system with built-in navigation and wireless smartphone mirroring. It’s priced at €26,590 at launch, though Dacia advises that all models will be increasing in price by €900 in June - a reflection of the volatile market the motor industry is operating in at present.

SAFETY

Ahead of its launch came the news that Euro NCAP, the car safety performance assessment programme, had awarded the Jogger a solitary one star rating, marking it down in particular for its Vulnerable Road Users and Safety Assist ratings. Speaking at the Irish launch, Jeremy Warnock of Dacia Ireland said that the Jogger is one of the safest cars Dacia has ever made, noting that it terms of standard safety requirements it performs very well, but was marked down for items such as the lack of Isofix on the third row of seats. He noted that all Dacia Jogger models feature six airbags, including curtain and side airbags, as well as a range of ADAS systems including AEBS, Blind Spot Warning, Park Assist and Hill Start Assist.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS VERDICT

Occasionally a car comes along that breaks the mould or offers something different to the mainstream. The Jogger may be one of these vehicles. It’s stylish, with enough SUV styling to appeal to crossover fans, it offers exceptional space for a compact car, and it undercuts every other seven seater on the market by a significant price margin. A car for our times? Just maybe.

Text: Cathal Doyle – cathal@fleet.ie