I have one, Extreme model, for more than a month (done around 1200 miles already - in Romania). I want to say something that nobody is telling about. You have the app (My Dacia) and you can do some good things with that: check the charging status, check the location of the car, and most important thing, you can preheat the car interior for those cold mornings. I do this all the time, I start the interior heating from my app, and when I go to the car in the parking lot, is already warm inside, and no ice or snow on my windows. The range on cold weather we have here in Romania (-3 to 5 degrees Celsius) is around 110-120 miles.
@@marks-0-0 Yes. Now in the winter, I always do this. With 5 minutes before I go down to my car, I start the heating option on my smartphone. The app is called "My Dacia". It has a few good features. Such as charging history. Last time I had some snow, and when I arrived at the car, the snow started already to melt from the windows.
Excellent review. I was very interested to see the Spring taken out its comfort zone at 70 mph in the outside lane on the M25 and then into a very tightly constricted multi story car park scenario. This perfectly demonstrated that the car was not necessarily limited solely to urban environments. I am confident that the Spring will be a resounding sales success in the UK.
Excellent thorough review. Thank you! I am so excited and waiting (impatiently) for my Dacia Spring Extreme, which I will be getting early January 2025.
Looks great - can’t see me trading my 4 year old electric mini in for it anytime soon, but very functional, good value, and would suit a lot of people who just need a small car for those local trips you describe in the video and don’t need a faster or more luxurious car because they don’t spend that much time in it. My daughter is buying a 2 year old corsa-e for a 27 mile commute - the original buyer of that corsa lost more money in 2 years than the top spec Dacia costs new - looks a great new option - good review 😊
Thank you for your review. I test drove and ordered an Extreme today to replace a 2003 Yaris 1.0. It’ll mostly be used for school runs and shopping. I was very impressed with how it handled, boot size and the equipment in it. I’ll definately be ordering a wireless phone charger for the hook system. I look forward to picking ours up shortly (circa 10 days). It’ll be my first EV. Currently they come with a free home charger and 0% APR too.
@@marks-0-0They can’t give them away here. Knocked 20% off list price already and it’s only just been released. In three years they’ll probably be worth £3-4,000.
Great review, this car and this Extreme model in particular has me seriously thinking about going electric when I sell my petrol peugeot 208 next year. The price and the equipment you get for that is very appealing. Well done Dacia!
Great stuff! Well done to Dacia for delivering such a simple car. Free from all the bloated, expensive lumps of electronic lard that's so prevalent nowadays. Even the wheels are nice and small. Love it.
Great in-depth review. Great car with some compelling reasons for consideration. What I find attractive is practically. I think I've only had people in the back of my car once in the past 3 years, so I don't really bother with the back seat led room. Once you have your dials and knobs setup, apart from lights, wipers and maybe demist I rarely change anything. I have a heated steering wheel and seats I never use in my current EV. As long as I can use android auto and have enough range for my 40 mile commute in winter I think I'll be happy to use a spring.
Looked at in isolation the Spring and the LeapMotor look to be in a class of 2 for sub £20k EVs. It seems to me however that it is possible that they are in wider competition if you care to look. If you are prepared to go down the used route a low mileage Mazda RX30 can be had for much the same price. It will have the same range but a much superior fit and finish. Then there are the Zoe, 500e, MGs etc. The issue the Spring MAY have (I don't know yet) is that the statistics show that 80% or so of new cars are bought on purchase plans. Such plans are commonly used by manufacturers to boost sales by way of finance contributions. My point is that the Spring could easily find itself up against the Citroen EC3, Fiat Grande Panda and the like depending on the PCP value. For a lot of new car buyers (80%) the headline cost is meaningless. The competition is not what else you can buy for £15k but what a monthly payment of £150/£200/£250 etc can get you and how much you are required to put down as deposit.
In the UK at least, Dacia do terribly in fleet sales, but are number 1 in private sales. So I'm guessing they don't do the bulk deals for the fleets but the private pcp must be competitive.
You are right, but I think Renault (like many other manufacturers) are offering - through their finance company - low monthly rates for clients that are buying their new cars
FINALLY !!!!! A decently and honestly priced electric car !!!!! All other brands - watch and learn!!!!! This is how you dominate the electric car market.
Yep, I completely agree. We are getting totally ripped off here in Europe due to stupid tariffs.... BYD Seagull is another good example - costs just £8000 in China and by the time its allowed to be sold here it will cost at least double that !!!
Brilliant test of a brilliant car! Takes into account what the car is intended for. What I missed is the actual consumption during the test. With a small battery, this is more important than usual.
I really like it. I think it will sell really well. It looks really good and i would imagine most sales will be the top model. Glad Dacia brought it to the UK.
Was hoping you’d review this Bryan. It’s a possible for my next company car as I’ve found 95% of my daily use on my current EV is under 100 miles and this will easily charge up overnight, even with a 3-Pin plug. May ultimately be a little small for me, but have to commend Dacia for bringing out a city car that truly does compete in every way with ICE city cars.
This car will excel in places such as central London where the average speed of traffic is 18 mph. Also outer London at average 23mph. The 0 to 30 dash from the lights will be quick. Some of the colours such as the Orange or this Blue will be funky & cool for city users. This car has a very small turning circle and can be parked in the smallest spaces. Great car, better than anything for the price for inner city dwellers.
I love it and wish I could get one in the U.S. The only thing that may kill the value of this car is the Hyundai Inster. This is cheaper, but the Inster can be your only car, if need be, with the additional range and charging speed.
ICE engine car insurance is considerably cheaper than electric cars - i got a quote for a Spring 2450 Vs 325 on my sandero think I will use my ICE until the wheels fall off
Looks to have good ground clearance. I drove a panda across the unpaved roads of Fuertaventure desert and it was better than some big cars. I bet this would be the same.
I really like it but in my opinion you need more range, it needs to be double at least. 140 miles means travelling becomes a huge challenge and I know I have tried.
