Dacia updated its line-up with the practical and extremely affordable Jogger seven-seater MPV this year. Our tester Al Suttie heads behind the wheel for a week to test its fleet potential.

List price (BiK): £18,745 (31%) CO2: 130g/km MPG: 48.7mpg Test efficiency: 43.1mpg

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Monday

It’s not often that something comes along and simply sweeps aside any prior notions I had about a car. The Dacia Jogger is just such a machine and, really, I hadn’t thought much about it beforehand. After all, it’s a Dacia, so it would be decent in an undemanding, straightforward fashion. Yet, the Jogger is so much more than that and it makes it an intriguing fleet choice as a result.

Tuesday

Driving to a meeting this morning, the first impression of the Jogger is how much space there is. Sure, it’s a seven-seater MPV so it’s got to have a fair amount of room to fit all that in, but it has a spacious feel thanks to the open, airy cabin. There’s also a higher driving position than in most other MPVs, so you get an SUV-like view out. This Extreme SE trim also comes with extras such as keyless entry and auto wipers for added ease of use.

Wednesday

Visiting a client today whose office is at the end of a very narrow lane in Edinburgh meant reversing down the road. No problem in the Dacia as this model has all-round parking sensors and a reversing camera, which is great value in a seven-seat car with a list price of less than £20,000. This manoeuvre also shows the Jogger has light steering and pedals for this kind of work, plus decent vision from the driver’s seat.

Thursday

The 8.0-inch infotainment screen in the Jogger is easy enough to reach and work, and you can run sat-nav from a mobile phone using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. It seems like overkill, then, to have a phone cradle next to the touchscreen, but at least there’s a USB charger right behind it to keep the phone charge topped up.

Friday

The 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine under the Jogger’s bonnet delivers 109hp, which ain’t much for a car of this size. However, it also comes with 200Nm of torque from 2900- 3500rpm and this makes itself felt with surprisingly zippy acceleration. Working through the six-speed manual gearbox, the Dacia thrives on being driven with a bit of gusto, though it does mean average economy takes a bit of a hit.

Saturday

With two kids, I’ve not had to use the third row of seats, so they’ve been stashed to maximise boot capacity. This is an area where Dacia’s budget approach does show up as the seats merely tumble forwards rather than fold flat into the floor. There’s still more than enough carrying capacity for sports kit and shopping bags, and even a reasonable amount of room with bums on all seven seats.

Sunday

A 90-mile round trip to see Granny today and the Jogger takes it in its stride. It rides very well on the hotch-potch of road surfaces on this journey, handles far better than you would think for an MPV, and it keeps noise to commendably low levels at motorway pace. Yes, the interior has plenty of hard plastics, but the Jogger is good value and it’s difficult not to think of it as a sound workhorse.