Dacia Jogger Sleep Pack review: 2,250km road trip to the Isle of Skye

What is it?

This is the Dacia Jogger boiled down to the essentials: a no-nonsense, ultra-practical people-carrier that used to seat seven. In this version, though, the third row has been removed and replaced by a curious, boxy module that unfolds into a sleeping platform.

Dacia calls it the ‘Sleep Pack’. You give up some usable space (and a bit of self-respect when clambering in and out), but at £1,350 - and potentially more once you start ticking options - is it yet another real-world bargain for well-travelled campers?

To get an answer, we put it through a proper test: roughly 2,250km there and back, from gritty East London up to the stunning Isle of Skye. That should be comprehensive enough.

Wait, what exactly do you get with the Sleep Pack?

Available on every Jogger, the Sleep Pack includes a 190cm-long, 130cm-wide mattress, extra infill pieces to pad out the awkward gaps by the doors, plus blackout blinds for the windows.

The complete assembly comes in at 50kg - only 30kg more than the pair of seats it replaces - so the added mass is modest and shouldn’t wreck fuel consumption. Better still, you can lift the whole box out when you’re not touring, so you’re not condemned to cart a bed around 365 days a year.

Remove the Sleep Pack and you get a useful 696 litres of boot space. Leave it installed and you’re down to… 220 litres, thanks to the storage well beneath the mattress (and you can always stack kit on top, naturally). With it fitted, the Jogger drives much the same: the unit feels solidly put together and doesn’t introduce any irritating squeaks or rattles.

There’s also an optional tent that costs £600, attaching to the rear of the car and cinching down to the wheels with straps. All in, you’re looking at around two grand’s worth of added gear.

Is the bed easy to set up?

If everything goes smoothly, you can have it ready in about five minutes; if you’re less patient - or less handy - it can stretch to 30. After sliding the front and middle rows as far forward as they’ll go and then folding them down, you open the bed box in several steps using the supplied guide. It can be straightforward, but how painless it feels depends a lot on how much luggage you’ve brought along.

Gotcha. How much does the interior space suffer?

Because the bed folds out into the cabin, it effectively wipes out most of the car’s internal storage. So if you’d rather not scatter barbecue bits and firewood across the campsite, expect a decent dose of three-dimensional Tetris while you’re assembling the bed. That might be less than ideal in Scotland, where the weather can be… unpredictable.

Once the bed is in place, you’ll find that the front-seat area becomes your main storage zone, aside from the small pockets under and around the bed structure. The other alternative is to sacrifice some sleeping room for bags and boxes - not great. In other words, camping in a Jogger hinges on how lightly you’re willing to pack.

Is there a way to gain more room?

Yes - but the answer is basically that £600 tent. It’s useful mainly as a dumping ground for your clobber, and it also gives you somewhere to stand up properly and stretch.

Even so, it’s not a simple fix. While the tent is genuinely pleasant once it’s up - warm enough, well insulated, and a comfortable place to sit - pitching it demands time and concentration you might not have left after a long stint behind the wheel.

The directions also aren’t as foolproof as the bed’s, and if you miss a stage or lose one of the connecting clips, Scotland’s elements will find their way inside. In short: this is one instruction manual you’ll want to keep.

Is it comfy to sleep in, at least?

Yes. The mattress is supportive enough as standard, and if you’re fussy you can always add your own extra bedding on top. After a full day driving around the Highlands, we didn’t feel the need.

The big Dacia does a respectable job of keeping outside noise down and taking the edge off the weather, but the blinds are a weak point. They fit by sliding into the gaps around the window panels, and if any come loose, plenty of morning light will creep in at daybreak. Great if you’re an early starter; less so if you fancy a lie-in.

You’ll also appreciate how wide the Jogger is: there’s ample room for two adults and a child. The catch is that the raised bed platform leaves only about 60cm of headroom, so your back may start complaining once your game of Monopoly hits hour three - possibly sooner.

You’re better off bringing a table and chairs and relocating into the tent.

Come on then, is it worth the money?

We already know the Jogger itself is strong value as a tough, thrifty leisure vehicle. The real question is whether the Sleep Pack stacks up as good value too.

At roughly £2k (and about £22k all in), there isn’t much else that offers this kind of ready-made solution at this price point. It’s a niche idea, though, isn’t it? Manufacturers rarely build something so bespoke: Skoda tried a similar approach with the Enyaq a couple of years back, but it never reached production. So the Jogger’s most realistic rival is probably… any car with roof bars that can take an aftermarket roof tent. Interesting.

You’re almost certainly not comparing this with a true camper. A VW California, Ford Transit Custom Nugget, or an ID. Buzz conversion sit in a completely different bracket price-wise. No - this isn’t a five-star suite.

So what’s the verdict?

The Jogger gives you a lot of vehicle for not much money, and because it’s so affordable you won’t worry about taking it wherever your adventures lead. Still, if you’re chasing the outdoors on a budget, we’d point you towards a standard Jogger and spending the Sleep Pack money on a genuinely good tent and proper camping equipment. Dull advice, but sensible - sorry.

Go that route and you keep the car’s generous space in reserve, plus you retain the option of seven seats if you want them. And you avoid the hassle of unhooking the tent every time you need to drive out of the campsite - fun as it is to imagine you’re an astronaut departing the ISS…

A brave attempt from Dacia, but in the 'get it cheaper with us' stakes, this one feels like a step too far.