Its cheap and cheerful and thats acceptable. So would make a great second car. But for many like us we only have one car and it needs to do all journeys. To drive to my family its 150 miles away. That currently takes about 2h20min in the current Citroen C1. The spring would likely need two stops on the way and make the journey about 3h30min. Thats a substantial amount more. The leapmotors T03 should in theory manage it with a single shorter stop due to its bigger battery and faster charging. Maybe in a few years when battery prices drop further they will offer a bigger battery with faster charging which will give the car its edge back. I prefer the car but its not quite usable in its current form, for me at least. But i thought it was a good balanced review. 👍
Hi , Great little ev. I'd get one. Re the bi directional ability. Is there a bi directional charger that could potentially feed the house V2 H . Thanks
Tempted as a replacement for my E-208, as my other car is a diesel Peugeot 308 Estate, used for tip runs and the like. Would like to replace that as the next step, but if it could replace BOTH..? Will look at my local dealers, as never considered a Dacia, not even as a `French` car? Shurely shome mishtake..! Will look at insurance costs too. A manual hand brake? Bloody marvellous!
The Car Park section shows how most UK car parks were always and still are built and marked up too small - as even your standard supermini has grown mainly due to safety feautures installed - the only way around this is that they should be forced to make spaces at least 18 inches (45 centimetres) wider - only most of the ramps should have to be the same additional width as they usually have the same issue - sorry to go off the main subject of the car (Great review by the way) but it has always been a gripe of mine when it comes to car parks even back in the late 80's before cars got wider and longer.
Its the real simplicity I look for, Hence the E-208... And my `coffee stops` are always around 45 minutes so I don't need a `thirty minute charge time`.
I'm considering this car as a first car for myself, but also need a car for transporting a disabled family member. I'd need good boot space for a wheelchair that folds down, and something he can easily step into (not too low), would this be a good option or should I consider something bigger?
I think this would be a decent car for you, but obviously can’t comment on whether the boot will be big enough. Good height for him to get in and out of. Worth looking at.
@ thanks so much for replying 🙏 worst case scenario I’d have to get a new wheelchair but there’s models that can fold down to suitcase size, going to have a look this week and hopefully get it ordered!
I'm going to test drive one tomorrow, but I measured up and it should take my double bass! I'd go to see one with a tape measure, the wheelchair might fit.
Yeah, this EV and ICE car are similar, but the compromise is blindingly obvious. You're stuck in the city with the EV, whereas you can do a road trip in the ICE one. And here's the issue with the average daily mileage argument. You only have to need it for one or two long trips for it to be a non-starter as a replacement for an ICE car. All of the car makers make the incorrect assumption that a small car is a second car that's not required to perform other duties. Small cars make the perfect one and only car in a family, but ONLY if they are capable of the occasional long road trip. Even 200 miles range isn't enough if you're doing a day trip in the UK and you can't use the Tesla Supercharger network. Small cars need options for really big battery packs as well as small ones.
Looks like a great little car. As you’ve said; no compromises. It’s all I’d ever need these days (shopping and visiting family 15 odd miles away) as a single retiree. Now… where’s my nearest Dacia dealer? 😉
The windshield looks really small and the seat looks to be really high up. Is the visibility good enough? I am about 1.80cm. will half of my view be the roof? Because this is what it looks like from the video
It is ideal as a second car. We are very happy with ours. It does everything we need very well. It’s everything you said it is. For long journeys we use my 24 year old Saab 9-5 V6t, which is a bit thirsty on short journeys, and much more difficult to manoeuvre in a tight car park. My wife loves the Spring. I don’t care what it was developed from, it’s not just a re-badged Chinese cast-off. It’s backed by one of the biggest car groups in the world. I think like all Dacias, it will be very successful. It’s cheap on a PCP, too.
Great Video. Great young and older person car. Spoke to Dacia about a test drive last week. They suggested cross shopping with a Renault 5. Now that is Confidence in their product.
Great review, my partner will be leasing the Extreme version and I’m happy you mentioned the Fiat Panda, as she’s a new driver and her first car is a 2005 Auto Panda Dynamic, so great comparison. The Spring will be like driving a futuristic car compared to the Panda 😁 Her company she works for has free charging too, so bonus. We also have a horrible multi-storey car park in our nearest city, which I hate taken my Yarris-Cross too, so the Spring will be perfect, I’m also happy you demonstrated that, as no other car reviewers have done that. Great work once again 👍🏻😊
You can do 100 km and charge 1 hour, 100 km and charge 1 hour, 100 km and charge 1 hour, so on and you would have an uninterrupted average speed of at least 60 km per hour.
There is no battery management (heating/cooling). This limits the life of the battery and also the charging rate. You cant use a really fast charger because the battery will overheat without battery cooling, thats the compromise !
Yes you can ordered this 4 days ago on Motability picking my up 1st March with Motability im due back near on 2000 with 500 charge card its a good deal on Motability
I think the Leapmotor T03 is the other competitor, but that looks really bland on the outside. You are probably going to want a driveway to park this thing in but otherwise the perfect EV for short range drivers. It has front sensors! My MG4 doesn't have front sensors!
My only reservation about Euro NCAP is they are all about driver assistance systems now, not really about passive safety. I’m not saying the Spring is a tank, but I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on them.
Maybe there ought to be a minimum NCAP rating for any new cars registered in the UK? We're about to see lots of cheap EVs from the other side of the world where safety doesn't play such an important role in choosing a vehicle to convey you and your loved ones safely from A to B.
@@Peter_Potato maybe, but there are already people that complain that the regulations have gone too far and that it should be left to the market to decide. The current safety ratings are arguably misguided too. Personally I care about crash tests and reliability of critical systems like brakes and wheels and so on and not automated lane holding, auto braking, speed limiting, cameras, etc. Manufacturers will just add more cheap sensors to game the rating and still undercut european cars with imports.
