Dacia Spring review

This is the new Dacia Spring. Or the facelifted Dacia Spring, depending on which way you look at it. The cute little electric crossover has been on sale on the continent for the last three years, but facelift time is your first opportunity to get your hands on a proper right-hand drive version.

Why are we only getting it now?

As a purveyor of cheap and cheerful cars Dacia has very fine margins, so a new model has to be a slam dunk to earn its keep. Dacia’s UK team had to prove the car would sell over here before the carmaker would go to the trouble of glueing the steering wheel on the other side of the cabin. 

So while everyone else pumps out £60k electric SUVs, along comes the Spring at a mere £15k to shake things up a bit: the EV market and its passengers, as we'll get onto shortly.

It’s very small, isn't it?

The Spring is classed as an A-segment car, which puts it in line with the likes of the Kia Picanto, Fiat Panda and Toyota Aygo X. But it draws a useful line in the sand against all the bloated, over-batteried SUVs that are pummelling the roads into dust.

It’s tiny, it’s good value and it weighs less than a tonne, which means even though its battery is a mere 26.8kWh, it punches well above its weight with an efficient drive. In fact, over a 40-mile or so run through French motorways, country roads and inner city we saw as much as 6.7mi/kWh. That's bonkers. Any other EV would be doing brilliantly if it crept over 5.0.

What’s the drive like? 

The Spring is actually a hoot to drive, provided there isn’t anyone else onboard. The ride befits the name: the car bounces over bumps, rolls energetically through corners and clings gamely on whatever you try to throw at it. You’ll find yourself grinning whether you mean to or not. 

Add passengers and you start to develop a bit more self-consciousness about the whole thing, watching people flail about like trainers in the washing machine. Dial things back massively for your nearest and dearest and the car is smooth over bumps and comfortable around town.

44bhp and 64bhp versions are available: both have the same WLTP range of 140 miles and consumption figures of 4.4–4.6mi/kWh depending on your wheel size. As we've seen already, you can beat that.

Neither is quick. The entry motor does 0–62mph in 19.1 seconds, the more powerful version 13.7s. Both have a 78mph top speed. We’ve only driven the faster (!) version so far. We're not sure we’d have the patience for the slower one...

And how about longer trips?

The limited range faces off against the flat, unsupportive seats. What will give out first, your back or the battery?

The CCS rapid charging is an optimistic notion, with 30kW the peak rate. Which isn't very rapid at all. Still, it’ll get you from 20 per cent to 80 per cent in 45 minutes, plenty of time to get the feeling back in your legs. You won’t be road-tripping the Spring, but that’s not really what it’s all about.

Does it have any rivals?

So this is where Dacia has stolen ahead of its rivals: VW Group is trying to get a cheap, accessible EV on sale, but it’s still a little way off. 

The Spring’s most immediate threat on paper would be something like the Fiat 500e, but that’s a different proposition. The two cars have similarly compromised rear leg space, but the Fiat is more expensive, pitched as a sort of designer runabout.

Ultimately it comes down to why you want the car: if you’ll be mainly driving about in town, and have access to another car that’ll do longer distances, then the Spring makes sense. Otherwise, the better option would be looking at the secondhand market to find something bigger, more comfortable and with better range.

For many people the Dacia Spring will be the perfect introduction to the electric car. It will require minimal financial outlay and minimal confusion because it’s so straightforward to drive and operate. Not for the Spring are the agony of endless screen menus, modes and options. So it’s simple, it’s affordable and it’s fun to be in and around. 65bhp is enough when it’s pushing less than a tonne.

We can see the Spring having broad appeal: learners, urban commuters, the eco-minded, those not wanting their new car to baffle them (OK, let’s call them what they are: our senior citizenry), young families and more. The Spring’s appeal is that it’s everything that many electric cars aren’t: it’s not over-wrought or heavy-handed, it’s honest and enjoyable and manages to keep the dream of a low impact electric car alive.

It proves to everyone else it is possible for a BEV to weigh largely the same as its petrol equivalent. Well done Dacia, let’s hope that where you lead, others will follow.