For less than 20,000 euros, this is the best car you can buy if you're looking for a spacious family car that also performs well dynamically.

Finding a spacious, comfortable family car with everything you need today in terms of equipment, and that also performs well dynamically, on a tight budget is an equation that can only be solved in two ways: turning to the used market… or choosing a Dacia Jogger.

And the circle closes even tighter if we add that it has seven seats, something that is possible on the Jogger for an extra 900 euros compared with the 5-seat versions. In fact, the Jogger is the cheapest seven-seater on sale in our market, and by a wide margin. But before getting into details, let’s look more closely at price, which will be the main selling point for those who decide to take a look at the Jogger.

From 21,500 euros with Extreme Go trim

Right now you can get a Jogger from 18,430 euros in Essential trim, the most basic one. My recommendation is to make the effort, at the very least, to go for Expression, which costs 1,420 euros more but adds a lot of finishing details and far more equipment. For example, this trim already comes as standard with practical modular roof bars, fog lights, door handles and mirror housings -which are also electrically adjustable- in body colour, a 7″ colour digital instrument display, specific upholstery, automatic parking brake, rain and light sensors, cruise control and speed limiter, rear parking sensors, a double-adjustment steering wheel and the Media Display system with an 8″ touchscreen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Above that is the Extreme trim, available only with the Hybrid version; or the Extreme Go, which lets you choose between the LPG ECO-G engine or the 110 hp TCe petrol engine, which are the three powertrains available. It is linked to the Up&Go offer from Dacia and is equivalent to the Extreme trim, with all equipment as standard; you only need to choose the body colour. This Extreme Go trim costs 1,750 euros more than Expression, but take note of everything it adds, among many other details: a specific “outdoor” design with door protectors and side decals, copper-brown exterior and interior trim, 16″ alloy wheels, rubber floor mats, washable MicroCloud upholstery, Extended Grip traction control, air conditioning, rear-view camera, keyless entry card and navigation.

As for engines, it’s simple: you can choose between the ECO-G 100, which runs on petrol and LPG, or the 110 hp petrol TCe version. On this occasion we tested the petrol version, but I recommend you keep the LPG version in mind, especially now that they are at the same price. Not only will you get the much-coveted ECO label, but you’ll save -and a lot- from the first kilometre whenever you can refuel with LPG; and if not, you can run it on petrol only.

Since 2023 there is also a Jogger with the 140 hp HYBRID engine and E-TECH technology like the one in the Clio, although in this case the starting price is from 26,400 euros, before any discounts. It is still cheaper than the other hybrid family cars on the market, such as the Suzuki Swace or the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports. But the 5,000-euro difference compared with the petrol version buys a lot of fuel… and if you need the ECO label, the LPG option is still waiting for you.

A very complete Jogger with a “fixed” price

The Dacia Jogger that looks so smart in the pictures, the unit we lived with for a few days, is a petrol TCe with the 110 hp 3-cylinder engine and Extreme Go trim, priced from 21,500 euros. Let’s see what we get in return for that money, beyond the equipment already mentioned.

This Extreme Go version lacks nothing we would consider essential. The “fixed” price only includes the pearl black exterior colour, though. If you want it in one of the other six available shades, glacier white costs an extra 208 euros, and 520 euros for the metallic slate grey, cedar green, terracotta orange, khaki lichen or urban grey, which is the one you can see on the unit in the photos. The 16-inch alloy wheels painted black are standard.

From here on, there is a wide catalogue of options available as accessories, always at very interesting prices, including tow hooks (from 390 euros), roof boxes (from 355 euros), bike carriers, boot organisers, step bar supports…

And if you want to turn your Jogger into your best adventure companion, keep an eye on the camper kit with the Dacia InNature box (from 1,655 euros), or the Dacia tent to attach to the tailgate (380 euros).

The Dacia Jogger’s cabin: simple and well resolved

From here on, it’s time to get behind the wheel. And we find a more than correct car in terms of finishes, materials, fit, interior presentation and the feel of the controls. It is true that you can tell in some details that this is a car playing the affordable-price card, mainly because of the predominance of hard plastics, the “hollow” sound of the doors when they close, and the simplicity of the finishing of some trim, especially around the boot.

