Dacia Spring | Review | The most affordable EV on Leasing.com
The Dacia Spring is a brand-new model for the UK market, and it’s set to make quite a splash. Because, this is officially the most affordable new electric vehicle currently available. It costs from £14,995 or, if you’re leasing, around £130 per month* on personal contract hire. That’s pretty much unheard of: a four-door fully electric car that undercuts the majority of petrol models.
But what’s it really like? This won’t be a car suited to everyone, but after spending a week living with the dinky Dacia, we think it might just prove to be a big hit.
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Dacia Spring – So what is it?
The Dacia Spring is a breath of fresh air in the EV segment, and not only because it’s so attractively priced. The Romanian brand (under the watchful eye of Renault) has been creating affordable, back to basics cars in the UK for more than a decade now – and they’ve proved popular with cost-conscious drivers.
Chunky trim and high-riding stance give it a purposeful, mini SUV-like appearance.
The Spring is Dacia’s attempt at continuing this trend in the EV segment – no small feat. In theory it’s aimed at competing with cars like the Kia Picanto and Toyota Aygo X, but it somehow feels a little different to those cars. For starters, it looks like nothing else.
The Spring is a small car and, while incorporates some popular styling cues like those split headlights and DRLs, stance-wise it sits a little bit like the original Fiat Panda: boxy with a focus on simplicity.
It weighs just 974kg in its highest spec.
There are some quirks: the front and rear bumper feature funky decals, while depending on the colour you go for you get contrasting door mirrors and chunky trim that give it a purposeful, almost SUV-like appearance.
In many ways it’s the antithesis of what we’ve come to expect from a battery electric vehicle. It weighs just 974kg in its highest spec, making it the only EV under a tonne designed and built for Europe.
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Dacia Spring – What’s it like inside?
Inside, our Extreme model came better equipped than you might expect. There’s a proper touchscreen infotainment system that controls the audio, telephone connectivity and various driver settings. It’s also compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which was somewhat of a surprise.
Infotainment supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay: a pleasant surprise.
Beneath the screen you’ll find a row of physical buttons and the climate controls. Air conditioning is standard, although as you might expect it does without things like dual-zone climate control.
The driving position is good, with the Spring’s high-riding position giving you an unexpectedly decent view. While there’s plenty of adjustment in the seat, the steering wheel can only be moved up and down rather than forwards and backwards, meaning some people might find it difficult to get a comfortable position.
The back seats are, erm, tight, and probably best reserved for children for all but the shortest of trips.
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Dacia Spring – What about the driving experience?
With a sub-tonne kerb weight, the Spring is good fun to drive. You may only have 65hp and two-wheel drive, but up to 40mph or so the Spring is just as nippy as you’d expect from an EV. There is also the lower-powered 45hp model to consider, which we do think might be a tad too slow – its 0-62mph time is approaching 20 seconds.
Our time with the Spring highlighted something you might not immediately consider – it’s great in the snow!
The steering is light, the turning circle impressive, and all the controls are laid out in a sensible and coherent manner. The physical handbrake lever is either a blast from the past or a welcome touch, depending on your point of view.
But combined with the dinky gear selector, it works well in traffic. Talking of the gear selector, you can increase regenerative braking by nudging it from D into B – not only does this increase efficiency but it also enables one-pedal driving.
We actually tested the Spring during a cold snap, which highlighted something you might not immediately consider – it’s great in the snow. Thanks to its skinny tyres and low weight, it skips along in a way some EVs could only dream of doing.
Unlike the Duster, the Spring probably isn’t a car you’d want to do regular long journeys in.
The Eco button not only helps eek out those extra miles, but also lowers the throttle response ensuring better traction. Combined with its high-riding body, it’s not the worst car in the world when the going gets tough, continuing the theme of the brand’s other cars like the Duster.
Unlike the Duster, the Spring probably isn’t a car you’d want to do regular long journeys in. Out on the motorway there’s a lot of wind noise and, while it will happily pootle along at the speed limit, it does feel a little underpowered. The power also tails off dramatically if you have more than one passenger on board.
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Dacia Spring – How about range and charging?
Whichever version you opt for, you’ll get an official WLTP range of around 140 miles. Yes, this falls short of many other EVs, but remember this is half the price of many of those. And the battery capacity is actually less than half – the 26.8kWh battery give you a usable power reserve of 25kW.
The 26.8kWh battery give you a usable power reserve of 25kW.
That doesn’t sound much, but this is really an EV that puts an emphasis on efficiency rather than headline-grabbing range figures.
Despite the cold snap during our time with the Spring (where EVs can be notoriously inefficient), we averaged just over 4MPkWh. That means a real-world range of more than 100 miles with the heart on full blast the demisters working overtime. Impressive stuff.
The Spring is aiming to attract those in urban environments.
It doesn’t sound much on paper, but the Spring is aiming to attract those in urban environments. For short journeys around town and the daily commute, the Spring is an attractive proposition for the price.
With a maximum charge rate of 30kW, the Spring isn’t the fastest car to recharge, but you’ll still regain an 80% charge in around 45 minutes if you use a rapid charger; two to three hours using a n 11kW home charger.
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Dacia Spring – So should you lease one?
If you’re after a no frills EV that offers fantastic bang for your buck, then definitely. We’d usually talk about rivals here, but the truth is competition for the Spring is few and far between. The closest in practicality terms is probably the Toyota Aygo X. The closest in price though, is more likely the Citroen Ami.
For those that’ll be mainly driving in town or want a cost-effective second car, the Spring will make perfect sense.
For those that’ll be mainly driving in town or want a cost-effective second car, the Spring will make perfect sense. You’ll need access to another car if you regularly cover long distances, but with the Spring Dacia has proven that EVs needn’t be expensive or overly complicated.
Dacia hasn’t just created an affordable EV. It’s created one that’s more cost-effective than many petrol models too. Check out just how affordable they are right now, by hitting the button below.