• Loads of space in all three rows
• Third row is spacious enough for adults
• Boot is large but seats lack flexibility

How much space is there?

Carrying people is what the Dacia Jogger does best. Every model comes with with seven seats and there’s an amazing amount of room for what’s quite a small car. Indeed, there’s more passenger space than in many seven-seat SUVs such as the SEAT Tarraco, especially in the third row.

Space up front is vast, with very generous leg and headroom – even our tallest car testers had inches of it. The Jogger is relatively narrow, though, so shoulder room is restricted. It’s a similar story in the second row of seats, though three children will fit across the bench seat reasonably comfortably. If you need to carry three adults in the back, a Citroen Berlingo or Peugeot Rifter is a bit broader and more accommodating.

The third row really impresses, as well. Anybody under 5’10 will be comfortable there for longer trips, while our 6’2 tester found it acceptable for a short hop – long legs are forced up off the seat base, which can become uncomfortable. Seven-seat versions of van-based MPVs such the Ford Tourneo Connect, and SUVs such the Kia Sorento, have less generous third rows.

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Access to the rear of the Jogger isn’t as easy as on some MPVs with sliding rear doors but it’s quite good, nonetheless. The back doors are very large and open wide, and row two folds and tumbles forwards, leaving a wide opening for clambering through to row three.

Boot space and storage

The Jogger’s boot is impressively large, but the unsophisticated seats mean it’s less flexible than rivals. With all three rows in place there’s 160 litres of boot space – that’s about the same as in a small city car and enough for a couple of carry-on suitcases or a few bags of shopping.

Folding the third row down liberates 565 litres of space, which is the same ballpark as mid-size estates such as the Ford Focus and VW Golf. Remove them and there’s a whopping 696 litres of space. That isn’t too difficult – just release the catches and lift them out. But you then need somewhere to put them, and they are quite bulky.

Row two folds down and tumbles forwards in a 60:40 split, freeing up the maximum 1,807 litres, not far off what you get in the vast Mercedes E-Class Estate. The load area is 2m long and 1m wide, which is ideal for heavy-duty Ikea trips.  

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There’s generous storage space dotted around the interior and, literally on top of that, there are the Jogger’s modular roof bars. Standard on the upper trim levels, they can be repositioned to function as a proper roof rack with a capacity of 80kg – perfect for a bike rack or roof box, though you’ll need a step ladder to reach that high. Petrol Joggers have a useful towing capacity of 1,200kg, as well.

Interestingly, on the Jogger’s options list is what Dacia calls the Sleep Pack, a set of accessories that turns the car into a surprisingly comfortable camper van. It could be ideal for adventurous types looking for a very affordable way to go travelling.

Is it easy to park?

The Jogger is a relatively compact car with panoramic visibility all-round. Add in the short bonnet and bluff back end, and you can easily judge exactly where the car’s extremities are. So parking it isn’t a difficult task.

To make like a bit easier, all models have parking sensors, and top trim levels also have a reversing camera. The steering is nice and light as well – helpful as there are quite a lot of turns from lock to lock.

Safety

• Not a Dacia strong point
• Jogger officially scores one-star Euro NCAP rating
• There’s nuance behind the headlines, though

Car safety experts Euro NCAP’s score for the Dacia Jogger is somewhat contentious. Instead of assessing the Jogger individually, NCAP decided that it shared enough structure with the Sandero Stepway hatchback that that car’s rating could be applied. Considering the Jogger is a significantly larger car with a structure that’s completely different from the front doors back, it seems odd to us that Euro NCAP pursued that course.

After evaluating both cars, NCAP decided to give the Jogger a very poor one-star rating – even lower than the two stars the Sandero Stepway received. The removal of one star was largely due to the Jogger’s third row seats not having an audible seatbelt warning.

Taking the score at face value isn’t necessarily fair, though. The Jogger – and the Sandero – actually performed reasonably well in the crash test portion of the procedure. The scores for adult and child occupant protection, while not class-leading, are more than acceptable. Especially considering the car’s price.

There are some areas where its performance wasn’t up the mark, such as side curtain airbags that don’t adequately protect the third row, and a compromised front seatbelt mounting. But the Jogger won’t fold up like wet cardboard in an impact. Compared to the older, used seven-seaters the Jogger competes with, it’s plenty safe enough in a crash.

Instead, the Jogger lost points due to its lack of active safety features, such as autonomous emergency braking. However, changing legal requirements mean the Jogger now has lane departure warning and lane keeping assist, a driver attention monitor and traffic sign recognition.

It’s up to you whether the Jogger’s safety score bothers you enough to put you off. If you’d prefer to have the very latest active safety aids, shop elsewhere – but be prepared to spend a lot more for a car that has them. Parents may also be frustrated that the Jogger only has two Isofix points in the middle row – there isn’t one in the front passenger seat or the third row.