Why I’m Running A Dacia Jogger For Six Months

Ferrying around six passengers is an expensive business. Assuming you don’t want to buy a van-derived MPV like a VW Caddy (yours for about £28k), about as cheap as it gets is a £33,000 Seat Tarraco, which is like a less endearing version of a Skoda Kodiaq. Which costs even more.

We say “about as cheap,” as there is one option that costs substantially less than any of the models mentioned above - the Dacia Jogger. It costs £18,295 - a whopping £10k less than the next cheapest seven-seater and a comical £15k under the lowest-cost non-van people mover.

The best part? It’s neither a van with some seats nor another flipping SUV - it’s an estate car. I’m just about old enough to remember when seven-seater wagons were everywhere - my dad had a Peugeot 505 estate with weirdly massive sixth and seventh seats, and I also remember the sheer terror of sitting in one of the rear-facing third-row seats of a mid-90s Volvo wagon.

And so, to see the return of the seven-seater estate car, even in a limited form, is extremely pleasing. Especially when the value-for-money side of things is astonishing. 

Suddenly, the Jogger is an everyday hero, providing much-needed contrast to the wares of manufacturers now more concerned with pushing upmarket and selling ever-more expensive cars stuffed with things you just don’t need.

The Jogger meanwhile, provides everything you realistically need and nothing more. Oh, and a whole load of space. While we’re not expecting to fill all seven of ‘our’ Jogger’s seats particularly often, the 699-litre boot (with the third row removed) is already proving extremely useful. Especially for transporting mountain bikes.

Our test car is a TCe 110 in Extreme trim. That means you get a 1.0-litre inline-three turbo engine producing all of 108bhp, and a reasonably healthy equipment list including 16-inch black alloy wheels, heated front seats and - best of all - some natty copper accents. Lovely.

Even though it’s a range-topping Jogger, the price is still extremely reasonable at £20,595. Its sole option is 'Urban Grey' metallic paintwork, adding £650 to the total on-the-road cost.

It’s ours to run for six months, during which time we’ll see how it fares as the official Car Throttle workhorse - a role it seems ideally suited for - and see if there’s a catch to that low price tag.