Carmakers would simply be making electrified versions of their best-selling combustion cars if they were genuinely committed to the phasing out of Infernal Combustion vehicles. They'd also be saving themselves $zillions$€ in new model ground-up development costs... Paul G
First time the Spring has been sold in the UK, so yes, it would appear that we are behind. We can only review cars that we get the chance to get our hands on. And this is the new one, just launched, so we are still one of the first UK channels to review the car here in the UK.
There is a limited amount of cars on Dacia’s press fleet, so when we book a car, we have to take what they have at that time. Purely availability that’s all.
The one star crash rating puts me off and I think the Leepmotors t-03 is probably better value for money. It will be interesting to see the t-03 crash rating in due course. Non the less what you will save on petrol with both cars will go some way to them paying for themselves.
When I go to Waitrose in Byres Road in Glasgow I never take my E-nero because the size, the space of the parking bays and the massively high kerbs. I take my Wife's Zoe. I know exactly what you mean.
YEP…….And they lie about the range too. 140 miles…..that’s only if you don’t use the heater or A/C. Realistically, the range is about 80 miles and as you need to allow a reserve for queuing to recharge……. I would prefer a range of over 200 miles to avoid range anxiety
Id have no issue using my own phone over a info screen. Id buy a second hand 3 year old ipad min for about 200 quid, and that wousk be my system. In possibel 5 years you may need to get a second.
so I just done the costs - if you think your moving to electric to same some money think again, car insurance on electric is over double ICE cars - no thanks ill keep using my ICE Sandero
My wife was actually considering this. However when you go into the Dacia range calculator, although it only seems to have the lower power 45 model, it produces a range (at 5?degrees Celsius and a speed of 60mph) at 60 miles. So that’s not enough get her from Ayr to her friend’s outside Glasgow (40 miles) and home again. It’s a great car if you NEVER do longer trips but even if you do occasional longer trips (and honestly, 30 miles each way really isn’t a long trip) then it becomes painful to own. It’s a shame because it’s so close to being great. But I’d venture to suggest that not many people never drive 60 miles in a day. And even that is ambitious as you’d have to be comfortable running the car right down to 0%. But sadly this is where we are with range vs price and I don’t know what the answer is. Yes, used EVs are cheap but we need a decent supply of new EVs to sustain a healthy used market.
Madness, I can buy a far better petrol car for a lot less that has no charging or range restrictions. Dacia sell LPG cars too, I'd be going that route before I buy such an expensive eco box, that's just taking the Eco a bit too far. Nissan sell the Leaf 40 Kwh for not a lot more and that would be a far better car even a 1 or 2 year old Leaf with nearly twice the range.
The Spring is still competitive in the UK (being made in China it has lost that advantage in the EU, while local cars can still get a purchasing bonus). Common advice I read for Spring buyers is to get the Chinese tyres changed to improve safety, especially if you drive outside cities and in wet weather.
Wonder how this car will compare to the Leap Motors T03 (£15,995) which is more powerful, has more safety equipment and is also made in China (was this mentioned?) like the Spring. The Spring also only got a 1 star euroncap result. As for price, you can get a Mazda MX30 pre reg for 16k or a Fiat 500e which I would argue are way better quality and safer than the Spring. The Spring is actually a quite dated Chinese EV in euro drag that originally sold for around £7000 in China but is now not competitive so it really isn’t the bargain it’s being built up to be. The Dacia Spring was awarded a one star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test published in December 2021. Euro NCAP said the testing highlighted "a high risk of life-threatening injuries for driver chest and rear passenger head in frontal crash tests and marginal chest protection in side impact. Dacia are not intending to re-test the Spring as no structural changes have been made. The Dacia Spring is based on the Renault City K-ZE, an electric car that was originally designed for the Chinese market. The Spring is a rebadged version of the City K-ZE, which is based on the Renault Kwid, a combustion-engined car originally designed for India.
Its still a lot of money for a short range shopping trolley. Put a 100Kwhr LFPO4 battery and a 120 hp motor in it for the same price and I'd buy one. Only then would it get close to my £15,000 Mazda 2 skyactiveD which, the other week I got 3.3li/100km (85.6 mpg) at 100-110 kmph on a 1660km journey. It was all dual carriage way and a speed limit of 90kmph which I exceeded for 18 hours. 1 stop for fuel and 3 more for a pee.
As with all electric cars at this moment in time, it’s only cheaper if you can charge at home and don’t need long range…..otherwise I would consider one to compliment my 9 yrs old sandero…..p.s. the sandero was only £6890 when new in 2015, same spec sandero now is nearly £21,000…..
I really like this car after having a look at one at a Renault dealership, I just wish they’d made one with a little 1 ltr engine as being electric doesn’t suit my use.
The one good thing with modern cars is you csn by a 100k porshe, or a 15k spring, yes one is better than the other, but thr spring will do 90% of what the Porsche does. The casum beween low and high end is not ad big ad it was 10 years ago.
A new/pre-registered smaller battery KIA Soul is comparable on price. Has a better Ncap score, more range and a 7 year warranty. Or a 2-3yo 64kwh Soul is also about the same price. Still with a longer warranty left to run.
To be honest the Spring is Chinese car Dongfeng, the main problem is not only safety(crash test) but missing cooling and heating of battery. There are two reports about Spring I how got fire when parking and maybe someone know how danger is fire from NMC battery..
Im a massive hypocrite as ive said for years thr only car anyone needs is a dacia stepway. Its does evetheing 99% of peopel need, its cheap and loses next to nothign as it did cost so little. A new car you kept untill thr kids left school, or a car you buy at retirement and it will see you out. This spring is that new car.
Sorry I have a bit of an issue here, you can get way better cars less than 2 years old and 10k miles. Corsa-E, Peugeot 2008 , EC4, Mokka , Kona. I know what I'd choose...
The Corsa E starts at 30k€, the Dacia at 18k€. MIGHT be a factor for people. Brandnew car for the same price as a few years old Corsa. Plus, going be EV Clinic numbers, you should NOT buy a Peugeot. They've always bee unreliable for the past 20 years, apparently that didn't change for EVs.
