The unique selling point of the Dacia Spring is obviously its price. At €16,990 for the entry-level model, it is Ireland’s cheapest electric car and is produced by a company that operates a straight forward no-frills production system under the Renault umbrella.
Even the more expensive version, which has a 65 horsepower output as compared to the entry-level’s 45 modest horsepower, comes in at just under €20,000.
Both prices made headlines when they were announced but have since been nudged out of the limelight by the arrival in Ireland of the Hyundai Inster, which Hyundai has managed to deliver at a rather remarkable €18,995 - some 25 per cent less than its selling price in both the UK and Germany.
So what does one need to consider when looking at the Spring? Quite a lot, actually.
Firstly, if you don’t have a home charger you are going to have issues around charging. Secondly, if your driving requirements require travel outside city limits you are going to have concerns around range anxiety. And, thirdly, if you need to get more than two people into the car you are going to have some difficulties in that regard too. There are also questions about its current EuroNCAP crash safety ratings.
The Spring is tiny compared to other cars. It’s 3.7 metres long and 1.8 metres wide and it sits on a 2.4 metre wheelbase. With the driver’s seat extended to its maximum travel, which still isn’t enough to accommodate taller drivers such as me.
I managed to get my left leg into the available space between the front and rear seats and that’s pretty much as far as I could get. If you need space for more than two people then this is something to look closely at.
There are two versions of the Spring, the Expression and Extreme. The Expression has outputs of 45 and 65 horsepower and the Extreme has 65 horsepower. The former cost €16,990 and €18,790 respectively, while the Extreme costs €19,990.
The interior of the car has a lot of hard plastic and the front seats are tall and narrow, which can make them a bit uncomfortable for some. In keeping with the budget nature of the car, you’ll need to move up from the entry-level version to get the 10" centre screen and even then you will have to mirror your phone to get satellite navigation.
When it comes to range, the driving experience was interesting. The 65 horsepower version I drove has a claimed range of 225 kilometres but with the battery charged to 100 per cent, the available range on the car was 201 kilometres.
The weather was mild rather than cold, which can affect range substantially.
After driving almost 100km, the battery charge indicated a remaining range of 71 kilometres, or 38 per cent capacity. In other words, the real range overall was more like 170 kilometres rather than the claimed 225.
Dacia says that the majority of its EV owners only travel about 35 kms per day or so, with home charging (the Spring can only charge at 30 kWh on a fast charger but will manage to get from 20 to 80 per cent charge status on an 11 kWh home charger in about four hours) then this may be feasible. Fast charging from 20 to 80 per cent will require about 45 minutes.
These figures do raise the point about what to do when contemplating a longer journey.
The Spring is a car for sedate driving. A combination of light steering and body roll in demanding corners is an issue and speed bumps have rather a dramatic effect on the car.
Road noise at speed is also significant, with an Arctic howl evident at motorway speeds. The city really is its comfort zone.
Standard equipment on the entry-level car includes 15" steel wheels, a 7" digital instrument cluster, height-adjustable (but not reach adjustable) steering wheel, power steering, a media control system with USB port, speed limiter, cruise control, steering wheel radio control, central locking with remote control, electric front windows, rear parking radars, a 12V socket, manual air conditioning, 15-inch wheels.
Standard equipment brings us to a significant issue around the car’s EuroNCAP crash test results. The car was last tested in 2021 and is not due to be tested again until 2027. In that test, the Spring was awarded one star out of five, with a rating of 49 per cent for the protection of adult occupants and a rating of 56 per cent for child safety.
Dacia says it doesn’t comment on NCAP ratings. It’s my understanding that there has been an ongoing standoff between the company and the NCAP organisation - the main European safety testing body, with Dacia arguing that its cars meet European safety standards and that NCAP is insisting that higher tech safety features be standard to achieve a better star rating.
The Spring does have features such as electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes and multiple airbags. Adding more advanced features has cost implications for Dacia, so therein lies the question for people considering buying a Spring with its budget price.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
