A six-seater for £20,000? Try Dacia

What a contrast. On the one hand, a sublime saloon which would set you back £119,000, or goodness knows how many thousands a month on a contract hire deal.

On the other hand, a £19,000 family motor which offers fuss-free driving for one-sixth of the price with decent equipment, good warranty and style to impress the neighbours.

OK, so the Dacia Jogger wouldn’t hold much sway in the snobsville surroundings of the executive car park but these days, who cares? Value is king. It always was but is more so now.

I was in Skipton, undertaking a challenge. My task: to help choose a winner of the car of the year for the Northern Group of Motoring Writers, of which I’m a member. There are five finalists: Volvo C40, Skoda Fabia, Kia Sportage, the Jogger and the Audi A8.

And if it was purely down to value, then we needn’t have turned up. The Jogger is in a class of its own. Brand new motoring at second-hand prices.

And, surprise, surprise, the Jogger won the contest, voted for my members of the NGMW who include Frederic Manby and I.

Dacia has been something of a revelation in recent years, helping shore things up at Renault.

Jogger is, in short, a revelation. It is neat, well proportioned and looks terrific. The exterior is better than the interior which does betray its bargain basement origins, but the controls and easy to live with and the huge information screen is almost premium in quality.

The engine is fantastic. For such a substantial car to be powered by a tiny engine is amazing and it returns decent economy while still offering plenty of pull. The bite of the clutch is a bit high but nothing you won’t quickly get used to.

You won’t find a better car to offer six seats, although you need to be a child or an acrobat to get into the third row. Maybe I’m exaggerating but I found it too much of a squeeze but – I’m told – once you’re in it’s spacious.

Dacia might not be everyone’s cup of tea but if you want space and value, there is nothing to compare. I think a slightly longer than the three years and 60,000 miles on offer here.

But it feels and looks a solid enough car and people who have chosen Dacia tend to love them with an evangelical zeal.

Here’s a brief history lesson. Dacia – properly pronounced Darcher – is a Romanian brand which was plucked from obscurity by Renault in 2004. While rivals brought out upmarket brands, Renault chose Dacia to be its economy wing.

It proposes simple, multi-purpose, reliable cars in tune with customers’ lifestyles. Dacia models have become a reference on the market, including Sandero, the best-selling retail car in Europe each year since 2017; Duster, the best-selling SUV to European private customers since 2018; and now Jogger, a versatile family car. Present in 44 countries, Dacia has sold more than 7.5m vehicles since 2004.

Dacia launched in the UK in January 2013 and enjoyed the most successful start ever for a new car brand in the UK. More than 220,000 Dacia vehicles have so far been sold in the UK.

So, how is Dacia faring? It has grown its share of the UK retail car market to a record-breaking 5.48 percent in July.

Duster is July’s best-selling car in the retail C-segment – that is to say, all car sales which are not company cars.

Dacia say strong UK sales are driven by a well-equipped, easy to purchase and affordable new range,

The sales contribute to Dacia’s global sales for first half of 2022 with Dacia being the third best-selling brand in the European car market with retail customers.

Against a backdrop of a challenging time for the car industry and when car buyers are looking for optimum value, Dacia is popular.

Playing a significant role in securing the brand’s unprecedented market share was its popular Duster SUV and Sandero supermini. Their combination of proven durability, value and quality seeing them amongst the most popular cars with private car buyers.

Sandero was the second best-seller overall in the UK retail market in July, with Duster close behind in sixth. Duster was also the best-selling car in the retail C-segment last month.

But now not long after its official launch, the Dacia Jogger is set to mirror the success of the rest of the Dacia range. In a very short space of time, its unique blend of versatility and practicality has resulted in the new seven-seat model also securing the top spot in its segment for July.

Dacia say the popularity of the brand has been skyrocketing over the past few years, driven largely by a super simple range, very well-equipped cars and unbeatable value for money.

So, how good is the Jogger? It is fabulous and offers 2,085 litres of luggage space with the seats down.

I must admit the £100,000-plus Audi was very, very impressive but back in the real world the Dacia is simply stunning. Under twenty grand for a stylish people mover? You won’t find anything better.

Dacia Jogger Extreme SE 1.0 TCe 110

Price: £19,640

Engine: 1.0-litre petrol (110PS)

0-62mph: 11.4 seconds

Top speed: 114mphEconomy: 48.7mpg

Emissions: 130g/km

Warranty: Three years, 60,000 miles