New Dacia Spring has a range of up to 143 miles, and looks set to be the UK’s most affordable electric car. Here’s everything you need to know about it...
On sale Summer 2024 | Price from £19,000 (est)
The new Dacia Spring is designed to be the Aldi of electric cars. You see, the supermarket chain is now not only the cheapest among its UK rivals, but also one of the most popular – a combination that Dacia is hoping to replicate here.
The Spring certainly has the stats to put fear into rivals. The official range from its 26.8kWh battery, for example, is 143 miles. That’s more than the entry-level Fiat 500 Electric (with a 115-mile official range) can manage, as well as the Honda E or Smart EQ Fortwo – all of which cost more than £22,000. Our Small Electric Car of the Year, the MG4 (which costs from £26,995), can officially do 218 miles on a charge.
The Spring’s 44bhp electric motor allows for a top speed of 78mph. To maximise its real-world range, all versions of the Spring get an ‘eco’ mode which, when activated, limits the maximum power output to 31bhp, and top speed to 62mph. Charging up takes as little as 38 minutes at the Spring’s peak charging rate of 34kW.
All versions get basic safety kit including Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) as standard, however Euro NCAP awarded the Spring just one out of five stars when it tested the car in 2021. It performed poorly in all areas, but particularly the ‘safety assist’ section, in which it scored just 32% because it lacks some of the latest safety equipment (the rival Fiat 500 Electric received a four-star rating in the same year).
As for trim levels, UK buyers will likely be offered the same three options as with the Dacia Sandero Stepway: Essential, Expression and Extreme.
When the Spring goes on sale next, er, Summer; prices are expected to start from around £19,000, likely making it the cheapest electric car whether you buy with cash, or on a PCP finance deal.
The diminutive Citroën Ami costs £8095, less than half as much as the Spring, but it’s limited to two seats, an official range of 46 miles and a top speed of just 28mph.
Keyword: 2024 Dacia Spring electric car revealed