Dacia Jogger review

Introduction

“Get more for less”, “Live well for less” and “Do more with less” are all taglines from companies promising great value. Some of these slogans you could argue are unfounded, but attach one to the Dacia Jogger? Well, that’d be easily justifiable.

It’s the cheapest new seven-seater sold in the UK. The next one up is the Citroën C3 Aircross, followed by the Vauxhall Frontera. Some van-based options, like the Citroën Berlingo XL, also keep the price below £30,000.

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Leasing deals

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What Car? indicative Personal lease example (subject to status)

1.0 TCe Essential MPV 5dr Petrol Manual Euro 6 (s/s) (110 ps)

Expected annual mileage	5000
Term months	48
Deposit months	12
Monthly payment	£245.57
Initial payment	£2,946.84

Step-by-step

Leasing works a bit like a long-term rental. You drive it, but you don’t own it.

• Choose your car, pick your terms and apply for lease credit online
• Pay monthly rental payments for your chosen term length
• Drive it, enjoy it, then give it back at the end

What you get

When you lease with Autotrader you get all of this:

• Full manufacturer’s warranty
• Road tax and roadside assistance included
• No admin fees
• Free returns within 30 days*

In partnership with

£2,947 initial payment, 48 month contract, 5000 miles p/a. Subject to status and conditions.

• Lower total monthly cost than PCP/HP
• No balloon payments
• Road tax included

Unlike those models, which are also available as fully electric cars, the Jogger is only offered as a petrol or hybrid. In other words, you’ll never have to worry about plugging in and charging up.

Dacia Jogger video review

It all sounds dandy on paper, but they say you get what you pay for, so does the Jogger have a catch? Read on to find out.

Learn more about the Jogger from Dacia

What’s new

- March 2026: We drive facelifted Dacia Jogger

- November 2025: Facelift announced with refreshed exterior design, improved infotainment, higher-quality interior trim, Hybrid 155 engine replaces Hybrid 140. Trims now Essential, Expression, Extreme

- March 2023: Extreme replaces Extreme SE, with unique interior trim, green paint with copper highlights

- January 2023: Jogger Hybrid 140 launched with 1.6-litre petrol engine and twin electric motors to give 138bhp

- December 2021: Jogger on sale with 1.0-litre TCe 110 petrol engine. Choice of Essential, Comfort, Extreme SE trims

- September 2021: Dacia Jogger first shown

Overview

You could be forgiven for thinking that spending so little on an MPV would bring big compromises. However, aside from a disappointing safety rating, the Dacia Jogger is a well-thought-out people mover with genuine seven-seat usability, decent driving dynamics and plenty of equipment. For the best value, we think the mid-spec Expression trim and TCe 110 engine make the most sense.

Our pick

1.0 TCe Expression MPV 5dr Petrol Manual Euro 6 (s/s) (110 ps) review

RRP £20,295

Pros

• Extremely well priced
• Genuine seven-seat usability
• Easy to drive

Cons

• Very poor safety rating
• Prominent wind, road and engine noise
• Build quality isn’t super solid

Our pick

1.0 TCe Expression MPV 5dr Petrol Manual Euro 6 (s/s) (110 ps) review

RRP £20,295

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Leasing deals

Performance & drive

What it's like to drive, and how quiet it is

Engine, 0-60mph and gearbox

The Dacia Jogger’s engine range starts with a turbocharged 109bhp 1.0-litre petrol, and it’s our pick of the range.

Badged the TCe 110, it keeps costs down but is quick enough to keep up with rival seven seaters like the entry-level Citroën C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera.

Still, if you want acceleration that’s good, rather than just okay, check out the Hybrid 155. Its 1.8-litre petrol engine and electric motor have a healthy 153bhp between them. The Hybrid 155 feels sprightly, especially off the line, because the electric motor provides instantaneous, smooth acceleration.

At higher speeds, the Hybrid 155 relies more on the petrol engine and automatic gearbox, but here’s the thing: that gearbox is quite indecisive. It’s often slow to shift into the right gear.

By contrast, our preferred TCe 110 engine comes with a manual gearbox, and a good one at that. It has a light, precise shift.

Suspension and ride comfort

You won’t be fielding any complaints from your passengers about the ride, because ​all Joggers come shod with sensibly sized 16in wheels, so you get tyres with generous sidewalls to help absorb bumps.

Essential and Expression trim brings steel wheels, while Extreme has alloys, but all versions soak up the worst of speed bumps and potholes around town better than a car in this price bracket has any right to.

The Jogger's raised ride height gives it 200mm of ground clearance, and you might expect it to become a bit floaty at speed. However, it deals with lumpy B-roads well and provides decent body control over undulations on the motorway, so car sickness shouldn’t be an issue.

