Dacia Jogger HEV review: delivers on desirability

Those with an overblown sense of themselves as privileged or entitled are amongst the most awful people modern society can throw at you and are as specious a bunch as you will come across in a long day’s walking.

It is one thing to slag someone for having a dodgy haircut or a poor taste in clothes, friends or music, but to find great amusement in belittling someone because they cannot afford the same car as you do, or live in the same area as you, is nothing other than overt snobbery.

It really does ill-behove someone who engages in such mindless and oafish banter and suggests of them an immaturity and misplaced superiority that in right-minded people only provokes a need to throw up.

But such is life and, unfortunately, you have to take it as being part and parcel of the greater scheme of things. It does not mean you cannot be horrified by such behaviour – or call it out for the self-aggrandisement that it so patently is.

I often encounter such behaviour, particularly when it comes to driving smaller or more budget-oriented cars, but have to smile to myself because not only are such people far too laddish for their own good, but they are really missing a trick.

Such was the case recently when I had a Dacia Jogger to test and while the car is as cheap as chips for a seven-seater (and as such fair game for ridicule from some quarters), but if you have a look at the Irish sales charts right now, you might be in for something of a shock.

Dacia, to the end of October has sold just shy of 4,000 units in Ireland and is just outside the top ten performing marques. Individually, their Sandero is the 13th best-selling car in Ireland ((2,044 units), the Duster is ten places lower (1,344 units) and the Jogger is 61st with 548 units registered.

Having been working with cast-offs from the Renault parts bin (the French own the Romanian brand) for many years, the performance of the company somewhat mirrors that of Skoda, which became a subsidiary of the VW Group back in 1994 before becoming wholly owned at the turn of the century.

Having bought it for tuppence-halfpenny (in modern corporate terms), Skoda is now a jewel in the VW Group crown and in 2017 its profit margin was the second highest in the conglomerate, behind only Porsche.

Here at Examiner Motoring we were early supporters of Skoda and have been delighted to see it grow to the point where not only does the company sell more than one million cars in more than 100 countries, here in Ireland it is currently the third biggest overall seller and has two models in the top ten – the Octavia is second and the Kodiaq is ninth, having sold the bones of 7,000 units between them here this year.

So, from small seeds, tall trees can grow and Dacia is now proving that theory all over again and this week’s tester is one of its better secrets.

While the Sandero is simply a budget supermini/small SUV that has huge appeal as a second family car or something to train the kids with, the Duster fills a broader manifesto as something similar, or else a hard-working car with many applications from agriculture to industry.

The Jogger is simply an unashamed family car which is cheap, vastly practical and seats seven. It is a car which has not only fully exploited Dacia’s recent corporate make-over but has benefitted greatly from Renault’s decision to allow the Romanians greater access to its newer technology.

Previously saddled with Renault’s old 1.5 TDi engines, which were fine but did not lend themselves to modern customer demands, it now comes with a petrol hybrid engine and, as such, is now walking on terrain entirely unfamiliar to it. But I have no doubt, this switch is a concern for those who have been making hybrids for ages now.

Such as Toyota and others have dominated this segment for years now, but Dacia is the new kid on the block and on the evidence of what I’ve driven recently, it is set to have a big impact.

We tested the Jogger Extreme HEV and it comes with a 1.6 petrol engine which is mated with two electric motors. The lesser of these is a starter-generator connected to the crankshaft which turns the engine over and tops up the 1.2 kWh lithium-ion battery.

The second one is a 36-kW unit which adds 43 bhp to the overall output of 140 and allows the car to start up under electric power only. It will propel the car to speeds up to about 70 km/h and Dacia claims that in urban driving it will run on electricity about 80% of the time, which is probably – as all such manufacturers’ claims are – a little generous.

One downside is that the battery pack occupies the place where the spare wheel used to be in the regular Jogger, so there’s no spare option here and, as we know, is not ideal. And it is also a bit disappointing as Dacia seem keen on marketing the car as a family/adventure vehicle.

This version only comes with a six-speed auto ‘box, but that makes the car a very relaxed thing to drive over longer distances. In performance terms this is not quick (10.1 seconds 0-100 km/h and top speed 170 km/h), but it sure is economic and will return a figure of 4.7l/100 km (59.5 mpg).

On the road it is surprisingly good and has the manners more of a supermini than an SUV. This should not be a surprise as it is based on the same platform as the new Clio, but it is a big car and you’d expect some of the shortcomings that means.

Not so, however. It corners really well with lots of grip and little lean and generally handles nicely and without vicissitude. Sure, the suspension is a tad on the soft side, but the car is no hippo and doesn’t wallow much.

It is fairly spacious too and while leg amputation is generally the order of the day for those occupying the two rearmost seats, there is quite a bit of room in these. A six-footer can get in there easily enough and stay there for a while, but a Cork-Dublin trip would not be advisable. Best for children only, then.

It is well specced too and stuff like the new MicroCloud upholstery (which feels like velvet to the touch and is very washable) adds a touch of class – not something Dacia has been noted for. But stuff like the heated front seats, cruise control, flight trays for the second-row passengers, 16” alloys, roof rails, the 8” infotainment screen and the 7” digital instrumentation cluster, do bring the car well up the desirability ladder.

In many ways that makes this Dacia something different from anything they’ve done in the past, as luxury and passenger comfort touches have generally been low on the company’s priority list. Hell, it’s even available with a bed, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous.

All of which makes this a car which is easy to recommend and it will also – delightfully – poke a finger in the eye of those believing themselves to be above such things.