Dacia Spring Review: Price, range and boot space

Dacia Spring at a glance:

• Body type: SUV
• Price range: £15,990- £16,990
• WLTP range: 140 miles
• Number of seats: 4 (2 Isofix)
• Boot capacity: 308 litres
• Insurance groups: 24-28

Dacia Spring: Everything you need to know

The Dacia Spring EV is one the cheapest new cars on sale in the UK, electric or otherwise. But does that make it good value? Not necessarily. Find out whether this affordable electric car will have you jumping for joy - or kicking yourself - in our full Dacia Spring review.

We're not sure how happy we are about the Dacia Spring being on sale in the UK at last. It's been on sale in Europe for a number of years, but this heavily revised version only reached these shores in 2024. It's undeniably very cheap, but the compromises necessary to bring the bottom line down are major. 

It's painfully obvious the Spring has its roots in a car — the Renault Kwid — originally destined for emerging markets. It's unrefined and noisy on the move, not particularly fast and handles poorly due to its tall, soft suspension and budget-brand tyres. 

The Dacia Spring claws back some ground by being reasonably well equipped considering its bargain-basement price tag and it's surprisingly stylish inside. Certainly a lot more so than it was before the car was facelifted and brought to the UK.

This small SUV scores well in terms of practicality, with a decently sized boot and an extra under-bonnet 'frunk' storage area. It's also good to see the simple but smart YouClip accessory mounting points making an appearance here, a feature we've enthused over in the larger Duster Duster.

The cabin is another place you really feel where the compromises are to get the price down. It feels low-rent and plasticky in a way that cheap and not especially cheerful cars from a couple of decades ago did. 

All of this hasn't stopped Dacia selling well over 100,000 Springs across Europe so far. Time will tell if UK buyers are a little more picky, but our advice would be to either spend a bit more on a Citroen e-C3 or the related Fiat Grande Panda Electric.

They're both a little larger than the Dacia Spring, and a bit pricier, but they feel like better value. The Hyundai Inster is more similar in size to the Spring, but it costs more still due to having plenty of high-end features and a choice of two far larger batteries.

Or if you're willing to take a punt on a new brand you're unlikely to have heard of, then closely matching the Spring in terms of price and size - yet trumping it for equipment and driving range - is the Leapmotor T03. Doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, but still...

Failing that, go for something like a pre-registered Vauxhall Corsa Electric, examples of which we've seen for less than some versions of the Spring. 

How we tested the Dacia Spring

We went into our test of the Dacia Spring fully aware of its super-low price, and also fully aware that certain sacrifices might have to be made in order for that price to be so low. And we were prepared to forgive a lot accordingly. However, when we encountered the car's unbelievably low levels of grip, making it feel borderline unsafe, we decided that we simply couldn't recommend it. Especially when the same car's Euro NCAP crash test safety rating is also rock-bottom.

Is the Dacia Spring a good car?

No. It's poor to drive, has a dismal safety rating, and feels cheap and plasticky inside. The question will be whether it's good enough for you to justify the meagre amount of money you'll pay for it. That's a decision you'll have to make for yourself.

Dacia Spring Range

Early Dacia Springs - dubbed the 45 and 65 corresponding to their respective outputs in metric horsepower - came with a 26.8kWh lithium ion battery.

The car underwent some revisions at the very end of 2025, and at that point, the battery was replaced by a new one that was slightly smaller at 24.3kWh, but used lithium iron phosphate chemistry, meaning there was no loss in official range despite increased power outputs (hence the new monikers of 70 and 100). So, whatever the battery in your Spring, your car will have an official range of 140 miles.

The Leapmotor T03's equivalent figure of 165 miles is a little better, while all other cars that could be considered rivals have a greater advantage.

Dacia Spring Charging

Recharging the Dacia Spring doesn't take long thanks to its small battery. Using a domestic wallbox with a 7.4kW electricity flow rate, the 26.8kWh lithium ion battery in early Springs will take four hours to charge from 20-100% charge in four hours. Later Springs, with a 24.3kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, will take three hours and 20 minutes to take on the same charge from the same connection.

There's also a difference between the two batteries on those occasional times when you need to use a public DC rapid charger. The earlier battery can only accept DC rapid charging at a rate of up to 30kW, meaning a 20-80% top-up takes 45 minutes. The later battery ups the maximum charge rate to 40kW, cutting the time for the same top-up to 29 minutes. Either way, it's not great, so don't waste time waiting for a 100kW charger to become free if there's a 50kW one already available: it won't charge you any faster.

Alarm bells start ringing the moment you spot the kind of tyres fitted to the Dacia Spring. They're Linglong Greenmax EcoTouring, and they're not much good at all: particularly if the roads aren't dry. Even in mildly damp conditions, they struggled during our tests, spinning-up during even modest throttle inputs and causing the traction control to have a massive hissy fit when the accelerator was fully pressed. 