Handling

If you’re expecting the Jogger to lean over like a drunken sailor, don’t worry. It only leans a little bit when cornering hard, and thanks to good grip levels, the handling feels safe and secure. The Jogger is certainly more composed than the more top-heavy Citroen C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera.

Is the Jogger fun to drive? In short, no. But then again, very few cars in this class are, especially now the Ford S-Max is off sale.

Noise and vibration

The Jogger TCe 110’s three-cylinder engine feels a bit rough at idle, and power delivery unfortunately isn’t as smooth and as linear as the Citroen C3 Aircross or Vauxhall Frontera’s.

The Hybrid 155 is a mixed bag, being as hushed as you’d expect when running on electric power alone. However, when its four-cylinder engine kicks in, you certainly feel and hear it. It’s quite clattery at times.

Regardless of which version you're driving, the engine noise settles down into the background when cruising, but passengers will notice quite a lot of wind, suspension and road noise. Thankfully, it’s not loud enough to feel as though you’re in an echo chamber over long journeys.

“It felt surprisingly grown up to drive. It rides comfortably, and while I can’t say I was blown away by the handling, it’s certainly good enough for everyday driving.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

Driving position and dashboard

Most drivers should find it easy to get a comfortable driving position in the Dacia Jogger. As with most MPVs you sit higher up than in a typical family car.

All versions get seat-height adjustment, but the seats themselves are quite flat and could do with a bit more side bolstering and lumbar support adjustment. They’re not the best if you’re looking to cover long distances.

A front armrest, fixed to the centre console, is standard if you go for Expression and Extreme models. Electric seat adjustment isn’t an option, but you do get heated seats as standard with the top trim level.

The dashboard layout is logical, and the air-con controls are within easy reach. In fact, the automatic climate control system fitted to mid-range Expression and above is particularly straightforward to operate.

In the Hybrid 155, you get a 7.0in digital driver’s display that shows similar information to the 3.5in display you get with the TCe 110, but with extra details about the hybrid system and regenerative braking.

Visibility, parking sensors and cameras

With its higher driving position and relatively narrow windscreen pillars, the Jogger gives you good forward visibility. The over-the-shoulder view isn’t as good, but that’s mitigated by the blind-spot warning system you get on all but the entry-level trim.

Surprisingly for a seven-seater the car doesn’t feel that big, probably because of its small car origins (the Jogger is based on the same underpinnings as the Dacia Sandero and Dacia Sandero Stepway).

When reversing, the large rear windows make it easier to spot obstacles, but the rearmost pillar is quite wide and limits the rear view slightly.

The standard-fit rear parking sensors do help nullify this, though, and mid-range Expression trim adds a camera and front sensors to assist you even further. You get LED headlights as standard.

Sat nav and infotainment

The Jogger's entry-level Essential trim includes Bluetooth, a USB slot and a dashboard cradle for your phone, but for infotainment on this version, you need to install an app on your device and connect it up. Doing so allows you to continue the use of the stalk near the steering wheel to control the stereo volume and radio stations.

Our favoured Expression trim level gives you a 10.0in colour touchscreen system. It includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring so you can use apps from your phone for calls, music and navigation. On Extreme versions, you also get wireless Apple CarPlay and a built-in sat-nav system.

The touchscreen is mounted high up on the dashboard and is tilted towards the driver, with touch-sensitive shortcut buttons down the side.

Although we’d prefer physical shortcut buttons, the Dacia operating system is easy to get used to and responds relatively quickly to prods and swipes. There aren’t too many sub-menus and flipping between the radio and sat-nav is a doddle thanks to direct shortcuts to each other. It’s easy to store your favourite stations, with very few processes required.

Quality

The Jogger feels as basic inside as the price suggests. There are lots of scratchy plastics, but fortunately higher trims get some soft-touch materials, helping it feel plusher than the Citroën C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera inside.

The build quality itself is pretty good for the money, and the doors make a decent thud when you close the doors. In the hybrid car we tested, there was, admittedly, a rattle from behind one of the rear pillars.

“I tested a range-topping Jogger and, to be fair, I was impressed with the squishy material on the dashboard and armrests.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

Front space

You won't find yourself wanting for more room in the front of the Dacia Jogger, but it gives you space to stretch out in all directions. Head room is excellent, to the point that you could probably drive in a top hat if the mood took you.

The Jogger has a good-sized glovebox (where you’ll find the tool to unlock the roof bars fitted on Expression trim and above) and some storage within the central armrest. The door bins are also a good size.

