Dacia Spring Review & Prices

Electric cars are really expensive - right? Well, the Dacia Spring is a car that bucks that trend. With a starting price of less than £15,000, it’s not just one of the cheapest electric cars you can buy - it’s one of the cheapest cars, full stop. But low-cost has to come with compromise somewhere, and in the Spring’s case those downsides mean it’s difficult to recommend unless you’re looking for a second car to supplement a petrol or diesel one - or even a more expensive, longer-range EV.

Just because the Spring is the Poundland of EVs doesn’t mean that Poundsaver, Poundstretcher and Poundworld aren’t all gunning for a slice of the same pie. The closest alternative to the Dacia is the Leapmotor T03, which has similar dimensions, performance and a similar starting price. For slightly more money you could go for a ‘proper’ EV, such as a Citroen e-C3, but you could also consider lightly used examples of larger cars such as a second-hand Vauxhall Corsa Electric or Volkswagen ID3.

The Spring is a tiny car - it weighs less than a ton and it’s around 30cm shorter than Dacia’s next-smallest vehicle, the Sandero. Its tall silhouette means it’s surprisingly roomy inside, though. Four six-footers can just about squeeze in, and the 308-litre boot is bigger than a Vauxhall Corsa Electric’s and almost on a par with the Citroen e-C3.

You don’t really feel too punished when you sit behind the wheel, either. Yes, the doors feel very tinny and the seat is small and quite flat. But the dashboard uses the same infotainment system and lots of the same buttons and switches as you get in larger Dacia cars like the Duster - and that means it’s really easy to use.

Dacia Spring: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 140 miles
Efficiency: 5.1mi/kWh
Battery size: 27kWh
Max charge speed: 30kW
Charge time AC: 3hrs 50 mins, 7kW
Charge time DC: 45 mins, 20-80%
Charge port location: Front centre
Power outputs: 45hp/65hp

It’s also surprisingly stylish, with even the ultra-cheap base model coming with some nice flashes of colour to lift the ambiance. And all versions come with cruise control, air-con and remote locking as standard - though the Spring’s cheap roots show through with things like the twisty key, manual handbrake and the fact that base models don’t even get an infotainment screen - just a phone mount.

The real cost-cutting is evident when you start driving, though. There are two motor options, but with 45hp and 65hp they’re both among the lowest-powered cars you can buy. Performance from the more powerful model is on a par with most petrol city cars like the Hyundai i10, but if you’re used to the instant acceleration of a powerful electric car you’ll be disappointed.

And once you hit a corner, you’ll have to temper your expectations further, as the Spring doesn’t really drive like a modern car. It leans alarmingly in bends, and the cheap tyres it comes on as standard have very little grip.

At least running costs should be super-low - the Spring is one of the most efficient electric cars we’ve ever tested, and so the tiny battery pack won’t add too much to your electricity bill. A range of just 137 miles (though more like 115 in the real world) does mean you’re unlikely to be taking any road trips in the Spring, though - and if you have to top up when you’re out and about, the yawningly slow charge rate will frustrate.

But if your priority is getting yourself mobile - electrically - for as little money as possible, then the Dacia Spring is a miser’s dream.

You can find a great deal on a Dacia Spring through Carwow, or see our best Dacia Spring leasing deals. Check out used Dacia Springs for sale, or find other used Dacias for sale. And remember that Carwow can also help you to sell your old car when the time comes.

Pricing is the real headline, coming in at less than £15,000. For that you get the Expression trim with air-conditioning, rear parking sensors, remote central locking and the required suite of safety equipment. Stepping up to Extreme adds a proper infotainment system, a rear camera, and more stylish body and interior trim.

The Spring 45 is available only as Expression trim, and you’ll pay an extra £1,000 for the 65. Another £1,000 on top of that gets you the 65 in Extreme trim.

