The Jogger hybrid will arrive in UK dealerships from spring
Seven-seater expected to be UK’s cheapest family hybrid; promises huge efficiency boost
The Dacia Jogger Hybrid is about to go on sale as the Romanian firm’s first electrified UK model – and it’s likely to be the cheapest hybrid MPV on the market.
Due to open for orders in January before cars arrive in March, it will be 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 138bhp and 184lb ft, 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% of urban journeys”, Dacia says. In city driving, the firm says the Jogger Hybrid is 40% more fuel-efficient than the ICE variant, and it boasts a WLTP-certified touring range of more than 560 miles.
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 0-62mph in 9.9sec and to a top speed of 112mph. 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 108bhp and 148lb ft.
The Jogger is currently priced from £16,645 in Essential trim, making it the UK’s cheapest seven-seater. The electrified model is expected to sit just north of the £20,000 mark, given a list price in France of €24,600 (£21,500).
Dacia has previously confirmed to 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.
The Jogger will be the first electrically assisted Dacia model to hit the UK, but the firm already sells the popular electric Dacia Spring in mainland Europe. As exclusively reported by Autocar, the electric city car – one of Europe’s cheapest EVs, priced at the equivalent of £10,630 – is still on the cards for a UK release, but not before 2024. The firm will go all-electric in Europe from 2030.
Source: Autocar
