Small hatchback will be the UK’s cheapest new electric car when it arrives On sale Summer 2024 Price from £20,000 (est)
Lawrence Cheung lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com
THE FIRST STEP in healthy living is to remove the excess fat from your diet. Stick to nutritious essentials and the pounds will soon fall off, and that also explains how the electric Dacia Spring carries such an alluringly lean price tag.
Set to proudly assume the title of the UK’s cheapest new electric car when it goes on sale, the circa-£20,000 Spring will substantially undercut our current favourite small electric car, the MG 4 EV (which starts at £26,995).
Before we go any further, we should point out that the car we’re testing here is the current European-market model; the UK will get a refreshed version. The changes are unlikely to be radical, though; it’ll still be a small hatchback with an air of SUV style, but with front-wheel drive and next to no off-road ability.
Two power outputs will be available: 44bhp and 64bhp. Both of these grant the same top speed (78mph), but the less powerful version’s languid 19.1sec 0-62mph time suggests it’ll be more at home in the city than on the open road.
The 64bhp version, however, is quite sprightly at low speeds, as well as being able to keep up with motorway traffic. You might not want to do that too often, though; the current model is noisier than all its rivals, with a lot more ruckus kicked up by the tyres, wind and electric motor.
It’s clear that pricier rivals are more sophisticated and better suited to lengthy journeys. While the current Spring’s soft suspension soaks up the worst of most bumps, it becomes choppy and struggles to settle down at speed. The raised ride height also means there’s lots of body lean when cornering and vertical movement over undulations, so long trips are likely to be tiring for all on board. And while the steering has a keen initial response, it does little to inspire confidence when tackling corners any faster than you’d drive around town.
In keeping with that headline-grabbing price, the Spring has a small battery with a 25kWh usable capacity, and the 44bhp version has a modest official range of 149 miles. For the 64bhp version, this dips to 136 miles. That’s farther than the entry-level Fiat 500 Electric (118 miles) will take you, but it’s no match for the MG 4 SE’s 218 miles.
To maximise the Spring’s real-world range, you can select an ‘Eco’ drive mode to limit the maximum power output to 31bhp and the top speed to 62mph. Regenerative braking also helps to recover energy when you’re slowing do