This is incredibly cheap - the Spring doesn’t just undercut existing electric cars, it’s cheaper than most petrol hatchbacks of a similar size. The closest EV alternative is the Leapmotor T03 - with recent price cuts, this actually undercuts the Spring in price, and comes with even more standard equipment and better performance. It’s not as easy to live with, though, thanks to its infuriating touchscreen.

The Spring is nippy to drive around the city, but a bit disconcerting on faster roads

In town

The Spring is really made for town driving. Electric cars give all their power from a standstill, and so even though there’s not much grunt it’s all available right away, making the baby Dacia feel nippy at town speeds and up to 30mph.You do have to be careful about putting your foot down, though, as the cheap tyres Dacia’s fitted don’t have much grip and can easily be overwhelmed even by the modest power on offer.

The steering and other controls are light, and the suspension is super-soft so it irons up bumps quite well - though the Spring’s tiny wheels do make more of a thud over potholes than you get in a larger car.

You’ll also want to be wary of taking roundabouts or corners too enthusiastically - the Spring leans disconcertingly in bends, and the tyres do quickly run out of grip.

On the motorway

The Spring feels a little laboured getting up to 70mph - when you consider that its top speed is only 78mph, the national limit is pushing the envelope somewhat. Once you’re there, you feel a little cautious - the Spring is lightweight and slab-sided, so it suffers from crosswinds and even passing by a lorry can unsettle it.

All models get cruise control, which is handy, and unlike some city cars it’s not so loud at motorway speeds that you can’t have a conversation. But do note that going this quickly is quite detrimental to the Spring’s max range - moreso than it is in some larger, more powerful EVs.

On a twisty road

The Spring isn’t fun if you want to drive it quickly on a country road. The body leans so much, and there’s so little grip from the tyres, that it can feel quite unsafe if you’re carrying a little too much speed into a corner. It’s much comfier to take things at a more relaxed pace, and your passengers will thank you when they’re not falling out of their seats due to the body lean.

The Dacia Spring has a big boot and pretty good rear legroom - but it’s pretty narrow inside

Burly rugby player types would be advised to test-drive the Dacia Spring before they buy. It’s a very narrow car, and that means that if you’re quite broad you’ll find your shoulder pressing into the driver’s door. Tall drivers should be okay, though - the seat goes back enough for those with reasonably long legs, though the steering wheel only adjusts for rake and not reach.

The seats themselves aren’t particularly comfy. They’re quite flat, and the short bases don’t give much under-thigh support. They also don’t hold onto you very well in corners, which would be nice considering how much the Spring leans in the bends.

Storage up front could be better, too. The door bins are really big - because the speakers are up on the top of the dashboard - but the glovebox is only average and if you want a cupholder, you’ll need to buy one separately from Dacia to attach to the ‘Youclip’ fitting ahead of the gear selector.

Space in the back seats

The rear doors are dinky but they open quite wide, and once back there you might be surprised by the rear legroom on offer. It’s not palatial - the Spring is still a really small car - but there’s space for a six-foot adult to sit behind a driver of a similar size.

Still, a Leapmotor T03 or Hyundai Inster both offer more space for passengers.

The rear windows are electric but the driver can’t wind them down, and storage is at a premium with just one Youclip point to mount a cupholder or storage bag. The view out isn’t fantastic either, as the front seats have solid headrests which you can’t see through. The Spring only has two rear seats, which makes sense - you wouldn’t be able to squeeze three people across the rear bench unless one of them was two-dimensional - and you do get ISOFIX points in both rear seats.

Boot space

The Dacia Spring’s boot is an impressive 308 litres, and you can add to that by optionally adding a ‘frunk’ to the under-bonnet area, giving you an additional 35 litres of space. Compare that with 210 litres in the Leapmotor T03 and 310 litres in the larger Citroen e-C3.

It’s not a particularly clever boot - there are no useful hooks or storage solutions, and the charging cable just sits in there, loose.

The rear seat does fold down to liberate more space but it does so in one unit rather than split-folding - a common cost-saving at this end of the market but still a shame.