You can and as these are a car size up some people may do this. As a Peugeot e208 driver (company) I’ve had quite a few issues with mine, so can’t say I’d recommend a used Stellantis EV (Corsa, Mokka, e-C4, 208, 2008 are all the same car underneath). Some people just like a new car with its full warranty and for a city car this looks great.
Always bought new, and then went used. Had it for 6 months, nothing but problems. Hand always in pocket. Just traded it for the new Duster, yeah may be cheap. But it's new, 5 year warranty, no MOT for 3 years, I'm the only one to drive it. Does what I want it do do.
I’ve got one year left on my lease and I can’t wait for my EV to go back. I’ve had the worst two winters I’ve ever had in a car freezing you do 2 miles and it takes 15 off you just having the heating on. And when you’ve only got 100 miles to play with and worse of all I’m wrapped up in 2 coat 🙈 I get annoyed when people say precondition your car but that doesn’t keep you warm on a journey
The media always claims that people want big, posh "good value for money" SUVs, when in reality they want is a good and honest car in the variety of fuel type that costs the same to build as a profitable SUV but priced at the fraction of one.
I was gonna say that about the Spring but in juxtaposition to your issue of small tyres (if you want +18" alloys with low profile tyres and then whinge with the chorus that new EVs are too expensive). Not just for looks but with the tired SUV styling the rear wheel arches have massive gaps exposing the inside of the rear bumper, it's not just tacky it's a parachute. That's terrible for aerodynamics and efficiency at speed. Inner wheel lining could've been used, hell wheel skirts would actually be cool like an 80s Citroën Visa/AX compared to the fake-offroading look. For such a small battery efficiency is paramount sacrificed for Dacia's not-so-cheap-but-low-effort SUV brand styling which is unfortunate and old hat. But every automaker thinks that customers want what they want (more profit) and keep oversaturating the market with crossover-SUVs of some description
@@simonpaine2347 My iPhones are assembled in Chyna, as well as Mac minis- there are no alternatives. Nothing else I own is. My eGolf is assembled in Germany and the Skoda Elroq I have on order made here in Czech Republic. Some of us care where things are made and try to support the country we live in and avoid made in Chyna whenever possible. Given how the Uk has sold pretty much everything to foreign investors, I'm not surprised Brits simply don't care whether they support the CCP or not.
Are there still pure crash test ratings, though? Or do cars fail because they don't have things like speed limiters, auto-braking, lane holding, blind spot and reverse cameras.. ie. All the things that have made cars so expensive, complicated and unrepairable in recent years.
I have one, Extreme model, for more than a month (done around 1200 miles already - in Romania). I want to say something that nobody is telling about. You have the app (My Dacia) and you can do some good things with that: check the charging status, check the location of the car, and most important thing, you can preheat the car interior for those cold mornings. I do this all the time, I start the interior heating from my app, and when I go to the car in the parking lot, is already warm inside, and no ice or snow on my windows. The range on cold weather we have here in Romania (-3 to 5 degrees Celsius) is around 110-120 miles.
Hi . Do you know if theres a bi directional charger the would allow V2H to supply the House from the car. ? Thanks
@@andypower6938mine came with a V2L adapter
@@andypower6938 I can't help you with that information. I don't know.
Hi can the Spring pre heat the cabin when its not plugged in charging? It would be so sweet to leave work and get into a warm car.
Thanks
@@marks-0-0 Yes. Now in the winter, I always do this. With 5 minutes before I go down to my car, I start the heating option on my smartphone. The app is called "My Dacia". It has a few good features. Such as charging history. Last time I had some snow, and when I arrived at the car, the snow started already to melt from the windows.
Excellent review. I was very interested to see the Spring taken out its comfort zone at 70 mph in the outside lane on the M25 and then into a very tightly constricted multi story car park scenario. This perfectly demonstrated that the car was not necessarily limited solely to urban environments. I am confident that the Spring will be a resounding sales success in the UK.
Excellent thorough review. Thank you! I am so excited and waiting (impatiently) for my Dacia Spring Extreme, which I will be getting early January 2025.
Looks great - can’t see me trading my 4 year old electric mini in for it anytime soon, but very functional, good value, and would suit a lot of people who just need a small car for those local trips you describe in the video and don’t need a faster or more luxurious car because they don’t spend that much time in it. My daughter is buying a 2 year old corsa-e for a 27 mile commute - the original buyer of that corsa lost more money in 2 years than the top spec Dacia costs new - looks a great new option - good review 😊
A great informative and thorough review as always.My favourite EV review channel.👍🏼
Thank you for your review. I test drove and ordered an Extreme today to replace a 2003 Yaris 1.0. It’ll mostly be used for school runs and shopping. I was very impressed with how it handled, boot size and the equipment in it. I’ll definately be ordering a wireless phone charger for the hook system. I look forward to picking ours up shortly (circa 10 days). It’ll be my first EV. Currently they come with a free home charger and 0% APR too.
@@danielbirchett6439 i still have my yaris 2003, it doesn't want to heaven. My spring arrives may3025
Hi are they really at 0% APR in the UK?
@@marks-0-0They can’t give them away here. Knocked 20% off list price already and it’s only just been released.
In three years they’ll probably be worth £3-4,000.
@@NewWorldHoarder how would you know?
@@front2427 They don't.
Great review, this car and this Extreme model in particular has me seriously thinking about going electric when I sell my petrol peugeot 208 next year. The price and the equipment you get for that is very appealing. Well done Dacia!
Great stuff! Well done to Dacia for delivering such a simple car. Free from all the bloated, expensive lumps of electronic lard that's so prevalent nowadays. Even the wheels are nice and small. Love it.
Great in-depth review. Great car with some compelling reasons for consideration. What I find attractive is practically. I think I've only had people in the back of my car once in the past 3 years, so I don't really bother with the back seat led room. Once you have your dials and knobs setup, apart from lights, wipers and maybe demist I rarely change anything. I have a heated steering wheel and seats I never use in my current EV. As long as I can use android auto and have enough range for my 40 mile commute in winter I think I'll be happy to use a spring.
