[Auto/Moto] New 2022 Dacia Jogger is UK's cheapest seven-seater at £14,995

[#Hassan.]

Seven-seater replacement for Dokker, Lodgy and Logan MCV is now open for pre-orders

 

Dacia has opened pre-orders for its new Jogger, which with a starting price of £14,995 becomes the cheapest seven-seater on sale in the UK. It will be offered from launch in a choice of three trims – Essential, Comfort and Extreme – with air conditioning, cruise control and rear parking sensors equipped as standard across the range. Dacia highlights that, "in the interests of keeping things simple", just two options will be offered on top of that: metallic paint and a spare wheel. First deliveries are expected in the first half of 2022.

The entry-level Essential car gets an adjustable steering wheel, automatic headlights, electric front windows and automatic emergency braking as standard. The £16,695 Comfort trim, meanwhile, adds roof rails, electric mirrors, automatic wipers, a reversing camera and alloy-aping steel wheel designs. Inside, it brings added soft-touch and satin trim elements, electric rear windows, automatic air conditioning and an 8.0in touchscreen with smartphone mirroring functionality. The range-topping (and limited-run) Jogger Extreme SE costs £17,395, bringing black 16in alloy wheels, front parking sensors, heated front seats and wireless smartphone mirroring. Following on from the launch of the new Sandero and inspired by the Bigster SUV concept, the Jogger is based around the same CMF-B platform as its supermini sibling but with a wheelbase stretched by 300mm to accommodate the additional rear seats. Crucially, it will eventually be available as a hybrid – a first for Dacia. Blending “estate car practicality, MPV spaciousness and SUV styling”, the Jogger has 200mm of ground clearance and, at 4547mm long, is Dacia's biggest model. Despite the SUV looks, modular roofbars and scuffplates, the Jogger will be available with only front-wheel drive, as the Duster SUV will remain “as the true off-roader”.

Designed to replace the Dokker, Lodgy and Logan MCV models, the Jogger has three rows of flexible seats, with the middle row rolling forward and splitting 60:40. The boot volume is 160 litres with the rear seats in place (enough for a small shopping trip), rising to 708 litres if the rear-most seats are removed in their entirety. None fold flat into the floor or slide back and forth, Dacia reasoning that these engineering alterations make the seats more expensive and take up more room. The Sandero and Jogger are identical from the B-pillar forwards, but Dacia has engineered a 40mm step-up from the B-pillar backwards to give additional height and width, allowing the rear cabin to benefit from additional passenger space. Three systems are offered for the multimedia interface: Media Control, which comprises a smartphone cradle and docking station; Media Display, which adds four speakers and an 8.0in touchscreen; and Media Nav, which brings wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, sat-nav and six speakers.

Thanks to a flexible platform borrowed from parent firm Renault (which uses it for the Clio and Captur), the Jogger will offer three engines.

First to arrive is a 1.0-litre turbo triple that produces 108bhp and up to 90% of its maximum 148lb ft from 1700rpm. This will also drop into the Renault Mégane in time and is likely to make up the majority of Jogger sales. A 99bhp LPG Joger will also be offered after launch, using the same Bi-Fuel engine that appears in the Sandero. Neither 0-62mph times nor fuel economy figures have been released yet. The hybrid, due in 2023, combines a 1.6-litre petrol engine, two electric motors (one an e-motor and the other a beefed-up alternator) and a multi-mode automatic gearbox, plus a 1.2kWh battery to make electric-only running possible for short distances. There are no plans for a plug-in hybrid at this stage, although the flexibility of the platform means that one could be offered in the future. According to David Durrand, Dacia’s design director: “We can take this existing technology and adapt it very quickly because the platform is the same. We would need less than one year to change it.” Q&A: David Durrand, exterior design director, Dacia What's your favourite part of the Jogger?"The way that we matched the front of the Sandero with the rear cabin of the Jogger. The Jogger is a bit wider and taller, which was a challenge on the design side, because we needed to continue the lines running to the rear. We had this idea of the two boxes and creating this step between the front door and the second part of the car. "I also like the way the rear lights have been finished, where we wanted to avoid a utility vehicle but still maintain the wide opening. If you push everything to make the space inside, the risk could be to have an ugly car on the outside. We tried to make it strong but not utilitarian." Where did you have the biggest argument with engineering? "In this type of car, seven-seaters, the third-row head room is the biggest compromise. Engineers would like a very horizontal roof with a very upright rear, but the car could look strange at the end. In our case, we managed to keep a little angle on the rear window on the tailgate, with the roof going down slightly to meet it. It was also good having an SUV-style car, with the roofbars, because the boxy shape is more acceptable than on other types, like estates."

link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-2022-dacia-jogger-uks-cheapest-seven-seater-£14995