Jogger customer reviewsJogger seen through the eyes of those who drive it every day

It is important to remember that this really is at the budget end of the market - for me as a petrol head and biker a Dacia would never be a dream car - we purchased our Jogger through necessity due to the arrival of baby no. 3 and regular caring responsibilities for our two year old niece.

What is good:

It's surprisingly nice to drive - feels essentially analogue, but smooth and refined - think a car from mid 00's and you will not be disappointed.

The infotainment works well.

So far it has proven reliable and inside and out seems to hold up against the barrage of dirt and detritus children create in cars.

The boot is amazing - with all seats folded it's like a small van! Fuel economy is good.

The modular roof bars are great and makes fitting a roof box and cinch!

Not so good:

The speakers are terrible! honestly - if there was an option I'd pay for an uprated sound system - they are truly, truly dire - which is a shame as the apple car play integration is better than many much more expensive cars.

Whilst the boot is great - it would be handy if the middle bench could slide - it's a very tight squeeze with isofix seats installed and would be so much better if the bench could slide back.

This is a thin car and realistically it's a six seater (2 in front, 2 in the middle and 2 in third row) - and then boot space is very, very limited.

There really should be isofix points in third row.

Safety:

This feels a safe car, the collision avoidance and auto brakes are effective and not overly intrusive and the BLIS works fine.

This car is much better than I ever expected - it really works as a family car. Whilst Dacia is a budget brand, as long as you know what you are getting then this should satisfy a young family on a budget. I wish Dacia provided options:

Better sound system

Folding door mirrors

Automatic rear-view mirror

Sliding middle bench

Isofix on third row and seat belt sensor

These small additions or options would make the car so much better - at minimal extra cost.

The Jogger is very roomy and quite comfortable. We have the Extreme hybrid. There are a lot features we like, such as the great mileage, how wide the doors open, the seat material, the height and how much we can fit in it. It also looks quite smart. The biggest and most important issue is how terrible the automatic gear box is. I realize its the first time offering an automatic hybrid, but Dacia has a lit to learn in that department. Trying to take over another car is often a problem because the gears just don't want to move. 7 out of 10 times, we have to decide to stay behind a slow car, because we can't rely on the gears to make the move. I only drive automatic vehicles because of an injury to my left hip, so I'd say I would never buy another Dacia again,due to the automatic gears. They're just not reliable ...even with just 2 people in the car. I'm sure your manual vehicles are better...but I can't press my left foot down hard enough for a clutch, so automatic is the only option for me. Another issue we have is that the rear camera display has about a 3 second delay once you shift to reverse. If someone is relying on the camera, they would have to wait 3 seconds to see whats behind them. We just turn our heads to check, because that 3 second delay could be just enough time for a person, car or animal to get behind the car and things could get ugly. My husband likes our Jogger, but he says he would never buy another automatic Dacia either...perhaps a manual for him,and only if the camera delay is fixed. I personally wish to trade mine in early, even if we lose money. Yes, that's how important a proper gear box is. Trading my Toyota hybrid for the Dacia hybrid has been a disappointment. We needed a bigger family car, so a Jogger seemed like a great choice. Dacia, please work on your automatics, so you can at least come close to the competition. If it weren't for the 2 issues mentioned, I would love this Jogger.

Jogger Extreme Hybrid auto. MY 23.5 (as a car built Q2 2024 it should have been MY 24 as per brochures at time of order)

Pro points:

Economy good at around 50 mpg average. Performance and handling acceptable, extremely roomy.

Against:

Dent apparent on handover (indicates poor quality control from factory through to dealer PDI)

Trim and screw covers prone to displacement

DAB system not up to expectations (lower standard than expected 10 years ago)

Drivers seat uncomfortable - really needs adjustable lumbar support)

Blindspot assist no more than 80% reliable offside and 40% nearside in good conditions. Wet conditions render it useless due to spurious warnings

Needs 'fold on locking mirrors' rather than poor quality gadgets

Low frequency vibration in all driving modes and speeds - rear view mirror sometimes unuseable due to this, vibration through steering wheel causes apparent hand/arm numbness after less than an hour or 40 miles driving. May well be mismatch between tyres fitted and suspension, but could just as easily be an undesirable design characteristic

Approach unlocking is useful - but if you regularly pass the vehicle when parked at home it becomes annoying. Can be switched off but the 'key/card' is clunky to use as the alternative, why Renault Group don't use standard form key fob is beyond me

Conclusion:

In many ways so close to unbeatable for price and capabilities - but niggly shortfalls make it seem overpriced (technology is so cheap these days the shortfalls are not excuseable)

I was generous at a 3/5.... could easily have rated lower, but a few improvements/rethinks could make it a 5/5 price ooint considered

A solid 7 seater with better access to seats 6&7 than my previous car a Citroen Grand Picasso and the Kia Sorrento we looked at. There is good versatility in the seating options but not quite as comfortable and roomy as the Citroen.

It moves 7 people around with ease.

Price was a big deciding factor in the purchase along with the number of seats included kit.

Style wise it looks good.

Reversing camera is great in daylight but is impeded by a bright light in the dark and even more so if it is raining.

Lane assist is annoying.

When it is cold the gearbox, engine, electric motor seems to hang on to a lower gear and sounds high revving for quite some time.

The road at the bottom of mine is about a mile and a half and some days it's nearly the entire length before it changes to a rev level I would in a manual.

I am achieving about 54 mpg but I am disappointed the battery range is so short about 1 to 1.5 miles but I do like driving in battery mode.

Much of the time the usable battery range is from the 75% to 50% before recharge kicks in occasionally it will drop to around 25% and charge to nearly 100%.

