New Dacia Spring takes ‘cheapest electric car’ crown with sub-£15k starting price

UK pricing for the all-new Dacia Spring has been revealed at long last, and with a starting price of just £14,995 for the zero-emissions city car, not only does it take the title of Britain’s cheapest electric car, the Spring is deep in the top 10 list of the cheapest cars of any kind on sale in Britain. 

For comparison, the MG4 – our Affordable Electric Car of the Year in 2023 – costs £12,000 more with its starting price of £26,995, and the Vauxhall Corsa Electric supermini is similarly priced from £26,895 following the release of the cut-price ‘Yes Edition’ model. Cars much closer in price to the Spring include petrol-powered superminis like the Hyundai i10, however, the Dacia even manages to undercut that car’s £15,920 start price.

The only EV that costs less than the Spring right now is the circa-£8k Citroen Ami, but that is a two-seat quadricycle, not technically a car. 

The Dacia Spring is available to pre-order now with a £99 deposit. Those that sign-up will be among the first to get their hands on the Spring in the UK and receive £250 to spend on accessories for the car, public charging or as a contribution to the cost of a home wallbox charger through Mobilize Power Solutions. Customers can choose from the three options when pre-ordering, and the first examples are due to arrive in October.

Powertrains, batteries and charging

The Spring is offered with two powertrains called Electric 45 and Electric 65 that, as their names suggest, produce 44bhp and 64bhp respectively from their single electric motors. 0-62mph takes 19.1 seconds with the base motor, or a slightly less glacial 13.7 seconds with more potent setup.

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Both are powered by a 26.8kWh battery that delivers up to 137 miles of range, or 186 miles if you solely drive in the city. Recharging the battery from 20 to 100 per cent takes just four hours from a standard 7kW public or home charging point, or 11 hours if you use a domestic plug socket. 

DC charging capabilities are reserved for top-spec models, and allow the car to be topped up from 20 to 80 per cent in 45 minutes.

Prices, trim levels and equipment

Entry-level Expression trim is available with either motor, the more powerful one adding £1,000 to the Spring’s price tag. Meanwhile standard kit includes a seven-inch digital instrument panel, manual air conditioning, cruise control, speed limiter, smartphone holder with nearby USB charge port and rear parking sensors. 

Dacia expects about six in 10 Springs sold in the UK will be the range-topping Extreme model. Starting from £16,995, these come with the Electric 65 motor as standard, plus a 10-inch central touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, two USB charging ports, electric mirrors and rear windows, copper interior and exterior accents, and finally a bi-directional charger so you can use the car’s battery to power electrical appliances. 

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The new Dacia Spring also benefits from some additional driver assistance features compared to the original, to ensure it meets the latest European GSR2 safety standards. Every Spring comes with an advanced emergency braking system that incorporates vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcycle detection, traffic sign recognition, lane change and lane keep assist, driver attention warning and an emergency call function.

Dacia has kindly added a ‘My Safety’ button to the Spring’s dashboard to allow drivers quick and easy access to their preferred driver assistance settings. 

Revealed at the 2024 Geneva Motor Show, the styling and cabin design of the new Spring takes its lead from the incoming Mk3 Dacia Duster. It also features Dacia’s clever YouClip system that debuted in the latest Duster, and allows for various accessories to be attached to mounts around the cabin.

There’s roughly 31 litres of storage space inside the Spring, plus 308 litres of boot space that expands to 1,004 litres with the rear seats folded down. Dacia will also offers a flexible ‘frunk’ as an accessory, providing an additional 30 litres of space under the bonnet that could be ideal for charging cables. 

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