Looked at in isolation the Spring and the LeapMotor look to be in a class of 2 for sub £20k EVs. It seems to me however that it is possible that they are in wider competition if you care to look. If you are prepared to go down the used route a low mileage Mazda RX30 can be had for much the same price. It will have the same range but a much superior fit and finish. Then there are the Zoe, 500e, MGs etc.
The issue the Spring MAY have (I don't know yet) is that the statistics show that 80% or so of new cars are bought on purchase plans. Such plans are commonly used by manufacturers to boost sales by way of finance contributions. My point is that the Spring could easily find itself up against the Citroen EC3, Fiat Grande Panda and the like depending on the PCP value. For a lot of new car buyers (80%) the headline cost is meaningless. The competition is not what else you can buy for £15k but what a monthly payment of £150/£200/£250 etc can get you and how much you are required to put down as deposit.
In the UK at least, Dacia do terribly in fleet sales, but are number 1 in private sales. So I'm guessing they don't do the bulk deals for the fleets but the private pcp must be competitive.
You are right, but I think Renault (like many other manufacturers) are offering - through their finance company - low monthly rates for clients that are buying their new cars
FINALLY !!!!!
A decently and honestly priced electric car !!!!!
All other brands - watch and learn!!!!! This is how you dominate the electric car market.
Still double what it should cost. The Chinese car it’s based on is less than £8000.
Yep, I completely agree. We are getting totally ripped off here in Europe due to stupid tariffs....
BYD Seagull is another good example - costs just £8000 in China and by the time its allowed to be sold here it will cost at least double that !!!
The jogger is incredible. I'd love for them to make it electric (and then start selling Dacias in the US)
Brilliant test of a brilliant car! Takes into account what the car is intended for. What I missed is the actual consumption during the test. With a small battery, this is more important than usual.
Does it have proper battery cooling/thermal management?
Excellent video 😊 Thank you.
i like this car as well, i have driven one and i am impressed and will be getting one soon. thanks for you review.
I agree, it’s very nice . Not quite sure what those plastic patches at the bottoms of the doors do for you .
I really like it. I think it will sell really well. It looks really good and i would imagine most sales will be the top model. Glad Dacia brought it to the UK.
Was hoping you’d review this Bryan. It’s a possible for my next company car as I’ve found 95% of my daily use on my current EV is under 100 miles and this will easily charge up overnight, even with a 3-Pin plug.
May ultimately be a little small for me, but have to commend Dacia for bringing out a city car that truly does compete in every way with ICE city cars.
This car will excel in places such as central London where the average speed of traffic is 18 mph.
Also outer London at average 23mph.
The 0 to 30 dash from the lights will be quick.
Some of the colours such as the Orange or this Blue will be funky & cool for city users.
This car has a very small turning circle and can be parked in the smallest spaces.
Great car, better than anything for the price for inner city dwellers.
Fantastic review
Thank you kindly
A great option simple nice to drive and fairly practical. Funny i thought exactly the same when i sat in it its a 80’s Fiat panda!
Love that it has charge point in best place at the front 👍
I love it and wish I could get one in the U.S. The only thing that may kill the value of this car is the Hyundai Inster. This is cheaper, but the Inster can be your only car, if need be, with the additional range and charging speed.
ICE engine car insurance is considerably cheaper than electric cars - i got a quote for a Spring 2450 Vs 325 on my sandero think I will use my ICE until the wheels fall off
Nice review
Looks to have good ground clearance. I drove a panda across the unpaved roads of Fuertaventure desert and it was better than some big cars. I bet this would be the same.
I really like it but in my opinion you need more range, it needs to be double at least. 140 miles means travelling becomes a huge challenge and I know I have tried.
very good revieuw
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
Its cheap and cheerful and thats acceptable. So would make a great second car. But for many like us we only have one car and it needs to do all journeys. To drive to my family its 150 miles away. That currently takes about 2h20min in the current Citroen C1. The spring would likely need two stops on the way and make the journey about 3h30min. Thats a substantial amount more.
The leapmotors T03 should in theory manage it with a single shorter stop due to its bigger battery and faster charging.
Maybe in a few years when battery prices drop further they will offer a bigger battery with faster charging which will give the car its edge back. I prefer the car but its not quite usable in its current form, for me at least.
But i thought it was a good balanced review. 👍
Hi , Great little ev. I'd get one.
Re the bi directional ability. Is there a bi directional charger that could potentially feed the house V2 H . Thanks
Charge point on the front might be a dealbreaker. Smashable and trailing an extra 4m of cable every time you plug in.
How many seats in the back? I missed it if it was mentioned.
2
Tempted as a replacement for my E-208, as my other car is a diesel Peugeot 308 Estate, used for tip runs and the like. Would like to replace that as the next step, but if it could replace BOTH..? Will look at my local dealers, as never considered a Dacia, not even as a `French` car? Shurely shome mishtake..! Will look at insurance costs too. A manual hand brake? Bloody marvellous!
The Car Park section shows how most UK car parks were always and still are built and marked up too small - as even your standard supermini has grown mainly due to safety feautures installed - the only way around this is that they should be forced to make spaces at least 18 inches (45 centimetres) wider - only most of the ramps should have to be the same additional width as they usually have the same issue - sorry to go off the main subject of the car (Great review by the way) but it has always been a gripe of mine when it comes to car parks even back in the late 80's before cars got wider and longer.
What was the overall efficiency,I can’t remember you mentioning it
Are they actually available to purchase yet?The Spring has been on the promise for such a long time.
It's not exactly "Kia Piccanto-Hyundai i10" size of a car. It's quite a bit narrower than i10.
How tall is the car.
Its the real simplicity I look for, Hence the E-208... And my `coffee stops` are always around 45 minutes so I don't need a `thirty minute charge time`.
I'm considering this car as a first car for myself, but also need a car for transporting a disabled family member. I'd need good boot space for a wheelchair that folds down, and something he can easily step into (not too low), would this be a good option or should I consider something bigger?