But it also has things that are not common in cars at this price, such as the keyless function that locks and unlocks the car just by us moving closer or further away. Or the practical roof bars Dacia, which can easily be fitted crosswise to the direction of travel to become a roof rack.

The best thing about the Jogger’s cabin is undoubtedly the space. Dacia has made very good use of its 4.55 metres of length to offer a car with a classic family silhouette that has good rear seats and a huge boot. Allowing for the differences, occupants of the second row will travel almost with the feeling of being in an SUV, as their seats are positioned almost 6 centimetres higher than those in the front row. The middle seat is not comfortable, but there is more than enough room for two adults.

If you opt for the seven-seat version, access is made by folding each of the two asymmetrical parts of the second-row backrest forward onto the seat cushion and tilting each seat-cushion/backrest assembly forward. This makes it fairly easy to reach the two individual seats in the third row, which are in turn raised another 2.5 cm compared with the second row. As is usually the case, what most limits the use of these seats by anyone other than children is that the seat cushion sits very close to the floor, forcing you to keep your knees very high. The two seats can be removed easily and taken out of the vehicle by a single person.

As for the boot, the more than 600 litres of capacity in the 5-seat configuration up to the parcel shelf give a lot of flexibility. In fact, to find alternatives with a similar boot you have to look among larger cars. With seven seats in use, the boot drops to 160 litres; and if you leave it at five seats but don’t remove the seats, instead folding them upright, you will still have about 500 litres to carry luggage, always with the option of using the third row again at any time.

On the road with the Dacia Jogger TCe 110

Behind the wheel of the Dacia Jogger you feel as if you’re in a “traditional” car, not to say an “old-school” one. You know what I mean: analogue instrumentation and buttons for all the main functions, without digital complications beyond the simple screen of the multimedia system. And with very recognisable controls, such as the climate controls -identical to those in a Clio- or the characteristic satellite on the steering wheel that many models of Renault and Dacia use to control the audio system. By the way, the seats, despite their simple look and soft cushioning, are comfortable and support the body very well.

You don’t need to cover many kilometres to quickly conclude that the Jogger performs very well dynamically, especially considering what it costs. And the points we might note as weaknesses are by no means critical. For example, a tighter turning circle would be welcome, especially when manoeuvring in town. And the steering could be more direct and precise. It is not one of those that gives a feeling of floating or lack of composure and forces you to stay alert even on straight stretches when travelling on the motorway, but when linking bends you do notice a slight “delay” between what you order from the steering wheel and what the wheels do. But that’s where the criticisms end.

The soft damping and tyres with an unusually high profile for what is common today, as well as the 20 centimetres of ground clearance, have something to do with the aforementioned lack of agility on winding roads. But in return the sense of comfort is high, and you can drive with reasonable confidence that you won’t scrape the underside on tracks and dirt roads. Overall, this Jogger is an easy car to drive, in which it is hard to get into trouble, and where all the controls, pedals and gear lever included, are handled with great smoothness.

It’s hard to believe how much the small one-litre three-cylinder can do, able to pull in sixth gear with a long ratio that allows cruising on the motorway with the engine turning at around 2,500 rpm, with little noise and moderate consumption. Between how well the engine pushes and the fact that it doesn’t have to move a heavy weight, throttle response is very good; you will only miss a bit more punch when pulling away from a standstill if you want to do it quickly and have the ECO mode activated. And if you need to work it high in the rev range there’s no problem, it’s always ready and you just need to “pull” through the gears. Consumption, in mixed use, can stay around 7.5 l/100 km, which is not bad at all. But beware, because small-displacement turbo engines tend to be very sensitive to driving pace, and the TCe is no exception.

If fuel consumption worries you, remember the ECO-G 100 is there, which can also run interchangeably on LPG (in this case the tank sits under the spare wheel) and on petrol, with savings of around 35-40% in cost per kilometre of fuel consumed as long as you can run on gas.

Dacia Jogger Extreme Go TCe 110 CV – Image gallery

Technical specifications of this car

MinivanDacia Jogger24 versions · from 18,940 €