Rear space

Most rear-seat passengers will find that the Jogger seven-seater gives them good head and leg room, making journeys comfortable. Taller occupants, on the other hand, will wish that the middle row of seats could slide backwards, because knee room is slightly limited.

The same can be said about those sitting in the third row seats, where they’ll have no issues with head room and enough leg room to get comfortable.

Width is good, though, and the rear doors have big storage pockets and the second and third rows each get a 12V outlet plus two cupholders.

Passengers in the second row get extendable picnic trays with the top-spec Extreme trim, and there are moulded armrests and pop-out rear windows for third-row occupants.

Seat folding and flexibility

The second-row seats are split 60/40 and can be made to tumble forwards using pull hoops, making it easier for passengers to get to the third row.

You can also use those split-folding seats when you need more boot space but, because they don’t fold flat into the floor, they give a slightly lifted load bay.

Boot space

With the third row of seats in place, the Jogger has a similar amount of boot space to the VW Touran, but it doesn't have that car's underfloor storage.

If you've got a big load rather than people to carry, you can fold down the second-row seats and remove the two back ones to create a van-like cargo area that’s one metre wide and two metres long up to the front seats. The rear-most chairs weigh about 10kg each and come out fairly easily.

In the Expression and Extreme trim levels, the Jogger gets a modular roof-rack system with an 80kg capacity. Dacia will sell you various accessories to make use of it, including a two-person pop-up tent.

“I think being able to completely remove the third-row seats is a handy feature. The Citroën C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera’s third row only fold down.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

Equipment, options and extras

The Jogger's entry-level Essential trim comes with quite a lot of equipment, including 16in steel wheels with wheel trims, keyless entry, cruise control, rear parking sensors, LED headlights, manual air-conditioning and a basic infotainment system.

Even so, we’d recommend going for Expression trim if you can – it’s still amazing value, but comes with front and rear parking sensors, heated and electrically-adjusted wing mirrors and automatic windscreen wipers. It also adds a 10.0in infotainment touchscreen, blind-spot monitoring and a helpful reversing camera.

Extreme adds 16in wheels and a copper exterior and interior trim package, heated front seats, second row seat-mounted trays and wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay. If you enjoy outdoor pursuits, the Jogger is also available with the optional Sleep Pack, which adds a 220-litre storage box that can fold out into a bed.

Costs, insurance groups, MPG and CO2

As the least-expensive new seven-seater you can get in the UK, the Dacia Jogger was never going to get anything less than five stars here – especially if you check out our Jogger deals.

Finance costs for the Jogger are also temptingly affordable, thanks to the car’s strong predicted resale values, with PCP monthly costs far lower than for the base VW Touran.

The Jogger's fuel economy is respectable for the MPV class, with the Hybrid 155 proving particularly efficient around town, with more than 60mpg easily achievable.

Mind you, on a mix of roads, we’ve seen the hybrid’s fuel economy drop to around 50mpg. Expect around 45mpg from the TCe 110.

For company car users, the hybrid is the best option because of its relatively low CO2 emissions and subsequent low BIK tax rates.

If you only cover short distances, it's worth considering the all-electric alternatives, like the Citroën e-Berlingo, Peugeot e-Rifter and Vauxhall Combo Life Electric. If you’re not set on seven seats, there’s also the Citroën ë-C3 Aircross and Vauxhall Frontera Electric. They'll be even cheaper for BIK tax (but far more expensive as a private buy).

Reliability

The Dacia Jogger came fifth out of nine cars in the seven-seater category of our latest What Car? Reliability Survey. Its 91.5% score is respectable, albeit not stellar. The most reliable new car in its class was the (admittedly much more expensive) Mercedes GLB.

As a brand, Dacia ranked 11th out of 30 manufacturers featured – below Citroën and Vauxhall but above Ford and Volkswagen.

The Jogger comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, and that can be extended to six years or 100,000 miles for a reasonable cost. The Hybrid 155 also gets an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty for the battery.

Safety and security

Now, while everything has been sounding pretty good up to this point, the Jogger scored a very disappointing one star out of five when it was tested for safety by Euro NCAP. It was deducted a star for the lack of a seatbelt reminder for the third row of seats, and did badly for pedestrian protection and safety assistance.

Every Jogger is fitted with tyre-pressure monitoring, six airbags, hill-start assist, Isofix child-seat mounts for the outer two places in the second row, and e-Call emergency assistance. Automatic emergency braking (AEB) is included too, but it doesn't recognise pedestrians – another factor in the one-star rating. Mid-range Expression trim adds blind-spot monitoring.

“Being a family car, I’m afraid I would be concerned with the one-star safety rating.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer