Table of contents
🤖
AI-generated summary
The Target Audience
First things first: you’re at Dacia, so clearly, this car is for you if a car isn’t a pleasure object. You just want to get from A to B as cheaply as possible? Then yes, take a look at the Spring.
For my part, we’re a family of four — two kids 👨👩👦👦 under six and two adults — and everything fits despite the small size. The pushchair fits in the boot and I can still squeeze three big shopping bags in front of it. It’s not a family estate, but for city use with the whole family it works!
Do you live in the mountains? In an often cold region? The 200 km range might be a handicap for you. The lack of power in hilly areas won’t make you comfortable when overtaking ☠️.
No More Fuel ⛽️
€2 per litre of petrol — that pushed me over the edge into an electric car. I traded in my old Polo, 12 years old, for roughly the same footprint.
Note that the fast charger (Combo CCS) is not included as standard — add €600 for that. But you really need to ask yourself what you use your car for. Will you be doing more than 200 km away from home? If yes, go for the option. But again, this car isn’t designed for long trips — the insulation and driving comfort will remind you of that.
I didn’t go for the Combo CCS charger that lets you do a full charge in under an hour. This car is not meant for long journeys.
I also think it’s a shame that this charger is an option, because if it were standard, the government’s eco bonus would cover a good chunk of it.
This car uses very little power — about 12 kWh per 100 km. An eco mode, similar to Renault’s, lets you eke out a few extra kilometres by capping the maximum power.
It takes a full night to charge from zero to 100%, but since it’s rare to run the battery completely flat on a round trip, that never happens to me. So I mostly charge on a standard 10 A socket. It’s impossible to schedule charging start times from the app.
The Purchase Price 💶
With the government rebate applied, the Spring comes to around €14,000 — the same price as a Polo V back in 2010, which is wild when you think about it, especially since that Polo was pretty well equipped. Inflation has done its thing, and that’s where you realise just how much car prices have gone up — for an equivalent price, the finishing is nowhere near as good on the Spring.
Since the war in Ukraine and the materials shortage, prices have been rising. Part of that increase is offset by the government bonus — but for how long?
Build Quality 🚗
Let’s address the elephant in the room: this Dacia does not meet any European car build standards, and let’s be honest about that. If you poke the interior plastics a little too much, they’ll come off. Don’t worry — you can clip them back on with a bit of pressure — but it’s a strange feeling…
You close the boot, but if you grab the seal it comes off in your fingers.
This is a car for someone who’s not fussy and will treat it carefully. Because if you’re rough with it, it’ll fall apart quickly — which is a shame. If you’re making a budget car, you might as well put a few screws in and make sure things stay in place. A tank isn’t pretty, but it’s solid 💪. Ultimately, my message to Dacia: build tanks, and stop using plastic that looks nice but doesn’t hold.
Consumption ⚡️
The topic everyone’s waiting for when it comes to electric cars. Hard to answer definitively, though, because driving styles vary from person to person. The terrain where you live also plays a big role in consumption.
Currently, over 1,000 km, the car shows an average consumption of 12 kWh per 100 km, which allows for just over 200 km on a single charge.
I don’t use motorways, but some users have reported consumption more than double that — around 24 kWh per 100 km.
On a country road with an 80 km/h speed limit, you can easily get more than 200 km of range.
Conclusion
First of all, know that the most economical car is the one you keep.
Also important: Dacia is apparently about to launch the replacement model in two years’ time. With that in mind, it might be worth looking at leasing — if you don’t plan to keep the car long-term, it could make more financial sense.
In conclusion, I wish Dacia had offered a car maybe €1,000 more expensive but with the same build quality as the other European Dacias. The finish on this Spring reminds me of the very first Dacias ever sold.
What I Like 🫶
- More spacious than it looks
- The price, obviously
- CarPlay ❤️ but not wireless 😬
- The boot, which is surprisingly big for the size — fits shopping and a pushchair
- Soft suspension, which makes for good comfort in the city
What I Don’t Like 🤮
- The sound quality — why only two speakers?
- No 💡 in the boot
- No 💡 above the rear seats
- On the dashboard, when I select the consumption display, it disappears on the next restart 😡
- Only one key with central locking
- The charging flap, which opens like a bonnet — not very practical
- The noise 🎵 of the air conditioning compressor
- No steering wheel or seat height adjustment
