Dacia isn't the first manufacturer with an electric car in their range, but now that they've got one, they do have the cheapest EV...
available. And I'm talking about this Dacia Spring. Fully electrical for only €18.000.
Of course, Dacia has a reputation to uphold when it comes to prices. However, let me manage your expectations here. It's cheap, but it's...
incredibly compact as well. That's because it's meant as a city car.
Dacia originated in Romania, but this car absolutely isn't. On the contrary, this is a true world citizen.
It's built on a platform specially developed by Renault for compact front-wheel drive cars, which are smaller than the Renault Clio.
With that platform in mind, the Renault-division in India drew this small SUV, which is known as the Renault Kwid.
It's a car meant for upcoming economic powers in relatively bad circumstances. That's why this car isn't just being sold in India, but...
in South America as well. Two years ago, I visited the Shanghai Motor Show in China, and that's when I saw this car for the first time.
Only then it was called the Renault K-ZE. No combustion engine, just an electric drivetrain.
A little further down the show, I saw the same car under the name Venucia E30. The only differences were the logo and the grille.
Venucia is the love child of Nissan and Dongfeng Motors, by the way. And both the Renault K-ZE and Venucia E30 are built on the same...
production line in China. Not too long ago, this Spring joined the production line. They just put it on a boat and it's shipped to Europe.
The interior design is right up the alley from what we know from other Dacia's and Renaults. Incredibly grey with blue accents.
But it does have incredibly hard plastics.
It's a compact little car, but the seating is pretty decent for me and my 2.00 m. self. I even have some headroom left.
The seats themselves are a tad short, but I won't have to sit in them for over ten hours, so it's not a big deal.
The seats are pretty good to begin with. However, Dacia says that when the Spring is being sold in Europe, the seats will be better. Okay then.
The steering wheel isn't adjustable, but you can clearly look at the instrument cluster.
I do have to say, the seating position is pretty good.
But I can't say the same about the seating in the back. You don't have any business in the back as an adult, except for fastening...
the seatbelts of the children or putting some bags in there. If you really need to go for a long journey, you could ask for a...
ride to the train station, of course.
If we move even further back, we arrive at the boot which can hold 270 litres. Not too much, but enough for the weekend groceries.
Right now I'm driving a version with the multimedia screen. That's something the entry level version doesn't have. Instead, that comes with a set of buttons.
Underneath the screen, we've got some buttons for the airconditioning, which I like.
It doesn't take a lot to get used to this car. The most remarkable feature might be the lack of the gear lever. It only comes with a turning knob...
to choose the mode. Drive, Neutral and Reverse. There's no P-mode. If you want that, put it in N-mode and yank the handbrake.
Everything is aimed for reducing costs, clearly.
Right now, I'm driving the Business-version. And it's not a version meant for spoiled lease-drivers. On the contrary.
It's a version meant for the share-market. This car can be used in car sharing-projects.
And it's prepared. It's got upholstery which is easily cleanable with a wet cloth, it's got additional protection strips, and the software...
is meant to fit with the software used by the car sharing-project. For example, you can unlock the car through your phone.
For the regular customer, there's a choice between two versions. The Comfort and the Comfort Plus.
They just have fabric upholstery. Additionally, there's a third version available; the Spring Cargo. That's a commercial version with a loading...
capacity of 1.100 litres. That's ideal for city distribution.
The car isn't meant for long distances, as the performance figures show very clearly. It only has a 27,4 kWh-battery pack,
and it's not incorporated in the whole floor. Instead, it's just underneath the rear seat. It doesn't take up too much space.
With that modest capacity, this car should be able to do 230 km on a single charge according to WLTP. However, if I had to judge...
looking at the board computer, I'd say you should be lucky to reach 180 or 190 kilometres.
However, if you don't need to leave the city, there shouldn't be any problems.
Charging is done through a one-phase charger on an alternating current or a wallbox, up to a maximum of 7,4 kW.
For an additional price, there's a possibility to hook this up to a DC-charger. A quickcharger next to the motorway if you will.
You can quickcharge it up to 30 kW, which still isn't a lot, but then again it's a very small battery pack.
You could ask yourself if a big battery pack would have any added value, because the electric motor produces a peak power of 44 horsepower.
That's 33 kW, so it's not a lot. However, it does propel the car to 125 km/h. If you put it in Eco-mode, you only have 31 horsepower.
And then, the top speed is limited to 100 km/h. But you'll never reach that speed in the city, I hope.
The throttle response is very neat, if the speed isn't too high. Up to 60 km/h, it'll easily go with the traffic flow.
If you go above that, it'll all become a tad slower. If you release the throttle, braking on the engine isn't that effective.
It only does so very slightly. You aren't able to drive this car with one pedal, and you don't have to, because the brakes are very good.
What's nice to mention when I'm talking about the brakes, is that it's a very conventional system with a vacuum-pump.
That's very rare in electric cars nowadays. But that's why there's a small vacuum pump underneath the bonnet.
Despite the fact it's a relatively simple system, Dacia has worked it out perfectly. The transition between regenerative braking and...
mechanical braking is almost seemless. Good job there.
Partly because of its compact battery pack, this car barely tips the scale at a little under 1.000 kg. That makes it a featherweight amongst...
EV's. And because it's a mini-SUV, the car stands relatively high on its wheels, which makes it quite moveable.
However, that doesn't become annoying. Especially if you keep your speeds low and mainly use it in the city.
It's not even uncomfortable or anything.
The steering is relatively light and with a turning circle of only 9,6 metres, it's a very agile city car.
The list of electronic safety systems is very limited. It's got ABS, ESP and a speed limiter, but that's it. The car is so basic,
that mist lights at the back are an optional extra.
What Dacia does offer you is an app which lets you start or stop the charging of the car or to turn on the airconditioning already.
That's a nice feature.
If your demands aren't too high, this Dacia Spring is a very well-priced EV for daily city use.