Europe's Cheapest Seven-Seater Is Painfully Slow With Six Passengers

The Dacia Jogger – a mix between a wagon, a crossover, and a van – is currently the most affordable new seven-seat vehicle on the European market. It replaced the Lodgy in the Romanian company’s portfolio and is already enjoying good demand during its first months on the market. But if you are looking for a vehicle that can carry a lot of cargo and up to seven passengers and still offer a decent performance – better look away.

Carwow decided to use its scientific skills and see how fast the Jogger is with zero, three, and six passengers. With Mat Watson behind the wheel, the seven-seat Dacia first registers a control run with a weight of 2,822 pounds (1,280 kilograms). The best 0-60 miles per hour (0-96 kilometers per hour) sprint took 11.34 seconds and a quarter-mile run was covered in 18.51 seconds. Not quite impressive but things got worse with more people on board.

In a series of tests, the Jogger showed its weakness getting slower and slower with the addition of more passengers. In the final and most hardcore test, the vehicle carried the driver, six passengers, and 441 lbs (200 kg) of ballast in the trunk. The results were scaring – 16.43 seconds to reach 60 mph (96 kph) and 21.24 seconds for the quarter-mile run. Or, to put these numbers in perspective, more than five seconds slower in the acceleration test and almost three seconds slower in the quarter-mile compared to the control run.

There’s nothing surprising when you consider the Jogger is powered by a 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine. Mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, the mill sends 110 horsepower (81 kilowatts) to the front wheels and for now is the vehicle’s only engine option. A hybrid powertrain in tandem with an automatic transmission should be added next year.

But performance is obviously not the Jogger’s most important characteristic. The seven-seater focuses on practicality with a cargo volume of 708 liters (25 cubic feet) when in a five-seat configuration. If you fold down the second row of seats, the cargo area extends to 1,819 liters (64.23 cu ft).