Dacia Jogger Review 2024

The Dacia Jogger is a versatile seven-seat family wagon that offers incredible value for money. For the price of a fairly basic Ford Fiesta, you could be driving an extremely useful estate-car-cum-people-carrier that really isn't as bleak as you might expect. There's also an excellent hybrid version.

It's the biggest car that Dacia makes, but the Dacia Jogger is actually based on the same platform as the Dacia Sandero hatchback. The question is, does it cut it as a seven-seat family car? Find out in our Dacia Jogger review.

The Dacia Jogger is similar in size to a Volkswagen Golf Estate, while its stepped roof means it feels like a spacious MPV inside. With its raised ride height, you might also consider it alongside SUV alternatives like the Skoda Karoq, too.

All Dacia Joggers sold in the UK come with seven seats as standard. The rear-most seats are only really meant for occasional use – kids will excitedly climb into the back, but we reckon adults will be a little less enthusiastic. There's not much of a boot with them in use but, fortunately, they're extremely lightweight and can be removed entirely without too much of a faff.

If, like us, you get animated about versatility, you'll also be keen on the Dacia Jogger's clever roof rails. Armed with an Allan key, you can turn these into a full-on roof rack capable of carrying up to 80kg.

Ordering a Dacia Jogger is an easy process, too. You get the choice of just three trim levels (Essential, Comfort and Extreme SE), all of which are very reasonably priced. And there are just two optional extras available: metallic paint and a spare wheel.

The small difference in monthly payments between the most affordable Dacia Jogger Essential and top-spec Dacia Jogger Extreme SE means we'd go for the latter. Standard kit on the range-topper includes 16-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, a reversing camera and an eight-inch navigation system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The most affordable version is the petrol – a little 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. With just 109PS and 200Nm torque, it might not sound like the punchiest of units, but it's actually more than adequate for getting a shift on in the 1205kg Dacia Jogger.

The Dacia Jogger Hybrid is the other choice and it's an excellent hybrid. Using the same system as the Renault Clio E-Tech, it's smooth, quick and easy to drive.

The Jogger's pleasant enough from behind the wheel, although refinement is noticeably lacking compared to pricier mainstream alternatives. It isn't too stodgy in the corners and there's plenty of tech on hand to help reduce the risk of a collision.

Prices for the new Dacia Jogger start from just £14,995 and orders are now open. If you order one today, high demand means you might be waiting for up to six months for your new Jogger, but there are dealers who might be persuaded to part with their demonstrator models if you're not too fussed about spec.

We lived with a Jogger for three months - find out how we got on with it in our Dacia Jogger long-term test.

There's a slight lack of polish to the way the Dacia Jogger deals with bumpy road surfaces, but it strikes a reasonable middle ground – neither too floaty nor too firm. You can only get the Dacia Jogger with 16-inch alloy wheels and high-profile tyres, which no doubt helps here.

It corners reasonably well, too. Okay, you're not going to enjoy driving it as much as a SEAT Leon Estate, but it feels surprisingly composed and there's plenty of grip on offer. The steering is rather light, which is useful around town, while the Jogger's relatively compact dimensions (especially compared to other seven-seaters) help when tackling tight parking spaces.

There's a noticeable difference in ride quality with the Hybrid 140. Dacia has reinforced the suspension to compensate for the extra 180kg of weight, so it's noticeable firmer. It's fine on motorways, but on poorer local roads it can struggle to settle down and feels quite busy.

Form launch, the Dacia Jogger was first avaialble with a 1.0-litre petrol engine paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. This three-cylinder turbocharged unit packs just 110PS and 200Nm of torque, which doesn't sound like a great deal for a seven-seat family car.

Its 11.2 second 0-62mph time means it'll feel quite slow if you're coming out of a punchy turbodiesel (unsurprisingly, diesel power isn't on the agenda for the Dacia Jogger), but we found it sprightly enough for a car of this type. Its low 1205kg kerb weight helps, but a full complement of passengers and a roof box full of luggage will no doubt hinder performance.

If you're looking for something a bit livelier, the Dacia Jogger Hybrid 140 is the answer - it's also Dacia's first automatic. Using a 1.6-litre non-turbo engine alongside two electric motors, rather than a CVT the Dacia has a multi-mode clutchless gearbox.

You'll barely notice when it switches between electric and petrol power, while the gearbox works really well meaning plenty of low down torque when you need it and swift acceleration. It's far better than the CVT hybrid used in Honda cars. In fact it's one of the best hybrids on the market. 

There's a B engine braking mode on the gearbox which recuperates more energy, recharging the battery faster and increasing the braking effect. It's very useful around town where the Jogger Hybrid can drive up to 43mph on electric power.

The Dacia Jogger is yet to be crash-tested by Euro NCAP but, based on the results of the mechanically similar Dacia Sandero, this could be a stumbling block for many Jogger buyers.

