The one thing stopping me switching to an electric car? The eye-watering prices most manufacturers charge, on account of those huge batteries being mighty expensive to build. The Dacia Spring was an affordable EV exception, but wasn’t sold on my side of the English Channel. That’s now changed in time for an extensive mid-life refresh, with UK order books opening for the first time.
Europe’s most wallet-friendly electric car has been given an overhauled exterior, more tech-savvy interior and a trio of trim levels for 2024, while keeping the same bargain pricing that made the first one an ideal urban traveller. It looks especially slick from the front, with Dacia’s new logo now front and centre of a pared-back bumper.
Dacia has also ditched the roof rails found on the pre-facfelift car, largely because OG Spring customers just weren’t using ’em for the short hops the car was best suited to. That helps save weight, making this the only electric car to weigh less than a tonne – even in top-level trim.
Inside, the dashboard has been entirely replaced with a new screen-centric layout. On entry-level cars infotainment is handled via the steering wheel and displayed on the 7in digital instrument cluster; higher spec models get a separate 10in touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Crucially the Spring is still a car, with four seats, a boot, and stellar 5-star NCAP safety rating; budget-minded electric alternatives like the Citroen Ami are quadricycles, with limited top speeds. That’s not to say you’ll be tearing up the Tarmac behind the wheel of one, though.
Entry-level cars get a 45hp electric motor, which is good for 0-60mph in “less than 20 seconds”, according to Dacia. That’s pretty leisurely. A more powerful 65hp variant drops that sprint time to under 14 seconds. That said, I usually average no more than 5mph through city centres, so performance isn’t really top of my list of wants in a commuter car.
The 26.8kWh battery can manage 136 miles per charge, so you’re not going to be crossing continents in one without a lot of charging breaks, but it’ll easily do the average work commute (in both directions). A smaller battery should mean charging doesn’t take an eternity, either.
The Spring will land in three trim levels. The Essential gets the 7in digital instrument cluster, along with cruise control, rear parking sensors and electric front windows. A mid-level Expression spec gets the more powerful 65hp motor, along with 15in wheels and manual air conditioning.
The top-tier Extreme model adds the separate 10in infotainment touchscreen with sat-nav; electric rear windows; copper exterior and interior trim; and a bi-directional charger for topping up other gadgets from the car’s battery.
UK pricing is still TBC, but should be revealed in the next month ahead of order books opening. The old car started at €17,300 in France, and I’m hoping this new one will sneak under the £20,000 mark here.
Related: Will the Apple Car ever happen? All the latest rumours
