Dacia Jogger Sleep Pack review: a £22k mobile home from home

What is it?

A back-to-basics, uber-utilitarian seven-seater that’s… not a seven-seater any more. Because the rearmost row in this Jogger has been ditched for a strange box-like thing that folds into a bed.

Dacia's ‘Sleep Pack’ might mean you’re taking a hit on space (and dignity, when you’re trying to get in) but is £1,350 - or more, depending on options - another de facto bargain for you well-travelled campers out there?

Only one way to find out: a 1,400-mile round trip from brawly East London to the gorgeous Isle of Skye. Thorough, right?

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

Applicable to all Jogger models, the Sleep Pack consists of a 190cm long by 130cm wide mattress, additional padding to cover the awkward bits of space near the doors, and black-out blinds for the windows.

The whole unit weighs 50kg - only 30 kilos more than the two seats it replaces - so the weight penalty is tiny and won't tank the fuel economy. The box can also be removed when you're not camping, so it's not like you'll be stuck lugging around a bed 365 days a year.

Whip the Sleep Pack out boot capacity is a handy 696 litres, otherwise it's... 220, courtesy of the cubby under the mattress. Though you can still pile belongings on top of course. With the Sleep Pack fitted, drivability isn't affected: it feels sturdy and well built, with no annoying rattles or squeaks.

You can also add a tent attachment for £600, which merges to the back of the car via a set of straps to the wheels. All told, there’s around two grand's worth of stuff thrown in.

Is the bed easy to set up?

The process can take as little as five minutes or as many as 30… depending on your patience and handy work skills. Once the front and mid-rows are pushed as far forward as possible and then folded, you open up the bed box in several stages as per the guide provided. It can be quick and easy, but it also depends on how much luggage you've got with you.

Gotcha. How much does the interior space suffer?

The fold-out process essentially robs the car of its internal storage, so if you don’t want to litter your barbecue essentials and firewood across the campsite, there’ll be a fair amount of 3D Tetris to do as you’re constructing the bed. This might be a bit inconvenient if you’re in Scotland and the weather is… temperamental.

Once you’ve finished building the bed, you’ll notice you’ve only got the front seat area left for storage, aside from the pockets beneath and around the bed. Your only other option is to trade off some of your sleeping space for bags and boxes. Not ideal. So camping in the Jogger really depends on how light you're prepared to travel.

Is there a way to gain more room?

There is! To nullify the problem you really need that £600 tent, primarily as somewhere to stash all of your clobber but also so you can stand up and stretch your legs.

Again though, it's not that simple. While the tent itself is nice once erected - well-insulated and comfortable to lounge in - putting it up takes time and brain cells you might not possess at the end of a long drive.

And the instructions aren’t quite as simple as they are for the bed, so if you miss a step and misplace one of the connection clips, Scotland's elements will force their way in. Yeah, here's one user manual you don't want to throw away.

Is it comfy to sleep in, at least?

In a word: yes. The mattress is comfortable enough and you can always top it up with extra bedding of your own if you feel it’s necessary. After a full day of driving through the Highlands, though, we didn’t feel the need.

The big ol’ Dacia does well to limit external noise and shield you from the weather, but one drawback is the blinds, which are attached by slotting them through the window panel gaps. Should any of them come loose, a fair amount of light will seep in with daybreak. Fine for early risers, not so good for lying in.

You'll also be grateful for just how wide the Jogger is; plenty of space for two grown adults and a child. But since the bed is raised from the floor, it only leaves about 60cm of headroom. So your back will start to ache as your game of Monopoly enters its third hour, if not sooner.

Best pack a table and chairs and decamp into the tent.

Come on then, is it worth the money?

As a frugal, robust recreational vehicle, we already know the Jogger is good value for money. So what we're really asking here is... is the Sleep Pack good value for money?

At around £2k (and £22k all in) there's nothing else quite like it for this kind of price. Niche concept though, innit? It's very rare that a manufacturer comes up with a bespoke solution: Skoda had a go with the Enyaq a couple of years ago, but that never went into production. So really the Jogger's competition is probably... any car with a roof rack that can take a third party roof tent. Hmm.

You almost certainly won't be cross-referencing this against a proper camper: the VW California, Ford Transit Custom Nugget or something like an ID. Buzz conversion are all in a different league on price. Nope, a five-star suite this ain't.

So what’s the verdict?

The Jogger is an awful lot of car for the money, and since it’s so cheap, you won’t be afraid of using it wherever your adventuring takes you. But if the outdoor lifestyle is what you’re after - and on a budget - we’d suggest buying a normal Jogger and spending the Sleep Pack’s funds on an actual, high-quality tent and camping kit. Boring but sensible advice, sorry.

This means the car’s plentiful space reserves remain untouched, and you’ll still have access to seven seats if you wish. Oh, and you'll have none of the faff of undocking from the tent every time you want to leave your campsite. As fun as it is to pretend you're an astronaut departing the ISS...

A valiant effort from Dacia, but in the 'get it cheaper with us' stakes, this is a stretch too far.