What's all this about?

Dacia is about to launch its first electric model on the UK market. It’s called the Spring, and it will be one of the most affordable EVs on sale.

The Spring isn't a new car, is it?

Correct, the Spring was first launched in 2021, but only in left-hand-drive markets. It has been massively successful and Dacia reckons the time is right to expand its production to include right-hand-drive countries such as the UK. This coincides with the introduction of a new generation of the Spring, incidentally, so the car you see here has not been sold anywhere as yet.

It looks like a mini Dacia Duster...

That’s true to a certain extent, as the new Spring adopts Dacia’s distinctive new familial style using the firm’s new badge in a large format in the middle of the face, flanked by white detailing linking the Y-shaped LED daytime running lights. That Y motif is found throughout the car, including the LED rear lights and on the air vents inside.

The Spring gets black wheel arch cladding and bumper detailing to give it a little SUV ruggedness, along with generous ground clearance, but it’s no mud-plugger. It’s a simple five-door hatchback designed predominantly for city driving. To that end, it should be a cinch to park and manoeuvre as it’s only 3.7 metres long (shorter than Dacia’s current smallest car, the Sandero) and it even comes with rear parking sensors as standard.

Hang on, I thought this was supposed to be bargain basement?

Dacia likes to refer to what it believes are “essential” items rather than the basics. Look closer and you’ll notice that what appear to be alloy wheels are in fact stylised wheel covers over 15-inch steel wheels. Saying that, there is an entry-level model called the Spring Essential that is unlikely to be offered to British buyers, as we do like our creature comforts, even at the lower end of the market. Instead, there’ll be the Expression and Extreme trim levels to choose from. The former also has a seven-inch instrument cluster, cruise control with speed limiter, remote central locking, electric front windows, air conditioning and a sort of phone cradle with a USB port to allow owners to use their smartphone as the car’s infotainment system.

Ah, that's where the money has been saved!

Certainly in that version, though the smartphone app is pretty nifty. Admittedly, the Spring Extreme’s ten-inch touchscreen is rather more impressive. That’s the car in the pictures, marked out by its copper detailing inside and out. We especially like the design of the front and rear bumpers with a pattern that looks like it’s a map of a city. Interestingly, the Extreme model also comes with bidirectional charging capability, so it can be used to power or charge up external devices, such as a power washer, or a sound system for a BBQ perhaps.

On that note, tell us more about the electrics...

The Spring uses a modest 26.8kWh battery pack, sending its energy to a front-mounted electric motor. Both 45hp and 65hp motors will be offered. They’re not powerful, granted, but Dacia has managed to keep the Spring to under 1,000kg so their instant torque should mean the car can easily spring forward (sorry, not sorry) at low speeds. The quickest 0-62mph time, however, is 14 seconds.

Of rather more importance is that the low weight means low energy consumption. Dacia quotes 4.2 miles per kWh, meaning an official range of up to 137 miles. It can take a charge from a 7kW AC home charger as standard (20-80 per cent in four hours) and buyers can add 30kW DC charging capability if they wish, to drop that time to 45 minutes in theory. Unusually, Dacia quotes a charging time for when the Spring is plugged into a normal domestic socket (11 hours), which indicates it doesn’t expect all buyers to have a home charger.

Is there space under the bonnet for cables?

Sort of, though buyers will have to pay extra to get the plastic insert making that space (holding about 30 litres) usable. There are other accessories available for the cabin that make it more practical, making use of Dacia’s new “YouClip” mounting system. The boot itself is a relatively commodious 308-litre volume and the back seats can be folded down to accommodate over 1,000 litres in total. Indeed, there’s even a Cargo variant of the Spring underway for urban businesses that want something cheap to buy and run. We don’t know for sure if that model will be sold in the UK.

In mid-March, following the Spring’s debut at the Geneva motor show, UK pricing and the line-up will be announced in full. Buyers can then bounce (still not sorry) into their local Dacia showrooms to place orders ahead of first deliveries in October this year.

Shane O'Donoghue - 21 Feb 2024