Acceleration is quick if you need it and even has the wheels scrabbling for grip but unsure if that is the supplied tyre brand against the brand I normally use.

Infotainment system is easy to use especially the access to Android Auto.

The Dacia Jogger is my fourth vehicle in the Dacia range. I have to say though, it is the worst vehicle I have ever driven. This is for two reasons. Firstly the dashboard it shows you the mph you should be travelling on the roads. Obviously it changes accordingly, or it should do. I travel along a road that I have done for many years. It is a 60mph road but my Dacia seems to think it is only 30mph so I have to drive for approximately 4 miles with the car beeping at me, this I find annoying. It has also shown an 80mph which by law I am not allowed to travel at that speed. On a motorway which was 70mph it showed 60mph, again very annoying when you are travelling on a long journey.

Secondly the driver assist. Well whoever thought of this needs shooting. It flashes yellow if you are not exactly in the two lines and it does sudden jerks. I cannot, for the life of me, understand that this is a safety feature. It is a hazard as you automatically take your eyes off the road and look at it. I have been driving for 44yrs, even driving response Police vehicles so I would like to think I am a competent driver. If there was a way I could disconnect both of these issues I would. And as for the practical guide that comes with the vehicle, that's about as much use as a chocolate fire guard!!!!!

Other than that it is nice and spacious.

Space-wise it's great with the rear seats removed. We have carried 6 regularly and find it to be perfectly comfortable. For the price it's not too bad in comparison with other manufacturers. The electric handbrake system is buggy and a constant source of frustration as it attempts to apply at every opportunity of seatbelts unclicked (regardless of speed!) or as you attempt to pull away. The media nav system suffers the same crash fault as the Sandero when plugging in a phone at the wrong moment. The auto-lock-unlock system needs to be disabled to save your battery going flat within a week (yes, even if your keys are encased in faraday pouches inside steel safes - it just sqwaks constantly draining the car battery). The centre console drinks holder is only useful in one of the two due to the overhang of the arm rest storage container. Build quality was noticably better on the Jogger than the Stepway, with just a few quality check scrimps on visible carpet staples, threads out of the headliner and missing phone holder from new. For an estate car at the price point, it does what it says on the tin.

Dacia is lovely car. Some problem we encounter suddenly stall in the middle of the road and on the dash cam is " electrical failure". Few minutes later starts again. Then one time 9pm I top up petrol and the car won't start. There are instructions on the dash cam but I don't know to place the key pad because it wasn't explained to me by the sales executive. I spent 20 minutes at the gasoline stations then suddenly its start. Next day I went to your good office and show me where to place the key. It's just few months old and the key battery is already busted. Then until now one month after releasing car. We noticed the thread at the backseat is damaged so we went again at your good office that's is July 2024 and John and warranty personnel inspected the damage and told us that they will give us a call when the replacement parts arrive but until now almost five months still waiting. And also since we drive the car the Icon tire pressure gauge never went off even though I always inflate our tire to right air pressure. Thank you so much. Stay safe and healthy you and your team.

We love the well, thought-out interior design with tons of space, cleverly placed storage and simple and easy to use infotainment/climate controls.

Simple, clear, physical. The infotainment system is easy to use, wireless carplay makes it a breeze to use with your phone and the super conveniently placed charger/mount near the wheel makes for a delightful experience. The different seat configurations you have at your disposal are great. I'll often lift one of the middle row seats up at stops and have a snack, stretching my legs whilst my dogs join me at the back.

Sure the materials aren't posh, but for us, with two dogs and a very active lifestyle (mountain running, hiking), this means we don't have to be as precious about the car as we would have otherwise been. If I had to pick one thing that I wish was even better it would be long-distance comfort. We frequently (4x per month) drive 6h in one direction, where sometimes I wish it could be a bit softer/plusher, but hey for the price it comes I cannot complain!

8000 miles traveled so far and very happy about it.

The Jogger is a very versatile car for the price, with the choice of being a seven seater or having a large carrying space. It is also proving very economical at over 60 mpg.

Annoying things are the speed limit indicator and the lane assist function which keeps pulling to one side on the motorway. I think it is designed for straighter roads than we have. We need the ability to turn these off functions permanently rather than every time you start the engine.

The satnav is over demanding on postcodes. It should understand postcodes with or without spaces.

Lastly, I don't know if it is the car or me not having driven a hybrid or an automatic before but it seems to over-rev sometimes when accelerating and I don't know if it is because it is changing from petrol to battery or if that is how automatics accelerate.

On the whole I would recommend it as excellent value for money.

The phone linking function does not show incoming texts on the screen as my old car did.

On the whole it is a great car for the money but some simple tweaks would make it more user friendly.

Frugal practical stylish comfortable capable no nonsense vehicle… EXCEPT for the Nanny Software always chirping, chiming, beeping, hooting … if I select driver settings with a double tap, I want those on always and forever until I decide otherwise.

The lane assist is rubbish, remove it. The honking for leaving without turning off is irritating… default it to drivers door opens, engine off.

The headlights are poor.

The indicators cease beeping if there is another nanny warning at the same time.

Occasionally, the whole audible thing drops completely including indicators until a stop start cycle.

There isn’t much legroom to the sides of the driver’s knees.

Mechanically… sometimes the engine hunts between EV and petrol if there isn’t much load and the speed is about 40kph. On off on off on off twice second. Annoying.

Also, does the thing really have to rev its socks off during a charge cycle at low speeds?

Engine is noisy.

Road is noisy - cabin is a bit Spartan.

Apart from these gripes, it is a good car and I’d buy it again.