One of the objections that people have against electric driving is the purchase price. And let’s face it: an EV is not cheap. However, budget brand Dacia is now changing that with the mischievous and affordable Spring.
Enthusiasts of affordable driving have been anxiously waiting for the day when the only car brand would make the switch to electric without fuss, in a way that only Dacia can do. And that moment has come with the introduction of the Dacia Spring. It is the cheapest EV on the market, not counting the Renault Twizy. And make no mistake, even the entry-level model of €18,250 has air conditioning. After deduction of the subsidy (€3,350 in 2022), €14,900 remains at the bottom of the line: less than fifteen grand for a new EV! It is therefore not so surprising that Dacia has already recorded more than 40,000 orders for Europe. The Spring may only just be on sale, but the model has been around since 2015, when it appeared as a Renault Kwid for India, among others, where you can get it for less than €5,000. That is with a petrol engine, not electric. For an electric one, you had to rely on the Renault City K-ZE, a small one that can be found in China. There it is also sold as Dongfeng. Thanks in part to the high production numbers, the price can remain low.
For everyone who has only seen the Spring in photos, in this case again, first something about the dimensions. In the pictures it looks bigger than it is. With its length of 3.73 meters, it is 20 centimeters longer than the second generation Fiat Panda, in terms of width and height they hardly differ from each other. In the front you sit almost shoulder to shoulder and in the back there is room for two. Kind of then, because the legroom is lousy. The bench could have been reclined a few inches at the expense of luggage space. With a capacity of 300 liters (Panda 206 litres), it is relatively large.
jump jumps
The seat cannot be lowered, the steering wheel is not adjustable, the headlight height adjustment is via a cable. Curtain airbags in the rear are missing, as are cup holders in the front. Strangely enough, we do see electrically operated windows in the rear doors, a true excess for this car. The engine is good for 44 hp and 125 Nm of torque, which ensures a 0-100 sprint in 20.8 seconds. However, you should not look at that at all, because in traffic the Spring comes along just fine and only above 100 km/h does the spunk look good. The silent electric motor lifts the driving experience to a higher level, since you usually have an enthusiastic and clearly audible three-cylinder rumble in an A-segment car. It is really special how much effect this has on comfort. You sit pretty well in the front and there is sufficient head and legroom. As for suspension, it’s a different story: the Spring sometimes jumps quite a bit. The suspension travel is short, the damping is firm. Despite the low center of gravity, the carriage leans quite a bit in bends and the seat does not hold you in place; on the highway it is sensitive to crosswinds. Cruise control is missing, but there is a limiter, so you set it to 104 km/h and then all you have to do is press your foot on the power pedal. Recuperating does not really do the powertrain very strongly. It does slow down slightly on the engine and then recharge, but it is absolutely not possible to drive with one pedal. The equipment does not disappoint. There is even an on-board computer and the infotainment system can handle Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There is also navigation and digital radio. The system can be operated partly from the steering wheel.
From Arnhem to Groningen
Unnoticed during the test week we made a lot of kilometers with that silly Spring and only a few times we stood for 15 minutes at a fast charger (up to 30 kW, option of €495, always do), otherwise we only charged while parking. We got 185 km once, with 4 percent left after that. If you go all out in the summer, you can even reach 250 km. Anyway, it may be a city car, but it will take you with the same ease from Arnhem to your aunt in Groningen with a short charging stop on the way. Once at the destination you put it at the regular pole and you leave again in a fully loaded Dacia. If you really do your best and don’t go fast charging, you can go back and forth for less than 17 euros.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl