April 2023
Today's lunchbreak test drive takes place at JCB Dacia in Ashford, our new showroom for Dacia cars on the Orbital Business Park.
Intrepid test drivers Laura and Jemima from the Marketing team are off out with Mark Barnes, who is a Dacia Sales Specialist at our Ashford branch. We asked Mark a few questions that we thought our customers might ask on a test drive...
Q. Our website describes the Jogger as the length of an estate, the spaciousness of an MPV and the looks of an SUV, but how would you describe or categorise the Jogger, Mark?
A. It's an all-rounder. With the 7-seats it's more of a family-oriented vehicle. It's got plenty of space and the seating is adaptable.
Q. Is a 7-seater more difficult to drive than a 5-seater car?
A. Not massively - it's slightly longer than a standard hatchback, so you would feel the difference when reversing for parking for example. It would probably take you a couple of weeks to get used to it, then you'd be fine.
Q. With all 7 seats occupied, does the mpg change drastically, or is it still efficient on fuel?
A. Yes, it's efficient. You have two different types of Jogger; the petrol manual or the hybrid 1.4 litre. The petrol manual you'd be looking at around 49 miles to the gallon, without any additional passengers, with 7 passengers and luggage, you'd get nearer 40 mpg. The hybrid gives you more miles to the gallon, that is 50 + mpg.
Q. What sort of hybrid is the Jogger - plug-in or self-charging?
A. The Jogger Hybrid option is a self-charging full hybrid. No need to plug in, it charges while driving and uses regenerative brake energy.
Q. So do we have to worry about range in the Jogger Hybrid?
A. No, there's no range anxiety. It works the same as a standard petrol engine car in the sense that you fill the tank with petrol, you drive as normal and the energy is enhanced by the hybrid system. The battery just allows you to be a little bit more fuel efficient.
Q. The Dacia Jogger has just won the What Car? award for the Best Value 7 Seater and CarWow has a 'Buy It' award which they've recommended for Jogger - why do you think we should buy it Mark?
A. It's so versatile, you can have it as a 7 seater, it works like an estate vehicle, you can adapt the seating for use as a 5 seater or 2 seater too. Removing the seats gives you a huge amount of boot space and in addition you have the roof rails, which aren't an option, they come as standard on all trim levels. You can have them lengthways or unscrew and adjust to sideways. Other cars may have this too, but it's a chargeable optional extra.
What Car? and CarWow are right - it is indeed a great value car, probably the best value of all the brands available in the UK. You get a lot for your money.
Watch the video to see more images of the 7 seat configuration and details of the interior space.
If you'd like to test drive a Dacia Jogger too, then please call our friendly and knowledgeable teams at Ashford, Canterbury or Medway Dacia. You won't be disappointed!