I think this would be a decent car for you, but obviously can’t comment on whether the boot will be big enough. Good height for him to get in and out of. Worth looking at.
@ thanks so much for replying 🙏 worst case scenario I’d have to get a new wheelchair but there’s models that can fold down to suitcase size, going to have a look this week and hopefully get it ordered!
I'm going to test drive one tomorrow, but I measured up and it should take my double bass! I'd go to see one with a tape measure, the wheelchair might fit.
Yeah, this EV and ICE car are similar, but the compromise is blindingly obvious. You're stuck in the city with the EV, whereas you can do a road trip in the ICE one. And here's the issue with the average daily mileage argument. You only have to need it for one or two long trips for it to be a non-starter as a replacement for an ICE car. All of the car makers make the incorrect assumption that a small car is a second car that's not required to perform other duties. Small cars make the perfect one and only car in a family, but ONLY if they are capable of the occasional long road trip. Even 200 miles range isn't enough if you're doing a day trip in the UK and you can't use the Tesla Supercharger network. Small cars need options for really big battery packs as well as small ones.
Looks like a great little car. As you’ve said; no compromises. It’s all I’d ever need these days (shopping and visiting family 15 odd miles away) as a single retiree. Now… where’s my nearest Dacia dealer? 😉
Just don't ask about the NCAP safety rating LOL
The windshield looks really small and the seat looks to be really high up. Is the visibility good enough? I am about 1.80cm. will half of my view be the roof? Because this is what it looks like from the video
Visibility was fine for me. Can’t see it being an issue for most people.
@@AutoEV Thank you! We have ordered the 65hp one. Hopefully it proves to be reliable in the long run!
It is ideal as a second car. We are very happy with ours. It does everything we need very well. It’s everything you said it is. For long journeys we use my 24 year old Saab 9-5 V6t, which is a bit thirsty on short journeys, and much more difficult to manoeuvre in a tight car park. My wife loves the Spring. I don’t care what it was developed from, it’s not just a re-badged Chinese cast-off. It’s backed by one of the biggest car groups in the world. I think like all Dacias, it will be very successful. It’s cheap on a PCP, too.
if i had not owned an ev already as my first i would buy the spring.
Great Video. Great young and older person car.
Spoke to Dacia about a test drive last week. They suggested cross shopping with a Renault 5. Now that is Confidence in their product.
This is a very very small car... It's quite a bit narrower than Hyundai i10. Perhaps your expectations were to high?
Because they make money from either.
Great review, my partner will be leasing the Extreme version and I’m happy you mentioned the Fiat Panda, as she’s a new driver and her first car is a 2005 Auto Panda Dynamic, so great comparison. The Spring will be like driving a futuristic car compared to the Panda 😁 Her company she works for has free charging too, so bonus. We also have a horrible multi-storey car park in our nearest city, which I hate taken my Yarris-Cross too, so the Spring will be perfect, I’m also happy you demonstrated that, as no other car reviewers have done that. Great work once again 👍🏻😊
You can do 100 km and charge 1 hour, 100 km and charge 1 hour, 100 km and charge 1 hour, so on and you would have an uninterrupted average speed of at least 60 km per hour.
Dacia spring;gold for the price of silver-oooaaarrrr.
There is no battery management (heating/cooling). This limits the life of the battery and also the charging rate. You cant use a really fast charger because the battery will overheat without battery cooling, thats the compromise !
Can you get them on mobility??.
Probably
Yes you can ordered this 4 days ago on Motability picking my up 1st March with Motability im due back near on 2000 with 500 charge card its a good deal on Motability
@darrenbuck6878 well done and good luck perhaps in 6 months or so drop a txt let us know how your getting on.
I think the Leapmotor T03 is the other competitor, but that looks really bland on the outside. You are probably going to want a driveway to park this thing in but otherwise the perfect EV for short range drivers. It has front sensors! My MG4 doesn't have front sensors!
what is their resale value, is it the same as other EV's
They've just gone on sale, so a little early to tell. But Dacia have good form here.
It'll be the same as other cars.
3 years 50% off probably, like most cars.
@@AutoEV These have been available in France for several years and now very low mileage ones can be found for 8k euro.
I think the potential elephant in the room is going to be the Euro NCAP tests.
If they are good then I will buy one, if they aren’t then I won’t.
My only reservation about Euro NCAP is they are all about driver assistance systems now, not really about passive safety. I’m not saying the Spring is a tank, but I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on them.
@@AutoEVI wish more people would talk about this. And that there would be a gold standard crash safety test.
Dacia doesn't plan to NCAP this model. So you'd better look elsewhere .
Maybe there ought to be a minimum NCAP rating for any new cars registered in the UK? We're about to see lots of cheap EVs from the other side of the world where safety doesn't play such an important role in choosing a vehicle to convey you and your loved ones safely from A to B.
@@Peter_Potato maybe, but there are already people that complain that the regulations have gone too far and that it should be left to the market to decide. The current safety ratings are arguably misguided too. Personally I care about crash tests and reliability of critical systems like brakes and wheels and so on and not automated lane holding, auto braking, speed limiting, cameras, etc.
Manufacturers will just add more cheap sensors to game the rating and still undercut european cars with imports.
Carmakers would simply be making electrified versions of their best-selling combustion cars if they were genuinely committed to the phasing out of Infernal Combustion vehicles. They'd also be saving themselves $zillions$€ in new model ground-up development costs...
Paul G
This is a rebadged Chinese Dongfeng E1 which costs $8000 in that country.
loads of great used EV's for 15k, even 2 or 3 year old, low to normal mileage Kona's, Mokka's etc....
I can't get over how it looks. Good deal aside
WTF is happening with the size of the wheels?
Have you noticed how a Scottish person can’t say ‘Skoda’ without sounding like they’re doing a bad impression of Sean Connery? 😋
That's how it's pronounced.
Really, have we all been waiting for this one? How far are you behind, like 3 years?
First time the Spring has been sold in the UK, so yes, it would appear that we are behind. We can only review cars that we get the chance to get our hands on. And this is the new one, just launched, so we are still one of the first UK channels to review the car here in the UK.
