Seven-seater Dacia Jogger Hybrid is claimed to drive over 900km on a single tank of fuel and is a budget family hauler, with the potential for a favourable Australian reception in the future.
The Dacia Jogger Hybrid is about to go on sale in right-hand drive and is likely to be the cheapest hybrid MPV on the market when its price is confirmed. However, Dacia’s non-hybrid version did receive a poor one-star Euro NCAP safety rating, which Dacia defended.
Dacia, the budget brand from Renault, will soon launch the model in the UK (march 2023). While not currently present in Australia, Dacia does have ambitions to launch models here in the next two years. Australian car buyer’s high uptake on hybrids makes the Dacia Jogger Hybrid seem an attractive option if it were offered. It’s powered by the same electrically assisted 1.6-litre petrol engine used by the Renault Clio E-Tech and Renault Captur E-Tech, as showcased when it was revealed at the Paris motor show in September.
This means the Jogger Hybrid brings total outputs of 1093kW and 250Nm, supplementing the petrol unit’s output with two electric motors – one a small e-motor used as a starter-generator and the other effectively a beefed-up alternator. The combined output is sent to the front axle through an automatic gearbox with two ratios for the EV motor and four for the petrol engine.
Both electric motors are charged via recaptured energy stored in a small, 1.2kWh battery that can also be used to make electric-only running possible for “80 per cent of urban journeys”, Dacia says. In city driving, the firm says the Jogger Hybrid is 40 per cent more fuel-efficient than the ICE variant, and it boasts a WLTP-certified touring range of more than 900km.
Carrying capacity is unhindered by the electrified underpinnings, with the battery housed in the spare wheel compartment.
Performance details are unconfirmed, but in the Clio, this powertrain pushes the car from 0-100km/h in 9.9sec and to a top speed of 180km/h. The heavier, seven-seat Jogger is unlikely to match those figures, but it should be quicker off the mark than the existing Jogger, which uses a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine good for 81kW and 201Nm.
The Jogger is currently priced from £16,645 (AUD$29,890) in entry-level trim, making it the UK’s cheapest seven-seater. The electrified model is expected to sit just north of the £20,000 mark (AUD$35,000), given a list price in France of €24,600 (AUD$38,700).
Dacia has previously confirmed to Automotive Daily Network partner Autocar that there are no plans for a plug-in hybrid version of the Jogger at this stage, although the flexibility of the platform means that one could be offered in the future.