First drive: DACIA SPRING – sub £20k electric hatch finally comes to the UK | Electrifying

#daciaspring # #electriccars

Read the evaluation:

has officially validated that the Spring will be coming to the UK in 2024, with an 'enhanced' variation which has improvements in design and devices over the existing cars and truck. The standard hardware – battery, motor, etc – will be the exact same though.

The five-door supermini has proved a definite success throughout Europe, with more than 120,000 customer orders put since its launch.Three quarters of all sales have actually been to individual personal consumers instead of fleets, with Spring is the main methods of transport throughout the week for homes, even when there is another vehicle they can utilize.

There is a choice of 2 variants– the Spring Extreme ELECTRIC 65 and Spring Essential ELECTRIC 45. Besides the extra power in the 65, which we'll get to later, the Extreme has some funkier little bits of trim within and out which are designed to make it look more rugged.

The 26.8 kWh battery isn't substantial by contemporary standards but is larger than the very first generation Nissan Leaf's and gives the little an official variety of 140 miles in blended conditions, with a few more in the area. Charging is by means of a three-pin plug as standard, although this takes 14 hours to completely fill the batteries.

A wallbox cuts that time to five hours, while DC rapid charging is an optional extra. It can just accept an optimum of 30kW but will take the power pack to 80% in less than an hour. The genuine disappointment is the absence of any regenerative braking ability. This is a key part of all other EVs and includes noticably to the efficiency, as the braking energy get put back into the battery. But it's expensive and this automobile is all about keeping cost low. So you still need to brake yourself, like with old-fashioned petrol cars and trucks.

The other sacrifice for the low cost is around security. The little Dacia scored simply one star in the independent Euro NCAP rankings, although remarkably this is actually better than Zoe!

Join Tom as he puts the current Spring through its rates in the UK for the very first time. Have you been waiting for the Spring? Will it be on your shortlist for 2024? Let us know in the comments below.

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Comments

41 responses to “First drive: DACIA SPRING – sub £20k electric hatch finally comes to the UK | Electrifying”

  1. Mika Davies Avatar
    Mika Davies

    Whilst you only TOUCH THE SUBJECT… You are right that the Spring might cost LESS per month than your current petrol bill…. As an example I used to spend £150/mth on diesel but now spend just £25/mth on electric. So the correct PCP could see you buying the Spring and run it for £150/mth….!!

  2. Gary Ayres Avatar
    Gary Ayres

    May I remind everyone about the fact that Two Years ago we were told that the Ora Cat was going to be launched in the U.K. at about £18k and look how that worked out!

    1. Geordi La Forgery Avatar
      Geordi La Forgery

      Yeah old PR trick. If this car is sold for under £20k it’ll come a tiny range battery and two holes in the floor so you can drive around like the flintstones.

    2. Paul N Avatar
      Paul N

      Ye of little faith…..

    3. Gary Ayres Avatar
      Gary Ayres

      @Geordi La Forgery Oh the basic Ora Cat was going to have a range of 180 miles with the top of the range at £22k instead the only one available in the U.K. is the Ora “Funky” Cat which is the basic one at over £22k- Rip Off because the Dealers want too much profit. PS it is not selling.

    4. D T Avatar
      D T

      Ora Cat never promised 18k. At least get your facts right. Ora promised 25k

    5. Gary Ayres Avatar
      Gary Ayres

      @D T No they did not, around the rest of the world it’s around the equiv. of £28k Sunshine.

  3. Trixie Pickle Avatar
    Trixie Pickle

    Got the new version 3 wks ago. Living in France, took advantage of the scheme here and traded in my 21 yr old Toyota diesel. Absolutely love it. I live in the countryside, winding lanes, narrow and hilly. A round trip of 20 km to the nearest petrol station. I charge from a box at home, 3 hours. But it would charge o/night if required. No problem. I am quite small but can honestly say haven’t noticed lack of space inside – the dog has the back seat. Enjoy driving it, nippy enough and great to park. Sorted.