Worse still, when going around a corner or exiting a roundabout, the Spring had a tendency to push wide as the tyres displayed a noticeable shortage of grip. Making things worse, the Dacia sits high on soft suspension, meaning it leans over significantly in corners, even when you think you're taking it easy. 

This doesn't mean the ride is soft and cosseting, sadly. The suspension feels very basic and seems to be overwhelmed when going over bigger speed bumps, not helped by the car's very short wheelbase.

The steering also feels odd, with a sensation of slightly moving even when driving in a straight line. We can only assume this is down to those thin tyres and the car's narrow track causing it to follow every tramline or change in camber in the road surface.

Dacia Spring Batteries and Motors

When it first went on sale, the Dacia Spring was offered with a choice of two power units, one with a measly 65PS, and one with an even-more-measly 45PS. Both were fed by a 26.8kWh lithium ion battery.

We've only driven the Dacia Spring with the more powerful 65PS motor but it's the only one we'd want to as it's on the limit of what most drivers will find acceptable in terms of performance. It takes 13.6 seconds to get from 0-62mph, which is very leisurely indeed, but it can dash to 30mph in four seconds, so the level performance does at least feel adequate in urban environments. You might even describe it as eager off the line. Sometimes too much so: it's quite keen to set off as you lift off the brake pedal, which can make parking a jerky experience. 

The drive selector also needs some work. It takes a few goes to get it to do want you want, whether that's putting it from drive back into neutral, or from neutral into reverse, and so on. 

The entry-level 45PS powertrain, meanwhile, takes an agonising 19.1 seconds to go from 0-62mph, which we imagine could feel pretty unnerving when going down a motorway slip road. 

Since then, Dacia has revised the Spring's powertrain offering. It's now available with an entry-level motor with 71PS (badged as 70) and a more powerful option with 102PS (badged as 100), both fed by a new 24.3kWh lithium iron phosphate battery (smaller than before, but different chemistry means there's no loss in range). We haven't had the opportunity to try either yet, but the numbers certainly look more encouraging. The entry-level motor propels the car from 0-62mph in 12.3 seconds, while the more powerful version does it in 9.6 seconds. We just hope the tyres can handle the extra power and pace.

The version of the Dacia Spring that we get here in the UK hasn't yet been assessed by Euro NCAP, but the pre-facelift version sold elsewhere in Europe was given a dismal one-star rating by the safety body in 2021.

As far as the individual categories go, it was awarded 49% for adult occupants, 56% for children, 32% for its safety technology and 39% for vulnerable road users. 

The safety tech in the Spring has since been updated with these newest versions featuring automatic emergency braking (albeit one that only detects other cars, not pedestrians or cyclists), lane-keeping assistance, a driver alertness monitor and traffic sign recognition.

While it wouldn't change the Euro NCAP score, Dacia could make the car safer by simply fitting better tyres that stop the car quicker during wet conditions. As it is, it's worryingly easy to trigger the car's ABS if conditions aren't perfect. 

The Dacia Spring is small, light and short on power, so it would be rubbish at towing, As such, Dacia hasn't even bothered getting it officially rated for towing.

Considering its size and price, the Dacia Spring has a decent-sized boot offering 308 litres of space which expands to 1004 litres with the rear seats folded. There's also a 35-litre storage area — a 'frunk' if you care to use that Americanism — under the bonnet, but only if you buy the required storage tray as an accessory.

While not exactly massive, it's a good place to store the charging cables. Speaking of which, you'll find the charging socket on the front of the Spring behind the Dacia logo on the faux grille. 

The Spring is a four-seater, which is fairly normal for a car of its size, all being well-served in terms of space. There's also a lot of room for oddments including large door bins and a deep tray in front of the gear selector. 

Around this area you'll also find Dacia's YouClip system to which multiple accessories — that you buy separately — can be fitted, including a phone holder and a cupholder.

You might want to get the latter as the Spring doesn't have cupholders as standard: unless you count the little recesses in the door bins, which you wouldn't want to trust with a hot takeaway drink.

Dacia Spring: Dimensions

By any standard, the Dacia Spring is a very small car. It measures just 3,701 mm long, 1,583mm wide (not including door mirrors), and 1,489mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,423mm.

Most of the materials inside the Dacia Spring look and feel cheap. There's quite a bit of painted metalwork inside, which is usually covered with plastic trims in pricier cars.

The seats wouldn't look out of place in a much older car, and the whole cabin of our test model had an odd odour to it, rather like a GP's waiting room and quite unlike the 'new car smell' in anything else.

The finish is fine, though. Everything fits together as it should and there are no rough edges or anything like that. We sense those cheap plastics should at least wear the miles okay.

Given how cheaply the Dacia Spring is being sold for, it's a surprise to see a 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen in Extreme specification cars. It's not bad in terms of responsiveness, and the menu system is easy to get your head around.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity come as standard and we had no problems getting Google Maps to display on the screen using the former. 