Why did you test the 68hp model which costs £17999, and not the 45hp which costs £14999, which Dacia are shouting about.
There is a limited amount of cars on Dacia’s press fleet, so when we book a car, we have to take what they have at that time. Purely availability that’s all.
The one star crash rating puts me off and I think the Leepmotors t-03 is probably better value for money. It will be interesting to see the t-03 crash rating in due course. Non the less what you will save on petrol with both cars will go some way to them paying for themselves.
It hasn't got a NCAP rating at all. You're confusing this with the previous model, with which it only shares a roof panel.
@@ziggarillo true, although Dacia have refused to submit this latest version for testing, which is never a good sign is it?
When I go to Waitrose in Byres Road in Glasgow I never take my E-nero because the size, the space of the parking bays and the massively high kerbs. I take my Wife's Zoe. I know exactly what you mean.
I find hard to think about this car when you can get a great used hyundai ioniq electric
Second hand cars are cheaper, that's why most people buy them😂
But they all have to start out new.
Is is true that EV's are more expensive to insure than ICE cars?
YEP…….And they lie about the range too. 140 miles…..that’s only if you don’t use the heater or A/C. Realistically, the range is about 80 miles and as you need to allow a reserve for queuing to recharge……. I would prefer a range of over 200 miles to avoid range anxiety
👍
A ‘normal’ sized car!
Id have no issue using my own phone over a info screen. Id buy a second hand 3 year old ipad min for about 200 quid, and that wousk be my system. In possibel 5 years you may need to get a second.
so I just done the costs - if you think your moving to electric to same some money think again, car insurance on electric is over double ICE cars - no thanks ill keep using my ICE Sandero
My wife was actually considering this. However when you go into the Dacia range calculator, although it only seems to have the lower power 45 model, it produces a range (at 5?degrees Celsius and a speed of 60mph) at 60 miles. So that’s not enough get her from Ayr to her friend’s outside Glasgow (40 miles) and home again. It’s a great car if you NEVER do longer trips but even if you do occasional longer trips (and honestly, 30 miles each way really isn’t a long trip) then it becomes painful to own. It’s a shame because it’s so close to being great. But I’d venture to suggest that not many people never drive 60 miles in a day. And even that is ambitious as you’d have to be comfortable running the car right down to 0%. But sadly this is where we are with range vs price and I don’t know what the answer is. Yes, used EVs are cheap but we need a decent supply of new EVs to sustain a healthy used market.
Madness, I can buy a far better petrol car for a lot less that has no charging or range restrictions.
Dacia sell LPG cars too, I'd be going that route before I buy such an expensive eco box, that's just taking the Eco a bit too far.
Nissan sell the Leaf 40 Kwh for not a lot more and that would be a far better car even a 1 or 2 year old Leaf with nearly twice the range.
Dude, where’s you review of the ford explorer ev.
That’s a good question. Still waiting on Ford getting one to us……..🤔
The Spring is still competitive in the UK (being made in China it has lost that advantage in the EU, while local cars can still get a purchasing bonus).
Common advice I read for Spring buyers is to get the Chinese tyres changed to improve safety, especially if you drive outside cities and in wet weather.
Wonder how this car will compare to the Leap Motors T03 (£15,995) which is more powerful, has more safety equipment and is also made in China (was this mentioned?) like the Spring. The Spring also only got a 1 star euroncap result. As for price, you can get a Mazda MX30 pre reg for 16k or a Fiat 500e which I would argue are way better quality and safer than the Spring.
The Spring is actually a quite dated Chinese EV in euro drag that originally sold for around £7000 in China but is now not competitive so it really isn’t the bargain it’s being built up to be.
The Dacia Spring was awarded a one star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test published in December 2021. Euro NCAP said the testing highlighted "a high risk of life-threatening injuries for driver chest and rear passenger head in frontal crash tests and marginal chest protection in side impact. Dacia are not intending to re-test the Spring as no structural changes have been made.
The Dacia Spring is based on the Renault City K-ZE, an electric car that was originally designed for the Chinese market. The Spring is a rebadged version of the City K-ZE, which is based on the Renault Kwid, a combustion-engined car originally designed for India.
Its still a lot of money for a short range shopping trolley. Put a 100Kwhr LFPO4 battery and a 120 hp motor in it for the same price and I'd buy one. Only then would it get close to my £15,000 Mazda 2 skyactiveD which, the other week I got 3.3li/100km (85.6 mpg) at 100-110 kmph on a 1660km journey. It was all dual carriage way and a speed limit of 90kmph which I exceeded for 18 hours. 1 stop for fuel and 3 more for a pee.
Is he on commission?
Because I say that the car its a good car? Conspiracy theories gone mad......
As with all electric cars at this moment in time, it’s only cheaper if you can charge at home and don’t need long range…..otherwise I would consider one to compliment my 9 yrs old sandero…..p.s. the sandero was only £6890 when new in 2015, same spec sandero now is nearly £21,000…..
I really like this car after having a look at one at a Renault dealership, I just wish they’d made one with a little 1 ltr engine as being electric doesn’t suit my use.
There are plenty of cars with little petrol engines, buy one of those 😂
@
I could but I like this one
The one good thing with modern cars is you csn by a 100k porshe, or a 15k spring, yes one is better than the other, but thr spring will do 90% of what the Porsche does.
The casum beween low and high end is not ad big ad it was 10 years ago.
£15k will get you a lot more than an old Zoe or an e-Up!
It is Niro/Kona/Model 3 money!
You're comparing a new car with a used car. Wait a couple of years and then try a comparison.
@@LeRouxBodenstein Ehm yes, commenting on the comparison he did in the video
A new/pre-registered smaller battery KIA Soul is comparable on price. Has a better Ncap score, more range and a 7 year warranty. Or a 2-3yo 64kwh Soul is also about the same price. Still with a longer warranty left to run.
@Hell-Hound1 the small.battery Kia Soul has a terrible rep for battery health.
