Renault’s European sub-brand Dacia has unveiled the all-new Jogger, which is essentially a spiritual successor to the Renault Lodgy. The model will be sold as a Renault in some overseas markets. Taking the shape of a nicely proportioned crossover-van mashup, the brand new model will be available in five- and seven-seat configurations.
Jogger has got the entire Dacia/Renault budget SUV cues such as two-slat grille, rectangular headlamps and shape of the bumpers but it looks a step up when compared to the rest of the range, thanks to its black inserts all around. In profile, you must see hints of Triber (roofline) but also the current Duster (wheel Arches as well as shoulder line) which is creating an SUV-MPV hybrid such as silhouette.
Blending “estate car practicality, MPV spaciousness and SUV styling”, the Jogger has 200mm of ground clearance and, at 4,547mm length, it is Dacia’s biggest model and is even longer than the Lodgy, which measured 4,498mm long. Even though it’s an MPV, the Jogger gets a crossover look, with modular roof bars, scuff plates and body cladding all around.
The Jogger has three rows of flexible seats, with the middle row rolling forward and splitting 60:40. 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 boot volume is 160 litres with the last row in place (enough for a small shopping trip), rising to 708 litres if the rearmost seats are removed in their entirety.
The Jogger’s interior has a familiar layout of the Sandero with a tablet-style infotainment screen on the center console and three round climate controls underneath. The base version will come as standard with a phone holder instead of the touchscreen turning your smart device into a navigation system. Other standard features include automatic headlights and wipers, speed limiter, and steering wheel-mounted control buttons.
The Jogger will be available exclusively with gasoline and LPG engines. No diesel option is in the cards and the customers can get a new 1.0-liter three-cylinder gas engine with 110 horsepower (81 kilowatts), which – at least for now – will be the model’s most powerful option. The direct-inject unit is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox sending power to the front wheels.
There’s also an Eco-G liquefied petroleum gas engine with a range of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) thanks to a 40-liter LPG tank and another 50-liter gas tank. At this point, there’s no word about an optional automatic transmission, but we believe Dacia will further expand the Jogger’s engine and gearbox range later during its lifecycle.
