Dacia Jogger Hybrid 140 2023 first drive
Tremendous large family car gets Renault’s latest hybrid tech. A successful combo?
No, you can’t just have a diesel. Every car maker has to get its fleet-average CO2 down, but sales of oil-burners in the UK have imploded. So as much as Dacia is a brand that epitomises simplicity and no-nonsense, a petrol-electric hybrid seems to be the way to go.
The tech consists proven Renault mechanicals, as is the Dacia way. The Dacia Jogger Hybrid uses the E-Tech powertrain previously seen in various Renault models, as well as the Nissan Juke. When the hybrid Mégane, Clio and Captur launched, Renault said that E-Tech had been developed as a fairly low-cost hybrid system with the view to using it to electrify Dacia models.
As a refresher, this consists of a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine; a clutchless and unsynchronised four-speed gearbox; and two electric motors. The larger of those drives through the ’box, while the smaller one acts as a starter-generator and adjusts the engine’s RPM for rev-matching.
Since the standard 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine is always coupled to a manual, the Hybrid is also the only Jogger with an automatic option.
The good news on paper is that the Hybrid gets a 28bhp boost over the 1.0 TCe and shaves 1.1sec off the 0-62mph time, although the result is still a hardly breathtaking 10.1sec. The 1.2kWh battery also robs no luggage space. However, it does take the place of the spare wheel.
The driving experience is mostly what you would expect from the combination of the Jogger with the E-Tech system. The suspension is soft but well controlled, making it remarkably comfortable, and it’s surprisingly good fun on a twisty road, as the steering weights up intuitively in the corners. No changes there.
The powertrain is happiest when you take it easy, as then it can surf on the electric power. Even so, the engine is very rough at idle and when it’s charging the battery. If you then demand a lot of acceleration, you could be waiting a while for that complicated ’box to slot the right ratio, whether up or down. The hybrid may have 28bhp more than the 1.0 TCe, but due to those long gears and slow shifts, it feels only marginally quicker. With a bit of good will, you soon learn to drive around the quirks, but you shouldn’t really have to do that in a modern car.
On the plus side, the Jogger Hybrid more than makes good on its fuel-economy promises. Over a mixed test route, it returned 58mpg, which is more than its WLTP figure. Even after being thrashed up and down a mountain road, it refused to dip under 50mpg.
That’s an excellent result, but the 1.0 TCe is hardly thirsty either, which means you’re unlikely to ever recoup the additional purchase cost of the Hybrid. Prices start at £22,595 for an Expression model, which is a hefty £4150 more than a 1.0 TCe in the same trim and £5450 more than one in Essential trim (which isn’t available on the Hybrid).
As long as you don’t mind having a clutch pedal and six gears to negotiate (Dacia actually does quite a pleasing manual shift), the 1.0 TCe generally offers a more enjoyable driving experience, so we would recommend that you save some cash by sticking with that.
However, it’s worth remembering that while the Hybrid is pricier than the 1.0 TCe, it’s still an incredible bargain compared with absolutely everything else. Anything vaguely comparable, from the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports to Volkswagen’s Caddy MPV, costs several thousand pounds more. Dacias have pretty strong residual values as well, which keeps the monthlies very attractive too.
We still prefer the even cheaper petrol version, but if an automatic gearbox is a must, the Hybrid is a two-pedal Jogger with excellent economy that retains almost everything we like about the standard car.