That's not to say it's short on safety equipment. Six airbags are standard, as well as a number of driver-assist features – including an autonomous emergency braking system. There's also a blind-spot warning system, while rear parking sensors are standard across the Jogger range.

The Dacia Jogger 1.0-litre has a braked towing capacity of up to 1200kg which drops to 750kg for the Hybrid 140.

We don't think you can buy a more versatile new car for £15,000 than the Dacia Jogger. Technically it's a seven-seater, but the rear-most seats aren't the most accessible and do eat quite significantly into boot space. They weigh next to nothing and can easily be removed, so we'd suggest doing that and leaving them stored away in the garage until those occasions when you actually need seven seats.

Treated as a five-seater, the Dacia Jogger has an impressive 699-litre boot, while access is easier than a high-up SUV. You shouldn't have too much of an issue encouraging a dog to jump into the Jogger's boot, while loading heavy items should be easy too.

A stepped roofline means there's loads of headroom in the back of the Jogger, although legroom will be a little tight for adults. There's plenty of room in the front, though, while Dacia proudly boasts that the Jogger has 23 litres of useful storage space dotted around the cabin. Top-spec Extreme SE models even come with fold-down picnic tables for the second row of seats while even those in the third row get armrests and tilt-opening windows.

You're certainly not going to mistake the Dacia Jogger's interior for that of a BMW, but it's perfectly fine for the money. You get quite a few hard plastics in places that could easily be caught with your feet (or sticky hands), but it's not entirely drab. The fabric-covered dashboard is a nice touch.

The base-spec Dacia Jogger Essential doesn't even come with an infotainment screen. It does come with a basic DAB radio, though, with Bluetooth and an in-built phone holder.

It's worth upgrading to a Dacia Jogger Comfort, though, if only for the addition of the eight-inch in-built infotainment system. This is positioned high up on the dashboard and, refreshingly, doesn't replace traditional buttons and controls for things like the climate control. Navigation isn't available on the Dacia Jogger Comfort, but you do get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can use mapping apps on your phone.

The Dacia Jogger Extreme SE features the same eight-inch media system but with the addition of navigation. It also comes with an upgraded six-speaker sound system and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – there's no wireless phone charging, though, so it'll still be worth plugging your handset in.

Prices start from £14,995 for the Dacia Jogger Essential, while the Dacia Jogger Comfort is priced from £16,595 and the Extreme SE special edition is £17,395. That translates to around £194/month on finance for the entry-level model (with a £194 deposit), £215/month for the Comfort and £225/month for the Extreme SE, based on a four-year PCP deal with a mileage allowance of 6000 miles a year.

The Hybrid 140 starts at £22,995 in Expression trim (it's not available in Essential) with the high spec (and good-looking) Extreme model a £1000 more. That may seem a lot for a Dacia but it's still much cheaper than other seven-seat hybrid family cars. 

There's nothing else on the market that really compares with the Dacia Jogger for this money. A Ford Fiesta hatchback starts from £17,470, while a Skoda Octavia Estate will cost you upwards of £23,250. A seven-seat Citroen e-Berlingo is priced from £31,995.

Despite the Jogger's lack of hybrid assistance (for now), running costs ought to be fairly reasonable. Officially the 1.0-litre will return up to 49.6mpg according to official tests, while it's been placed into insurance groups 13 and 14. The annual VED bill will be £155/year.

Opt for the Hybrid 140 and official figures are 56.5mpg.

Standard equipment on the Dacia Jogger Essential includes manual air conditioning, rear parking sensors, cruise control and automatic headlights. You get a steering wheel that adjusts for height and reach, electric front windows, an automatic emergency braking system and Dacia’s Media Control system in place of a modern infotainment display.

The Dacia Jogger Comfort adds modular roof rails, body-coloured door handles, front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, 16-inch ‘Flex’ steel wheels which look a bit like alloys and electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors. Inside, the JoggerComfort comes with a soft-feel steering wheel, chrome and copper orange interior highlights, a central armrest, electric rear windows, an electronic parking brake, keyless entry, automatic air conditioning, line spot warning and Dacia’s eight-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

The special edition Dacia Jogger Extreme SE tops the range with 16-inch black alloy wheels along with matching black roof bars and door mirrors. Inside, the Jogger Extreme SE comes with heated front seats, special floor and cargo mats and a built-in navigation system.

This was replaced by the Dacia Jogger Extreme as the top of the range model which gets Cooper Brown mirrors, Cooper Brown highlights on the roof bars, fog light surrounds and a topographical pattern on the snorkel and lower doors. Elsewhere it has a gloss black shark fin antenna, 16-inch Gloss Black alloy wheels with Copper Brown Dacia Link logo on centre caps, MicroCloud upholstery and dashboard trim with contrast stitching, Copper Brown air vents and door trim highlights, topographical pattern on door sills, rubber floor mats with topographical pattern, Extended Grip, heated front seats, fold-down seat-mounted trays for second-row passengers, 8-inch Media Nav with DAB Radio, Smartphone replication, Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.