With ever-increasing costs of living and inflation, buying a new vehicle in the UK has become an impossibly expensive dream for most would-be motorists and car owners. However, Dacia might have the answer, with their all-new Spring fully-electric car, starting at a mere £14,995! And best of all, though the Spring was announced back in 2021, we just learned that it’ll come in right-hand drive form, and will soon come to the UK. In those 3 years, the Dacia Spring was already one of the top-3 selling EVs sold in Europe. When it comes to the UK, two trims would be available for you to pick from, the Expression and Extreme, with generous fitment included.
Some standard features, despite the fairly budget pricing for a new car, include a new digital dash cluster, a sizeable infotainment system, and cruise control. Additionally, Dacia has made some changes to the interior and exterior design of the Spring, so despite looking small from the outside, it’s quite (comparatively) spacious once you take a step inside. And, it’s a pretty nice cabin too, with features like satnav, and even wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with rear parking sensors, too. The pricier, top-spec Extreme trim naturally includes more for your money, with extra kit like shiny copper trim and a bigger 10-inch infotainment system.
A Small Motor For A (Really) Small Car
One interesting fact about the new Dacia Spring is its low kerb weight. It’s currently the only fully electric car sold in Europe to weigh under one tonne, weighing just 984kg, even with the more well-fitted Extreme trim. As you can imagine, you don’t need a lot of power to propel it, so the Dacia Spring comes with two choices of electric motors… One with 45hp and the other with 65hp, both paired with an equally diminutive 26.8kWh battery pack. Naturally, you can’t expect blistering speeds and performance, but for a daily-driver commuter car, it’s more than enough. And, the Dacia Spring offers a pretty decent 140 miles of all-electric range (WLTP).
That’s mostly thanks to the superb efficiency of the Spring’s powertrain, with the 65hp motor consuming a mere 14.6 kWh per 62 miles (WLTP). Once your battery dies or is running low, a Dacia Spring can fast-charge from 20% to 80% in only 45 minutes. It’ll come standard with a 7kW onboard AC charger, but optionally, a 30kW DC charger is offered as well, which should offer you a lot more flexibility when it comes to quick charging. On top of that, in the Extreme trim, the new Dacia Spring includes bi-directional V2L (vehicle-to-load) charging, so you could even use your fancy new Spring as a huge battery bank to power external devices or tools.
A Much Smarter Approach To Packaging
I can see some folks being put off the Dacia Spring, especially the moment you take a peek at its tiny 15-inch wheels. Isn’t it a bit too small, you think? Well, thankfully, Dacia has not made any compromises with the Spring, which still offers a lot of practicality and usefulness, despite its compact size. For example, it offers the best storage volume in its class, with a pretty large 308 litres of boot capacity, or up to 1,004 litres with the rear seats folded down. And, if you’d look elsewhere in the cabin, Dacia has included a lot of extra storage space, totalling about 33 litres overall. Plus, you could get another 35 litres in the front bonnet, though that’s optional.
A lot of stowage organisation is included in the Dacia Spring too, allowing you to attach and clip together accessories such as smartphone holders and storage pouches with those built-in mounting points. One other neat aspect of the new Dacia Spring, despite its low price, you’ll find a rather complete suite of ADAS systems, such as automated emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, parking assist, lane-keep assist, and a driver attention warning, to boot! As mentioned earlier, the Dacia Spring is already available to order now in the UK, with a pretty affordable starting price of just £14,995, or £16,995 for the higher-end Extreme trim level.
