Dacia Spring EV (2024) Review: Excellent Value for an Urban EV

Like a list? Here's a bully 1 for you. The cheapest car sold successful the US close present is the Nissan Versa, which costs $16,680. For conscionable $15 much you tin person the Mitsubishi Mirage. This Dacia Spring, if it were sold successful the US, would travel successful 3rd astatine astir $19,000.

Why notation the Dacia? Well, the Spring is not an internal-combustion auto, it's a afloat electrical car. Yep, a due road-legal, five-door EV—not a micro-car similar the Wueling Mini oregon Zhidou Rainbow—and 1 that is astir to deed the UK marketplace astatine a starting terms of little than £15,000 new.

If the Spring were disposable successful the US, it would beryllium the cheapest American-sold EV by a state mile, besting the Nissan Leaf by much than $9,000.

Who is Dacia? Good question. Pronounced “Dah-chee-ah,” it is simply a Romanian automaker that is portion of the Renault radical and known for inexpensive and cheerful cars that connection amazingly bully value. What's more, its prima has been connected the emergence for the past fewer years successful Europe. As impervious of this, I cognize of much than 1 nonrecreational car reviewer who has bought an all-wheel-drive Dacia Duster with—whisper it—their ain money.

Now, acknowledgment to an awesome caller duo astatine the plan helm, incoming Dacias person looks that belie their terms point. Check retired the caller Duster, arriving successful the UK successful conscionable a fewer months; oregon the imaginable seven-seat Bigster, landing adjacent twelvemonth to springiness the remainder of the European SUV marketplace a superior tally for their money. The accomplishment of the all-electric Spring tantalizingly signals what's to travel from Dacia. If it carries connected similar this, you could beryllium looking astatine the benignant of marque rebirth Hyundai and Kia person enjoyed.

Cute, Capable

The urban-focused Spring embodies the Dacia attack to car making: There are nary excessive frills, conscionable the toys you need; the powerfulness is sufficient, due to the fact that nary 1 needs supercar speeds betwixt postulation lights; and the scope is acceptable for aggregate metropolis trips, not interstate missions.

This, of course, is however the Spring manages to outgo truthful small and measurement little than a tonne (984 kilograms), which we should punctual you would beryllium applauded for immoderate interior combustion car—but this is an EV. It should beryllium much expensive, and it should person much heft, but it doesn't.

The value redeeming besides makes consciousness of the numbers, which astatine archetypal glimpse look laughably small: From October, UK customers tin plump for either a 44-bhp exemplary oregon a 64-bhp one. The artillery is conscionable 26.8 kWh, but acknowledgment to the deficiency of value it's bully for 140 miles of scope connected either model. You don't adjacent request an EV partition container to complaint this happening up, conscionable plug it into a regular socket and it volition beryllium afloat charged overnight (or nether 11 hours).

If you bash hook it up to a location 7-kW partition box, that fill-up volition instrumentality astir 4 hours, supposedly. The higher-powered Spring tin negociate 30 kW, and truthful with that “modest” artillery you tin spell from 20 to 80 percent successful an acceptable 45 minutes.