New Dacia Spring likely to be UK’s cheapest electric car
Europe’s cheapest electric car is coming to the UK. Prices for the right-hand-drive Dacia Spring will be announced when order books open on 12 March.
How cheap? Well, in France the Dacia Spring starts from €20,800 before a government grant of €5,000 is deducted. UK consumers haven’t received any financial incentive to buy an EV since the Plug-in Car Grant was scrapped in 2022, so a price tag of around £18,000 looks likely here.
To put that figure into perspective, the MG4 EV costs from £26,995, while a Fiat 500e will set you back upwards of £28,195. So, what is the Dacia Spring – and is this the affordable electric car we’ve been waiting for?
Seeing the light
The Dacia Spring was actually launched in 2021 and more than 140,000 examples have already found homes in Europe and beyond. However, this is the first time the budget EV will be sold in Britain.
Its chunky, crossover styling contains elements of the larger Dacia Duster SUV, but the Spring is closer in size to city cars such as the Hyundai i10 and Toyota Aygo X. It offers space for two adults in the back – at a squeeze – and a roomy 308-litre boot, which expands to 1,004 litres with the rear seats folded down.
A kerb weight of 984kg in range-topping Extreme trim is impressively light for an electric car. Only flimsy quadricycles such as the Citroen Ami and Renault Twizy weigh less.
Spring has sprung
The Spring’s electric motor develops either 45hp or 65hp, with the more powerful version managing 0-62mph in ‘less than 14 seconds’. Quicker than walking, then.
A 26.8kWh battery offers a fully charged range of 137 miles, according to the official WLTP tests. That looks rather limited, particularly once you factor in the detrimental effect of cold weather, but Dacia says the typical Spring owner drives just 23 miles a day, at an average speed of 23mph.
Charging the Spring from 20-100 percent with a 7kW home wallbox takes four hours, or 11 hours using a three-pin plug. Find a 30kW public charger and you could top up the battery from 20-80 percent in 45 minutes. You can also power accessories such as a fridge or camping lights via the vehicle-to-load charging socket.
To the Extreme
Dacia UK will offer the Spring in three trim levels: Essential, Expression and Extreme. Standard kit on the base version includes a simple media system with a USB socket, cruise control, electric front windows and rear parking sensors.
Stepping up to Expression adds manual air conditioning and larger 15-inch wheels, while the top-spec Extreme comes with a 10-inch central touchscreen, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, electric rear windows, electric mirrors and lashings of copper-look trim.
If Dacia can deliver all this for less than £20,000, the Spring could become a common sight in British cities. Come back to the City PM website for a first drive verdict soon.
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research