    1. Kalique Bolem Titus Abrasax Avatar
      Kalique Bolem Titus Abrasax

      Can I just ask is it true that in France, the french just run there cars until they break and don’t worry about second-hand car values.

    2. MOSS FEEN Avatar
      MOSS FEEN

      @Kalique Bolem Titus Abrasax ????? no

  4. SHROOMY Avatar
    SHROOMY

    Just buy a Mii Electric or Citigo iV. No, they don’t make them anymore but you can find plenty with next to no miles near brand new and you can avoid this horrid thing, get more range, almost the same trunk capacity, *double the horsepower and torque,* etc. The Spring would’ve been an appropriate price at it’s original price in China, but when they brought the car to Europe they had to fit so much more safety, reinforcement etc. that it made the car much heavier and more expensive without actually upgrading the experience at all. There’s a reason the value of these halves when it’s out the lot.

  5. Michael Goode Avatar
    Michael Goode

    As you asked: I’ll take the used VW please.

  6. michael edwards Avatar
    michael edwards

    It might be the cheapest but for 5 grand more the MG 4 is far superior and with advances in battery technology there will be many cars coming within 12 months that will be superior for the same or less money, I currently drive a Dacia Sandero, 2022 model and it is built quite well, doors close with a nice firm clunk, feels solid, but the price has doubled in the past 2 years which means with discounts there are other cars near its price, Skoda have done the same by increasing their prices as small cars cost a lot to build

    1. drxym Avatar
      drxym

      5 grand definitely buys a better, more performant, spacious and safer car. I wouldn’t be surprised if there will be 2 or 3 rivals to the Spring in the next year selling for a similar price but considerably better spec.

    2. Brian Avatar
      Brian

      @drxym It has to come. Car makers will have little option but to offer similar small-ish EV commuter city cars if they want a slice of the cake….

  7. Ismael Magalhães Avatar
    Ismael Magalhães

    Used Corsa…and i’m glad with my choice.

  8. Remo Barcellone Avatar
    Remo Barcellone

    When they first announced the Spring, I thought it’d sell big in the UK. Glad that this model will be available here!

    1. Brian Avatar
      Brian

      I’m not so sure. Ok, the basics are there, but this is a tiny car. It is a tad smaller and narrower than a Fiat 500. As a commuter car it’s a winner, but if you have dogs or kids, forget it….

    2. Remo Barcellone Avatar
      Remo Barcellone

      @Brian and so you don’t buy this then? Lol. People with certain use cases and circumstances buy a car to fit that requirement? Your point is like saying if you’ve got dogs and children you wouldn’t buy a fiat 500.. well of course? You’d need something bigger. It’s a redundant point in my opinion.

      The Spring could be a good car!

    3. Brian Avatar
      Brian

      @Remo Barcellone No, I wouldn’t buy it. I got a Kia eNiro 3 years ago…..

    4. Remo Barcellone Avatar
      Remo Barcellone

      @Brian cool. 🤷‍♂️

    5. KJM Avatar
      KJM

      ​@BrianBack when I was younger, my dad used to drive us around in a diesel 3-door Clio mk2. If that can be a family car, then you can best believe the Spring can be 😂

  9. Grizzly HP2 Avatar
    Grizzly HP2

    We have the Dacia Spring in the Netherlands for several years, it is no substitute for a car that you use to travel outside the city.
    What i mean, is that a standard weekend trip of 250km is not doable.
    IRL it can do a max range of between 100 to 130km. It only has a usable battery of 25kw. Funny cheap city car, nothing more.
    It could be much more, with a 50kwh battery, like 300km range. That would be a better substitute for a normal car.
    Bring it with a 2-door and 50kwh battery version.

