Photo: Pravda, Martin Domček Dacia Jogger TCe 100 ECO-G (2022) With its wheelbase, the Jogger significantly surpasses even the Octavia. The Jogger is an extremely interesting car for exactly the reasons we state in the title of this test. It has a good price, low consumption and, thanks to the combination of petrol and LPG, an almost “infinite” range, in reality significantly exceeding the sum of both tanks (the petrol tank has a capacity of 50 liters and the LPG tank 10 less) thousand kilometers. Everything is auctioned But first, a few words about the price. It’s true that car prices have been rising significantly for about three years now, most noticeable on small cars and lower mid-range models. Some of them increased in price by almost 50 percent compared to 2019. And this trend does not stop. A few days ago, we published an article about how the most affordable cars in the category under 12,000 euros have risen significantly in price in Slovakia over the past year. If you are interested, you can read it here: Read more See how ‘brutally’ the cheapest cars in Slovakia went up in price in one year! Among other things, you will read in it that Dacia belongs to the car companies that have raised the prices of their cars most significantly over the last year. However, the truth is that even after this increase, its models are among the most affordable. And this policy of “raising prices” cannot be wondered at. Dacia belongs to the Renault concern, and the parent brand is currently not experiencing the happiest period economically. And it’s not just that she lost her Russian plant and actually the entire Russian market, which is important to her. It is not doing too well in Europe either. For example, out of 30 European markets, after seven months of this year, Renault is the best-selling model in only one country, namely Slovenia, where Clio is the current “king”. And in her case, it is also a car “mini market”. In order for Clio to become the market leader in Slovenia after 7 months, 768 cars sold were enough. Falling sales of Renaults have to be replaced somehow, so the prices of Dacia models, which are doing well in Europe, went up quite substantially. We can also illustrate this with Slovak prices. The price of Duster increased by more than 32 percent year-on-year, Sandero by almost 22 percent. At the end of June last year, you could still buy a basic Duster with a TCe 90 engine with an output of 67 kW for 10,790 euros, but in August of this year it was already 14,290 euros. The Sandero with the SCe 65 engine with a power of 49 kW started a year ago in Slovakia at 8,990 euros, but in August of that year it already had a price tag of 10,950 euros. However, it must be said that both models have undergone modernization. And how is the Jogger whose test you are reading now? Practical We tested it a little over 4 months ago in the 7-seater TCe 110 version with a pure petrol three-cylinder liter engine with an output of 81 kW. At that time, the basic price of the Jogger TCe 100 LPG version (1.0 TCe 110, 74 kW LPG, 67 kW petrol, man.6, 5 seats) was 14,550 euros, currently it costs 15,650 euros, so in less than four months it has become more expensive euro Despite these price increases, it must be said that Dacia continues to maintain extremely competitive prices in Slovakia, which are among the lowest. Photo: Pravda, Martin Domček Dacia Jogger TCe 100 ECO-G (2022) The interior looks simple, but it is ergonomically well designed. As we already wrote in the test of the gasoline version, Dacia has the courage to go against the current and introduce a new MPV (large-space family car) in an era that does not favor this type of car. And not only that, it was offered in five- and seven-seat configurations immediately upon launch. The Jogger also attracted the attention of the fact that the basic version already runs on gasoline and LPG. In addition, it has an increased ground clearance of 200 mm (not even some SUVs can boast of such a figure, for example the Karoq offers only 173 mm) and with protective coating, or at least an imitation of it, it looks a bit like an all-road, or raised off-road station wagon, which makes it even more adds to the attractiveness. And when we mentioned the length, it is a “large-space car”, which can also be seen in the almost 2.9-meter wheelbase. It is, for example, more than 20 centimeters longer than offered by one of the most popular “passenger trucks” in Slovakia, by which we mean the Octavia station wagon. And we haven’t even mentioned the size of the trunk – the Jogger offers a volume of up to 842 (!) liters in a 5-seater configuration. We talked more about the design in the previous test, so now we’ll just state that the Jogger may not be a benchmark in its class in terms of design, but on the other hand, it doesn’t offend and certainly looks interesting. The designers managed to create a car that you might just glance over, but it definitely won’t “offend” you, and the fact is that a car designed in this way will age only very slowly and is definitely not in danger of “looking old” after a year or two. Photo: Pravda, Martin Domček Dacia Jogger TCe 100 ECO-G (2022) The strong point of the car is a really big trunk. The interior is more or less identical to the smaller Sander. Again – it is simpler, harder plastics prevail, but – from an ergonomic point of view, everything is in its place, the control is simple and intuitive, you don’t have to look for any important function somewhere deep in the infotainment menu. We have perhaps only one reservation about the interior, and we formulate it in direct comparison with its predecessor, which was the Dacia Lodgy. Thanks to its convex (bulging outwards) shape, it was noticeably wider, you can feel it on the back seats and also on the dimensions (not the volume) of the trunk. Gasoline + LPG: a reasonable choice But let’s look at the most important and currently probably the most practical thing. Already in the base, as well as in the tested version, the car can burn LPG in addition to gasoline. This is a factory modification, so the presence of LPG has no effect on the warranty provided for the engine. Even now, LPG prices do not go to such extremes as gasoline or diesel prices, even though the price has gone up by tens of percent on average over the last year. Currently, a liter of LPG in Slovakia costs an average of 0.863 euros (source: Benzin.sk), which is almost one euro less than you pay for a liter of diesel. In addition, the engine has a higher performance on gas than on gasoline. Specifically, 74 kW and 170 Nm maximum torque, for gasoline it is 67 kW and 160 Nm. In addition, with a weight of around 1.3 tons, you will be quite surprised by the flexibility of the engine – and not only with LPG. “On paper” it may not look like that, you can “get” a hundred with a gasoline engine in 12.5 seconds, with LPG you will need about three tenths less. But the fact is that, emotionally – and practically, from the point of view of overtaking, the dynamics of the car are, if not good, then at least perfectly adequate. Photo: Pravda, Martin Domček Dacia Jogger TCe 100 ECO-G (2022) The light signature of the Jogger may be somewhat reminiscent of Volvo. And let’s not forget perhaps the most important thing – consumption. During normal driving with a slight preponderance of city roads over county roads and highways and a predominantly two-person crew, we ended up with an average of around nine liters per hundred kilometers when driving on gas, and when driving on gasoline, the consumption was close to the 7-liter mark. In addition, the car is tuned to be comfortable and can handle both lateral and longitudinal unevenness relatively well, which is important for a family car. In addition, we really appreciate the raised chassis. Of course, you’ll feel it in slightly more dynamic cornering where the car leans – but we expected it to lean quite a bit more given the chassis setup and higher center of gravity. Conclusion In our view, the Jogger is one of the few family MPVs still on the market. Even after a slight price increase, it offers an excellent ratio between price and value, and even the relatively modest range of additional equipment can boast reasonable prices. The gasoline + LPG version is a really interesting alternative with the current increase in fuel prices. There is no need to worry about the low-volume three-cylinder engine under the hood. It doesn’t really impress with performance, but it’s enough for the car without any problems. It is important for us that with its family orientation, the car offers not only a large trunk, but also a relatively comfortable ride. Only in the second row it would like a little more space.