Pleasingly, you don't have to use the screen to change climate settings, as there are physical dials for that job. We did get a weird issue with the screen scrolling through the list of radio stations by itself, though.

Entry-level Expression cars don't have this central touchscreen, but they do have the same 7.0-inch digital driver's readout behind the steering wheel. Entertainment is taken care of via DAB radio and Bluetooth.

Our reviews are updated as often as possible, and this one of the Dacia Spring was last updated in the middle of March 2026. The table below features the latest official pricing at that point in time. However, car prices change frequently, and without warning or publicising, especially - as we'll find out in a moment - where Dacia is concerned. As a result, please use the below prices for guidance only, and be sure to verify the car's latest pricing for yourself on Dacia's website before taking any next steps.

Is the Dacia Spring good value compared with rivals?

What you'll actually pay for the Dacia Spring seems to change on an almost-weekly basis. The prices for the two versions officially stand at £15,990 and £16,990, but Dacia has a habit of regularly applying limited-period offers and discounts. That's good, because it makes the car even more affordable, but it also means that you never quite know where you are with the car's pricing.

One such example is the 'Dacia Electric Car Grant'. This was launched at the very end of 2025 in response the the UK Government's Electric Car Grant, for which the Spring doesn't qualify. The result of this non-qualification was that Dacia decided to slash £3,750 off the Spring's price - the maximum amount possible under the Government's scheme - for a limited period, lowering the entry price of the car down to just £12,240.

This limited period is due to expire at the end of March 2026, at which point we wouldn't be surprised to see the offer extended, replaced by a different one, or withdrawn completely. Who knows.

Whatever, the case, you can feel safe in the knowledge that the Spring is one of the cheapest cars on sale in the UK, even at its non-discounted price. The Spring does almost constant battle with the Leapmotor T03 electric city car for the title of outright cheapest, a title that changes hands on a fairly regular basis due to the fact that Leapmotor often adopts similar tactics to Dacia as the rival brands try to undercut each other.

But the fact stands that the entry-level Spring is one of the most affordable new cars out there, and even the higher-spec version of the Spring, with more power and kit, doesn't cost all that much more.

In terms of other rivals, there are other dinky electric cars out there such as the Citroen e-C3 and its Fiat Grande Panda Electric cousin, plus the Hyundai Inster. All are considerably more expensive than the Spring, but then again, all are considerably better dynamically, considerably nicer inside, and go considerably further on a charge.

Dacia Spring running costs should be minimal, especially if you steer clear of public chargers and charge up at home. Regardless of whether you have an early Spring with the 26.8kWh battery or a later one with the 24.3kWh, a full charge will cost you around £7 if you pay the UK's national average rate for your domestic power.

Get yourself on a tariff charges less for off-peak and charge overnight, and you'll more than halve that sum.

By contrast, you can likely treble it every time you use a public DC rapid charger. There's not even much benefit to be had because the car's maximum DC charging speed is so slow.

Even though we tested the Spring at a cold time of year and did a lot of motorway cruising — which is never good for eking range out of an EV — it proved efficient at 3.9mi/kWh compared with the official WLTP Combined cycle claim of 4.6mi/kWh. 

The low purchase price compared with EVs only being liable for a 3% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax, although this jumps to 4% after 1 April 2026. Either way the Spring will be hilariously cheap as a company car.

Of course, the low price of the Spring will mean you're not anywhere near the price threshold at which you incur higher-rate VED road tax, so that's of no concern.

You might expect that the Spring's low price and limited power would mean a low insurance group. Not so. Groupings for the car range between 24 and 28 (of 50), depending on the version.

Dacia Spring: Frequently asked questions

Where is the Dacia Spring made?

The Dacia Spring is built in Hubei, China, by Dongfeng Renault.

How many seats does the Dacia Spring have?

The Dacia Spring has four seats, which isn't uncommon in cars so small.

Is the Dacia Spring safe?

The Dacia Spring has a fairly dreadful Euro NCAP safety rating, but Dacia wouldn't be allowed to sell it if it didn't meet certain bare-minimum safety standards required by law.

Is the Dacia Spring front-wheel drive?

Yes, the Dacia Spring's electric motor drives the front wheels of the car.

You won't struggle to get your head around the Dacia Spring's trim levels as there are only two: Expression and Extreme.

The Dacia Spring Expression is okay in terms of equipment considering the price, featuring:

• 15-inch steel wheels with trims
• Front electric windows
• Manual air conditioning
• Rear parking sensors
• Automatic headlights
• Cruise control
• Remote locking
• Manually adjustable door mirrors
• Two-tone fabric upholstery
• 7.0-inch digital driver's display
• DAB radio with two speakers

Upgrading to the Dacia Spring Extreme adds:

• 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Electrically adjustable door mirrors with copper-coloured covers
• Rear electric windows
• Lane-keeping assistance
• Rear parking camera (albeit a rather low quality one)

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