The Dacia Jogger is a car manufactured through a joint effort between Renault, the French automaker, and their Romanian subsidiary Dacia. While not sold in the US, nor familiar to most Americans, the Jogger is one of the least expensive 7-seaters you could find in Europe.
The 2022 Dacia Jogger is a compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) with crossover influences. The Jogger is the successor to the older Logan MCV and the more recent Lodgy.
With a capacity of five or seven, the Jogger is Dacia’s new addition to their deficient utility line-up. Only one gasoline engine is available at the time, linked to a 6-speed manual transmission in a front-wheel-drive layout.
2022 Dacia Jogger Overview
Dacia provides three trim levels, Essential, Comfort, and SL Extreme. However, they are doubled with the Jogger coming in either five or seven-seat configurations.
The features vary wildly from trim to trim, with the Essential version not even receiving electric side windows, while the SL Extreme receives an Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible infotainment system and automated air conditioning as standard.
Prices do not vary significantly much, with the Essential 5-seater starting at 13.990 EUR (US$15,800) while the SL Executive seven-seater starting at 17.500 EUR (US$19,762).
Exterior and Interior Styling
We can see Dacia’s new design ideology on the outside, with an aggressive look suggested by the now popular plastic cladding, sharp edges, stylish headlights, and tall ride height.
Based on the Dacia Logan, the Jogger comes in a few colors, ranging from gray variants to variants of bronze and blue. The base trim gets regular steel wheels with a diameter of 16 inches, while the SL Executive enjoys a set of 16-inch gloss black alloy wheels.
For added practicality, the upper trims have plastic inserts on the doors to protect them against all kinds of rock scratches or stray shopping carts. All the Joggers come equipped with roof rails as standard, allowing buyers to increase the already copious cargo space further may the need arise.
On the inside, each trim gets specific cloth materials, with the Essential model employing cheaper cloths to keep the car affordable while the SL Executive enjoys quality materials with certain insertions and design-oriented stitches.
Consequently, the same story can be said about the plastics, each trim receiving wildly different ones. Moreover, the base trim keeps chrome accents to a minimum, translating into black plastic door levers, while higher trims present more prestigious finishes.
Room-wise, the cabin is especially spacious, with the trunk offering a ludicrous cargo space of over 1.800 liters (63.57 cubic feet) with the seats folded down in the five-seat configuration.
Technology Highlights
Tech fluctuates wildly across the trims, with the base model not coming with air conditioning and only front electric windows as standard.
Included, you will find a DAB radio with a tiny 3.5-inch screen in the gauge cluster with two front speakers, upgradable to four speakers and an 8-inch infotainment system without navigation, or a 6-speaker configuration with the same infotainment system but with built-in navigation.
The base trim gets a phone mount alternative to the 8-inch tablet. Therefore, to counteract the lack of an infotainment system, you can connect your phone to the car with the help of an app.
Heated front seats are optional on higher trims and the same can be said about automated air conditioning, rain sensor, depth-height-adjustable steering wheel, cruise control, and a few other small comfort features.
Safety Features
An anti-lock braking system, emergency braking, ESP, hill-start assistance, front airbags, side airbags, and side curtain airbags come as standard even on the Essential trim.
On higher trims, parking sensors, blind-spot sensors, a rear-view camera, and an electronic parking brake come as options. Considering the third-row roof seatbelt we can tell that even if the Dacia Jogger was built to seat a maximum of seven, it can fit even eight if the need arises.
Engines and Transmissions
Presently, there are two engine options available, which are a variant of the H4Dt codenamed engine. You can get a turbocharged in-line three running on gasoline with an output of 110 hp and 200 Nm of torque (148 pound-feet) linked to a 6-speed manual transmission to the front axle, or a turbocharged in-line running on either gasoline and liquified petroleum gas with an output of 100 hp and 170 Nm (125 pound-feet) of torque linked to the same 6-speed manual to the front axle.
The reported fuel economy is capable, hitting on average around 5.7l/100 km (41 mpg) with the gasoline-only variant and either 6l/100 km (39 mpg) while running on gasoline or around 7.8l/100 km (30 mpg) while running on LPG with the bi-fuel variant.
The same engine can also be found in the Renault Clio, Dacia Sandero, Dacia Logan, and a myriad of other Groupe Renault products. It is reported that in 2023 the Dacia Jogger will receive a hybrid powertrain.
Competitive Set
The Dacia Jogger is unique in its class, with the only other European compact MPVs being the Mercedes-Benz B-Class and the BMW 2 Series. However, they are executive luxury cars that cost significantly more than the affordable Jogger.
If you were to look at 3-row crossovers, the only car that comes close is the Volkswagen Tiguan, which still is significantly more expensive.
If we were to ignore the 7-seat capacity, the Jogger looks like a station wagon, translating from competition from the likes of the Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Octavia, the Subaru Crosstrek, or the Peugeot 508 SW, which are almost twice the price of a base Jogger.
See Also – Highlights of the Dacia Sandero
Photos copyright Dacia.
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