@@davidspencer7254 Buy the 64kwh Soul then. Or any other EV that suits your needs.
To be honest the Spring is Chinese car Dongfeng, the main problem is not only safety(crash test) but missing cooling and heating of battery. There are two reports about Spring I how got fire when parking and maybe someone know how danger is fire from NMC battery..
2/150000=?
It's definitely Chinese, the rest is irrelevant 😊. It's good enough.
@@ziggarillo It's you choice, your doom :-)
Im a massive hypocrite as ive said for years thr only car anyone needs is a dacia stepway. Its does evetheing 99% of peopel need, its cheap and loses next to nothign as it did cost so little.
A new car you kept untill thr kids left school, or a car you buy at retirement and it will see you out.
This spring is that new car.
Sorry I have a bit of an issue here, you can get way better cars less than 2 years old and 10k miles. Corsa-E, Peugeot 2008 , EC4, Mokka , Kona. I know what I'd choose...
The same goes for any new car, how is this different?
The majority of people buy used cars, but they all start out as new cars, you understand that?
The Corsa E starts at 30k€, the Dacia at 18k€. MIGHT be a factor for people. Brandnew car for the same price as a few years old Corsa.
Plus, going be EV Clinic numbers, you should NOT buy a Peugeot. They've always bee unreliable for the past 20 years, apparently that didn't change for EVs.
Who wants to buy a used car? You buy used only if you're poor.
You can and as these are a car size up some people may do this. As a Peugeot e208 driver (company) I’ve had quite a few issues with mine, so can’t say I’d recommend a used Stellantis EV (Corsa, Mokka, e-C4, 208, 2008 are all the same car underneath).
Some people just like a new car with its full warranty and for a city car this looks great.
Always bought new, and then went used. Had it for 6 months, nothing but problems. Hand always in pocket. Just traded it for the new Duster, yeah may be cheap. But it's new, 5 year warranty, no MOT for 3 years, I'm the only one to drive it. Does what I want it do do.
I’ve got one year left on my lease and I can’t wait for my EV to go back. I’ve had the worst two winters I’ve ever had in a car freezing you do 2 miles and it takes 15 off you just having the heating on. And when you’ve only got 100 miles to play with and worse of all I’m wrapped up in 2 coat 🙈 I get annoyed when people say precondition your car but that doesn’t keep you warm on a journey
What EV have you leased, out of curiosity?
A used Tesla is probably better value and comfort for similar money.
I wouldn't buy a chinese-made car given the uncertainty about tariffs and the inevitable conflict over Taiwan.
Nooooo leap motors to3
The media always claims that what people want is a small cheap car, when in reallity they want is a large posh car for small car money!
The media always claims that people want big, posh "good value for money" SUVs, when in reality they want is a good and honest car in the variety of fuel type that costs the same to build as a profitable SUV but priced at the fraction of one.
The media always claims the public want sporty cars when in reality it's only a tedious sub section. The majority want to have a comfortable ride.
The rear wheels look like they're the wrong size or they're the undersized spare tyres! Kinda spoils the whole side view.
I was gonna say that about the Spring but in juxtaposition to your issue of small tyres (if you want +18" alloys with low profile tyres and then whinge with the chorus that new EVs are too expensive).
Not just for looks but with the tired SUV styling the rear wheel arches have massive gaps exposing the inside of the rear bumper, it's not just tacky it's a parachute. That's terrible for aerodynamics and efficiency at speed. Inner wheel lining could've been used, hell wheel skirts would actually be cool like an 80s Citroën Visa/AX compared to the fake-offroading look.
For such a small battery efficiency is paramount sacrificed for Dacia's not-so-cheap-but-low-effort SUV brand styling which is unfortunate and old hat.
But every automaker thinks that customers want what they want (more profit) and keep oversaturating the market with crossover-SUVs of some description
It's made in Chyna mostly for developing nations, like India.
@@stevemcgowen He said, typing on his Chinese phone, while sitting on his Chinese sofa, in front of his Chinese TV.
@@simonpaine2347 My iPhones are assembled in Chyna, as well as Mac minis- there are no alternatives. Nothing else I own is. My eGolf is assembled in Germany and the Skoda Elroq I have on order made here in Czech Republic. Some of us care where things are made and try to support the country we live in and avoid made in Chyna whenever possible. Given how the Uk has sold pretty much everything to foreign investors, I'm not surprised Brits simply don't care whether they support the CCP or not.
@@stevemcgowenit's made in China, but the rest is nonsense 😂
Too expensive for underpowered Chinese rebadged tincan
My Zoe does has better range than this car
55 mins for a simple review it's...boring
Obviously it’s not for you, so plenty of others that you can try instead. Thank you for giving it a go anyway.
@AutoEV sure there are plenty reviews,with much more accuracy,practicality and with accurate professional and reliable informations...in 20 minutes!!
And there are other viewers who like what we do. Like I said, thanks for giving it a go.
There's tastes for everything...
Even your rudeness I’ll bet. But not here, so you won’t be missed.
Range 139 miles claimed, top speed
78 mph, 0-62 mph
20 seconds. I’ll say no more.
For the 45hp model. Now try again.
Yes that's true of the 45 hp version. Pretty good 😊
13.5 seconds for the 65hp version (my 20yrs old bmw 318td with 115hp does 10.5 ...)
@@SJSFM before the horses died.
Produced by DongFeng China not by Dacia. This is an ICE Diesel Renault Kwid with a battery and pathetic repairability. Be warned
Lithium Cobalt dangerous & a scrapheap v.soon.
Dacia no euro crash rating 👎👎👎👎👎
Are there still pure crash test ratings, though? Or do cars fail because they don't have things like speed limiters, auto-braking, lane holding, blind spot and reverse cameras.. ie. All the things that have made cars so expensive, complicated and unrepairable in recent years.
It's not a " crash rating "
Brilliant car which would be fine for most people 👍
owned 2 dacias. great cars this seems good too until you see it's a BEV. no thanks