  10. James Avatar
    James

    There’s a thing about tightwads, like me too. We tend to notice very small expenses and price rises, but overlook the bigger picture. Which in this case is surely depreciation. What will this tin can be worth in a few years’ time?

    1. charles UK Avatar
      charles UK

      What ever the pcp value is when you hand it back.
      Unless you intend to pay the balloon payment and keep the car, you would be better off handing it back and getting the newer and hopefully more improved version ( hopefully ccs with 50kw rapid etc)

    2. James Avatar
      James

      @charles UK but pcp rates will tend to reflect expected depreciation. And tightwads often buy with cash

  11. Gary Smith Avatar
    Gary Smith

    1 year old, 6k mile, Hyundai Kona 39kWhr, or 3 year old 20k mile 64kWhr, both for £19k. If you were going to spend actual cash to buy a car you’d have to really want a brand new car to choose the Spring over the second hand options.

  12. Denver Chaplin Avatar
    Denver Chaplin

    Just picked mine up a couple hours ago. I got the Extreme 65 version for a little under €23k and with the €8k that we get back in subsidy here in Luxembourg it will come in under at just under €15k. Can’t really complain at that price. Obviously I’ve only driven it home from the garage so far but it seemed nice enough to drive. As it’s our second car it will only be used to get me to the office a few times a week and maybe a short supermarket run. Looking forward to driving it some more, be interesting to see how it copes on the motorway.

  13. Shay Whelan Avatar
    Shay Whelan

    For me it is just too small. I live in the countryside. Seems like a great city car… for 2 people.

    1. Brian Avatar
      Brian

      Yes, 2 people and no more. But it does offer an effective commuting solution…..

    2. Shay Whelan Avatar
      Shay Whelan

      @Brian yes, for small commutes, I would say it is great

  14. Rob Smith Avatar
    Rob Smith

    We hired one of these for a few days in Nice through Renault’s Mobilize app. It was a great fun wee car to drive. It handled the hills up to Eze pretty well, was so easy to park in tiny French streets and we found it really efficient. We kept saying it would be a great wee second car to have for a small family/couple.

  15. Patty Isachsen Avatar
    Patty Isachsen

    I’m blown away by the quality of this production. Kudos!

    1. Sam Bomorse Avatar
      Sam Bomorse

      The lack thereof I assume. Who buy this crap when you can have a proper sized electric Citroen E-C3 or VW iD1 for about £1K more!?
      This doesn’t even have side airbags, let alone curtain airbags or AEB. Totally unacceptable. It doesn’t even get cruise control.

    2. Electrifying Avatar
      Electrifying

      I think (hope) he was talking about the review rather than the car…..

  16. Robert Smith Avatar
    Robert Smith

    I’d always go for a nicer used car over a cheaper new one

  17. Zoltán Kovács Avatar
    Zoltán Kovács

    I have 2 Spring, 1 45hp version and this Extreme, the 45 hp is enought for everything, I use it 90% on highway, i did Sopron-Budapest trip with 15 min CCS, and i did also on the 1. day Transylvania-West Hungary trip also. After 10 months in the clock is 30.000 km, this week i have to go to the service after 30k km, it will cost 80 euros.

    Ohhh, and i bought it for 8900 euros, the Extreme was 13600….

    One of the best car

  18. hellcat1988 Avatar
    hellcat1988

    If they had one of those £18k models over here, across the pond, they would sell orders of magnitude faster than they could make them. If they could build them here, it’d be even better with the government tax incentives. Too bad about the range though.

  19. rukasuara Avatar
    rukasuara

    We have one and it does regen more when you press the brake pedal, I don’t know how you tested it but there’s a kW display where you can see it happening

    1. Electrifying Avatar
      Electrifying

      There is no regen linked to the brakes. It just works on the throttle. There is some ‘engine braking’ effect when you lift off the throttle pedal but there is no extra regen when you touch the brake.

  20. matt weller Avatar
    matt weller

    Great to have a new video from Tom.

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