Dacia has re-launched its enormously popular Spring electric car, and this time the dinky EV will be built with right-hand drive, and will get an Irish launch later this year. Already 140,000 Springs have already been sold across continental Europe.
The new Spring updates the styling of the existing model — which has been on sale in on the continent since 2021 — giving it a sharper look at the front end, with the new Dacia ‘DC’ badging, and a sleeker grille. There are also new rear lights and the Dacia name spelled out across the boot.
In keeping with the Spring’s minimalist brief, the edges of the bumpers and wheelarches are left unpainted, so as to resist scratches and scuffs (or just so that you don’t have to care one way or the other).
Inside, there’s been a general upgrade to give the Spring a slightly more high-quality feel, with some trim and switches from the new Duster SUV, and the addition of a big 10-inch touchscreen for higher-end versions. For more basic versions, there’s a seven-inch screen, and Dacia keeps the (really rather useful) smartphone clamp on the dashboard, and a downloadable app that allows you to connect the car to the phone and vice-versa.
The instrument panel is a simple digital screen, while there’s also Dacia’s ‘YouClip’ connectors scattered around the dashboard, allowing buyers to upgrade the cabin with snap-on accessories such as a phone holder, extra cupholders, or even a lidded glovebox (as standard the Spring just gets an open shelf on the dash). Eventually, buyers will be able to download the specifications of the YouClip design and 3D-print their own accessories at home. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Sunday…
The Spring has also been given a safety upgrade, with the addition of lane-keeping steering, a driver attention monitor, and autonomous emergency braking so as to keep it in line with the latests European GSR2 safety regulations. That said, it remains to be seen what kind of safety rating the Spring might get from Euro NCAP. The current Spring gets only a one-star rating, and the car on which it’s based — the Renault Kwid, sold only in emerging markets around the world — has been pilloried by Global NCAP for its poor safety record.
Nonetheless, the Spring is likely to be popular, not least because of its price. Originally, the Spring launched in 2021 with a price tag of just €16,000. Inflation and that extra safety equipment will inevitably increase that number, but it should arrive in Ireland with a price close to or less than €20,000 — that would make it by a considerable margin the most affordable electric car on the market.
The Spring doesn’t have the longest range — just 220km, using a 26.8kWh battery — but the upshot of that small battery is that it weighs less than one-tonne, making it the lightest EV around by a long stroke.
In continental Europe, the Spring comes with a choice of 45hp or 65hp electric motors, but it’s important to note that only the higher-power version comes with DC rapid charging, although ‘rapid’ is a relative term given that it can handle only 30kW of DC power. All versions can charge at 11kW on AC power, though. The high-spec Extreme model will be able to send power back out to other devices, via a 220-volt connection.
In mainland Europe, where public transport services are generally decent, that tiny battery seems to do the trick nicely. Indeed, Denis Le Vot, Dacia’s chief executive, has said that he would happily ‘snap the Spring’s battery in half’ to get its price point down, as the average owner only drives 37km in a day, and that at an average speed of 37km/h.
In Ireland, where public transport is less reliable and more sporadic, and people have to rely on their cars a lot more, it remains to be seen if the Spring’s combo of low price, but also short range, will chime with buyers.