Feels solid and easy to use, though cost-cutting is evident on lower models

The Dacia Spring’s interior is to be commended for how similar it feels to the rest of the Dacia car range. You get the same digital gauge cluster and the same touchscreen on top models, plus most of the same switchgear. This ensures you don’t feel too punished for choosing one of the cheapest cars on sale.

And in fact, while Dacia could easily have punished buyers with a sea of black plastic and ugly trim, even the base model of the Spring gets a nice pop of colour across the air vents to lift the interior ambiance. This is bright orange on the entry-level Expression model, while the Extreme version gets khaki-green coloured trim on the dash and the seats, plus some white plastic to contrast.

Nothing feels luxurious, but that’s to be expected. The plastics are uniformly hard and brittle, and nobody’s going to mistake the vinyl on the seats for real leather any time soon. But it does feel well screwed-together, and the layout of all the interior switches makes sense - bar the electric window switches which are centrally mounted and only control the front ones.

The infotainment system, standard on Extreme models, is the same as fitted to the Dacia Duster and Bigster and it works well. The interface is simple and all the onscreen buttons are big and easy to hit, but it also comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can easily hook your phone up. There’s no wireless charging pad, though, so you’ll need to use one of the USB-C ports to keep your phone topped up, and there isn’t really anywhere convenient to leave your phone besides the big open oddments tray.

The Dacia Spring is likely to be one of the cheapest cars to run, out of any on sale. It’s really efficient - we found it possible to average more than five miles per kWh, about 20% more than you’d get from a more conventional small EV such as a Vauxhall Corsa Electric. If you’re charging your car at home, on a cheap overnight electric car tariff, that could bring your ‘fuel’ costs below 2p per mile. To achieve that in a diesel car, you’d have to average over 300mpg…

The main issue is that the Spring only has a small battery, and as a result a maximum range of 137 miles on a charge. During our time with the car, we saw around 110-120 miles. This means that, while the Spring is fantastic for a repeatable commute, it’s not great if you want to do road trips or regularly undertake longer journeys.

That’s not helped by the charging - it tops up at a maximum rate of 30kW, meaning that a 10-80% charge takes a hefty 45 minutes. Given that an 80% charge will do you for less than 100 miles, a really long trip would involve about 45 minutes of charging for every two hours of driving, which isn’t ideal. On the plus side, charging from a home wallbox is quick - it should take you less than four hours.

These two factors more than anything relegate the Dacia Spring to ‘second car’ status for all but the least demanding of motorists. At least road tax is inexpensive, the Dacia falling into the lowest band for both VED and company car tax. Insurance is low for an electric car, but you might find it’s more expensive than a petrol car of an equivalent size, like a Toyota Aygo X.

The Dacia Spring - the pre-facelift version sold in Europe - scored just one star in Euro NCAP testing back in 2021. While all the regulated safety equipment is fitted, Euro NCAP’s findings show it’s not always the most effective.

The Spring is also based on a design intended for the much less demanding Indian market, where safety is less of a concern. It will likely be safer than the decades-old supermini it may be replacing in some cases, but if safety is of concern to you - which it might be, especially if you have children - then you’ll find a lightly used alternative much more reassuring. The Vauxhall Corsa and VW ID3 scored four and five stars respectively.

A nice inclusion is the ‘My Safety Perso’ button from other Dacias. Once set up, this allows you to silence some of the more infuriating safety warning chimes and bongs with just two button presses, which is preferable to rooting around in the menu system.

There’s not a great deal to go wrong with the Dacia Spring, as it has a minimum of gadgets and gizmos and the powertrain could hardly be more simple. Bear in mind, though, that Dacia came a disappointing 29th out of 31 manufacturers in the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, indicating customers weren’t too happy with their vehicles or the service they received.

Dacia’s warranty is three years or 60,000 miles as standard, but if serviced in line with recommendations this is automatically extended to seven years and 75,000 miles.