The electric small car Dacia Spring is new after just three years. Not only does it look really good, it also remains pretty cheap at 16,900 euros.
Only three years old - and already in the second spring. The Dacia Spring, which was launched in 2021 as a cheap electric car that took some getting used to, will become a cheap electric car with character and respectable looks in early summer 2024. The Romanian Renault subsidiary sold 140,000 examples of the first generation, including 31,000 in Germany. The facelift has a good chance of doing just as well. Why? Because there is still a lack of competition. Affordable electromobility is still a rarity. This year, Stellantis is one of the few competitors to bring the Citroën C3 Electric onto the market, a model that will cost less than 25,000 euros. The closely related electric Fiat Panda will be presented in July, but sales will not take place until the end of the year and the ID.2 will not be launched at the VW Group until 2026 at the earliest.
Dacia Spring: A success story without steering wheel adjustment
You couldn't be more pragmatic. When the Renault Group was planning an affordable electric car and thus demonstrated foresight, it simply knocked on the door of the Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng. Apart from the sheet metal, an existing model was quickly adapted, labeled as a Dacia, and offered to the public at a price of just over 20,000 euros. A mild grin may have crossed the faces of one or two German company executives. A Romanian car with Chinese roots, and electric too! But the Dacia Spring prevailed. In addition, with the meager power of 45 HP (later optionally 65 HP) and a small battery (27.4 kWh net) with a maximum range of 220 kilometers and equipment that, if you want to be friendly, can be described as asceticism. You couldn't even adjust the steering wheel.
In contrast to the drivetrain, which was completely taken over from its predecessor, almost everything else changes in the new Spring. Even the valance can now be adjusted mechanically, at least in height. When it comes to appearance, you can no longer speak of a facelift. What the designers have done is a real transplant. K and K, crisp and bold, the Stromer is now on the road. The white stylized road maps in the front and rear bumpers are eye-catching. Appears urbane. Individualization depending on where the buyer lives is also being considered. The new You Clip system is also funny, with which you can subsequently attach accessories such as lamps or smartphone holders.
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The Dacia Spring can even charge an e-bike
The interior also appears fresher. White accent surfaces (for example the glove compartment) give the Spring a friendly touch. The brand-forming horizontal Y can be found not only in the headlights as daytime running lights or in the rear lights, but also on the dashboard in the color copper, which stands for the highest equipment level, Extreme. Speaking of equipment: Customers will look in vain for the stripped-down basic model with mechanical window regulators and plastic stubs for mirror adjustment in Germany because it is simply not offered. Dacia, which has another affordable car on offer with the Sandero, offers a special extra that is not normally found in the small car class: the power-to-load function. The car battery can be tapped using an adapter, for example to charge an electric bike. It would be rare for someone to take an espresso machine with them for a walk in the forest. But it works perfectly, as Dacia showed us in a small demo.
The adapter fits well into the new Frunk under the hood (35 liters), as does the charging cable. Because we're on the practical side of things: In the not-so-lavish basic equipment “Essential” and “Expression” there is a 7-inch digital speedometer, but you can use your cell phone for other vehicle functions, and you even have your own built-in one It has a holder in the dashboard and is connected wirelessly. The “Extreme” comes with a 10-inch infotainment system with real-time traffic information as standard. And Dacia has also sharpened the assistants: from traffic sign recognition to speed pilot to parking assistance, at least the most important functions are on board. If you want more, you have to resort to the Opel Corsa Electric, but it costs correspondingly more.
Technical data Dacia Spring 65
Drive: front
Peak power: 48 kW (65 HP)
Torque: 113 Nm
0 – 100 km/h: 13.7 s
V. max: 125 km/h
Battery capacity: 26.8 kWh (net)
Charging power (max): 7.4 kW (AC) / 33 kW (DC)
Consumption: 14.6 kWh / 100 km
Range: 220 km
Length / width / height: 3.70 / 1.58 / 1.52
Wheelbase: 2.42
Empty weight / payload: 948 / 250 kg
Trunk: 308 – 1,004 l
Price basic model Essential: 16,900 euros
Price Spring Extreme: 19,900 euros
Our conclusion about the new Dacia Spring
The ugly duckling has become, if not yet a swan, at least a proud little swan. When it comes to charging and range, everything remains the same - but Dacia emphasizes that most of its customers don't drive more than 70 kilometers a day and that 75 percent of Spring owners charge at home. Weighing under a ton, Dacia's electric car is actually good for consumption of under 15 kWh. The question remains about the acquisition costs: Dacia was unable to maintain the extremely discounted 13,000 euros for the facelift. But 16,900 euros for a fully electric new car – that’s a price that’s impressive.
Rudolf Bögel