THE Jogger is a seven-seat vehicle that is big on space and character from budget brand Dacia.

With prices starting from just £15,345, there's a choice of three trim levels called Essential, Comfort and Extreme SE with all models powered by a 1.0-litre petrol engine.

That may seem a tad small in the power department, but the Jogger is a very lightweight so the 999cc powertrain copes just fine, especially if the car is not fully laden.

It can sprint from 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds, tops out at 114mph and, according to official WLTP figures, it can deliver a combined 48.7mpg with carbon emissions of 130g/km. And in fairness, we were seeing very close to that fuel efficiency figure during our loan.

We opted for the range-topping Extreme SE version and it certainly had plenty of road presence, stretching 4.5 metres in length and with 200mm of ground clearance.

Eye-catching design cues includea wide, bold grille that is flanked by Dacia's signature Y-shaped daytime running lights.

There are vertical tail lights, tinted rear windows, front and rear skid plates, front fog lights, attractive black 16-inch alloy wheels, along with body-coloured front and rear bumpers.

Our car was supplied with stylish Terracotta Bronze paintwork that really looked the business.

Moving inside, the interior is pretty much a no-frills area, but it features neat cloth seats and a stylish patterned dashboard, plus satin chrome air vents and door handles.

On-board tech for a budget model also impresses with a driver-facing eight-inch touchscreen with sat nav, smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a DAB radio, Bluetooth and a four-speaker sound system.

All the climate control functions, including the heated front seats, are controlled via a separate panel which is good news as it causes less driver distraction and all controls, dials and readouts are easy to operate on the fly.

On the downside, the link with Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay did drop off quite frequently during a three-hour road trip even when connected wirelessly which was pretty frustrating.

And there is another issue regarding performance.

While the engine delivers ample shove and the acceleration through the six-speed manual gearbox is smooth enough, there were occasional power surges without any throttle pressure.

These lasted a few minutes and then died off, but it was quite alarming at the time. And, when stationary at lights, the Jogger did tend to shake quite a lot which is not that comfortable.

But it is worth remembering this is a bargain basement car and offers a very practical solution to larger families.

There is good room for seven people inside the Jogger and the cabin is so spacious that adults can fit comfortably in all the seats. The long rear doors and tilting second row seats offer easy access to row three.

There are nearly 60 seating configurations on offer withup to 2,085 litres of cargo space. With all seven seats in use, the storage capacity drops to 212 litres, but there are numerous storage options within the cabin, including fold-down tray tables, door bins, a large glovebox, a central cubby and six cup holders.

Isofix child seat fixtures are located on the outer seats in the second row and if just the front two seats are upright, the boot can easily swallow a large pushchair or bicycle.

It is certainly comfortable enough pottering around town and the driver benefits from excellent all-round visibility. The soft-ish suspension cushions the ride over uneven surfaces and the vehicle is actually quite planted on twisting country lanes.

When it comes to safety, the Dacia Jogger secured a poor single star rating which doesn't compare too favourably with some rivals' five-star scores. But Dacia tends to avoid fitting expensive warning systems to its cars to keep costs low.

Despite the poor score, it did do okay when rated for adult and child occupancy with scores of 70 and 69 per cent respectively. And expect to see the likes of blind spot warning, cruise control with speed limiter, active emergency braking system, a reversing camera, six airbags and a tyre pressure monitoring system.