Motoring

CAROLINE GETS MOTORING

Bunclody native Caroline Kidd brings us reviews of the latest new cars to arrive in Ireland. Caroline is the founder and editor of the online automotive magazine Changing Lanes and a jury member for Irish Car of the Year. Find out more about her editorial and commercial copywriting services at www.changinglanes.ie

DACIA JOGGER

The new Dacia Jogger is the Dacia brand’s first ever seven seat family car and joins the Sandero supermini and the Duster compact SUV in the Dacia range. It's just gone on sale in Ireland, priced from €24,190, making it Ireland's most affordable 7-seater.

Dacia has gone for a strong outdoors look for the new Jogger. In profile it resembles an estate car but with a slightly elevated ride height and rugged styling features like roof rails, plastic cladding around the wheel arches, and a skid plate at the front and rear. It's a practical and fashionable look for the new Jogger. Entry models get just steel wheels, though mid-range Comfort models come with more attractive wheel covers.

But if you’re willing to spend a bit more on your Dacia Jogger, the top of the range Extreme SE is the best looker with black 16” alloy wheels, black door mirror caps, and unique Extreme SE badging and trim.

Inside the new Jogger has a latest generation Dacia interior, which is good news. It looks modern and the controls are all easy to interact with. There are still plenty of hard plastics, but the Extreme SE has some more stylish fabric trim along the dashboard and arm rests in the front doors. Manual air conditioning and cruise control come as standard. The mid-range Comfort model adds a more desirable 8inch touchscreen with two USB ports and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s also automatic air conditioning, reversing camera and keyless entry. The Extreme SE adds heated front seats and even wireless smartphone mirroring. Keeping the cost down means that the Jogger does without some of the more advanced driver assistance features for example lane keeping assist. The Jogger got just a 1-star rating in Euro NCAP safety tests out of a maximum of 5 stars. It was also scored down for missing seat-

belt reminders in the third row of seats. But 6 airbags come as standard and automatic emergency braking, while blind spot warning is standard on Comfort and above.

The Jogger is all about practicality, which it does very well. The high roof line and long wheelbase give plenty of headroom and legroom for rear passengers, while the rear bench will seat three. Then it's simple to tumble those seats forward to access the third row of seats. It's also surprisingly comfortable in those seats at the very back. With all seven seats in place, the boot has just enough space for a few bags. A low loading sill adds practicality and when you tumble forward or remove the two extra seats completely, there's a huge 699 litres of boot space. At launch there's just one engine for the new Jogger – a 1.0-litre three cylinder turbo petrol engine with 110 hp that comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox. There’s no automatic available right now but that will come next year with the arrival of a new hybrid with a bit more power. The Jogger is light so on the road it feels livelier than expected and it’s relatively efficient too. Steering is light so it's hardly a driver's car but it's simple to drive and comfortable as well, which Interior

really matters for a family car like this.

Dacia is a brand that’s really finding its groove in the Irish market with wellpriced cars that are improving in design and quality all the time. The Jogger offers incredible value as a family car with a spacious, versatile interior and the ability to carry seven people! It’s a budget car so there are some compromises, but the Jogger offers so much it’s impossible to ignore! Model tested: Dacia Jogger Extreme SE Price: €26,590 Engine: 1.0-litre turbo petrol Power: 110 hp Torque: 200 Nm 0-100km/h: 11.2 seconds Top speed: 183 km/h CO2 emissions: 131 g/km Motor tax: €210 per year n

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