Are you kidding??? Every time I step into my Dacia I start knocking the door pannels, the top of the dashboard, I caress the steering... just to remind me I bought a "budget" car 😂
Is everyone forgetting the VW E-UP? Plastic interior everywhere, rear windows on a hinges. Yet, when that was tested everyone said how great and simple it was... at £27,000.
I used to see the odd one at Bca sales, even farm owned, abused to hell inside & out, basic model was.being held on reserve (demanded of) for way.too much money compared to even a.basic leaf or a rare imiev / peugot citroen variant, it was batsh1t crazy
Very good video, but I have some observations...This is a budget car, no leather steering wheel? Surprise? Hard plastics? who sits on the dashboard? Who fondles their dashboard, or the doors? It is a non event, and simple hard plastics are lighter. It is a tiny, FIAT 500 sized car, and it has better seating capacity than an Aston Martin. It is meant to be cheap for singles or one or two to run around a city in. It isnt meant to be perfect. Steel wheels- excellent! with cheap and effective, nice trims. But you are ranking this with VW ID4 standards, and it is in a completely different market segment. Why is everyone paranoid about 0-60mph times? This is 21st Century Britain, where everywhere is covered in speed limits and cameras. 80% of people drive daily max 10 miles each way to work, schools or shops, how fast do you need to get there? EVs are meant to save the planet, small and efficient should be praised over huge 2 tonne monstrosities, especially when driving alone. It is a good, cheap, effective second car. Scuse the rant!
I excuse your rant - the Spring is such a brilliant essay in common sense! - especially re. the steel wheels. I hate high-maintenance alloys and those wheel trims look especially stylish. I just think Dacia design is so inspired in the way it offers so much for relatively little. Many other car companies need to reconsider what they are actually doing.
I agree with everything you say, and that's why I conclude that's it's a terrible video. If you're reviewing the cheapest EV on the market, you talk about what it does have, not what it doesn't have. This review is riddled with 'it doesn't even have...' remarks. Very annoying.
Given the price, I think Dacia should be forgiven for the copious use of hard plastics, which anyway would serve as functional and offer protection against everyday thuds and bumps. This car deserves to do well in the UK.
Never in my life did I inspect plastics until I started watching programmes about electric cars. I don't care. My first car was a 1.3 Escort Estate and it was heavier (995kg+55kg for a tank of petrol) and had 59BHP new, probably much less than that in 2002 when I owned it, and the 0-60 didn't bother me at all. Give me small, cheap electric cars, and make the charging infrastructure better to compensate for the range. The back seats may be a little too small on this one though...
@@fasthracing I think the Hyundai Inster (depending on price) and the eC4 are going to be far superior vehicles. But like the current range of Dacia's, or even the earlier versions, it will fulfill the needs of many, especially if it is cheap enough. Trouble with journos is they get spoiled with testing top of the range vehicles, never the base model or one step up from base. The ones that most people actually buy. So journos miss all the gimmicks and mod cons which are great, but cost a fortune. Hard plastics arent a real problem, its the ergonomics and usefulness which are importance.
@@Ben-kp6bp He concluded that after mentioning everything it didn't ('even') have. A leather steering wheel, really? A very negative review for what he concluded.
A somewhat harsh review of what is a budget city car that will adequately meet the needs of many people and fuel savings will practically make the car pay for itself. I envisage it being popular with younger people, older people and mum's as a second car. More like this please to reduce pollution and congestion in our urban areas. You failed to mention it has a 5* green rating.
I thought this a terrible review. It’s like going to a non-league game and saying the football didn’t look like Lionel Messi at his best. It’s an excellent car for 15k, but a crap car for 60k. We get it. Most people struggle to pay for their rent or mortgages, so to be able to get a new electric car for 15k is a very good thing. Well done Dacia.
Every car journalist: I have to say it's a great value car great speed great all round brilliant car but I can't recommend it because scratchy plastic.
Quite right - I really do not understand journalists' phobia against "scratchy plastics" on a budget car, especially the bits you don't habitually touch, which is practically everything bar the steering wheel, door pulls and handles. I get quite fed up with them going on about it ad infinitum so that it becomes a bore and a waste of time and paper. Attractive design (as in this Dacia) is far more important - you see it all the time rather than occasionally feel it!
@@michaelbacon561 Also cheap scratchy plastic is much easier to clean and ages better than other higher end plastics. Also I really like cheap cars to feel cheap because I worry that the cost cutting has come from somewhere else.
@@SnazzBot Yes, that's why a Toyota might have an unimpressive interior but will be a whole lot more reliable and longer lasting than a German so-called premium marque!
You have some brass balls on you. This car is £15,000 and is a CITY CAR. It isn't even close to a £30,000+ Mini or Fiat 500 E. You spend the whole video trashing it's basic interior and then get around to it being HALF PRICE.
You have some brass balls you do, he did not spend the whole video trashing it', I thought a perfectly good basic interior, rough and tough and hard wearing, he did explain it's short comings because that is what is expected of a review, I thought a perfectly good and well presented review, but I won't be buying one as it is just a city car.
@grahamjohnson4702 There you go, you got from this review that " it's just a city car" that is of course nonsense. It's a car that you wouldn't use to travel much more than a hundred miles in a day, but that's inter city distances. Unless you're talking about metropolitan Tokyo, in which case you could still drive across Tokyo and back, which is about a six hour drive outside peak times.
@@ziggarillo It's just that your idea of a city car is different to the vast majorities idea of a city car judging by your mixed up post, why you bring Tokyo into it when this car will not ever see Tokyo I can't imagine.
Its a car to transport people, basic and efficent, the interior is fine, performance is adequate, the original ford fiesta was 45bhp, it was adequate then and the speed limits are still the same.
Always the classic issue - a new car with that brand new feel and warranty or a nearly-new used. Depends a lot on how you are financing it - new cars always have better finance/lease rates but used are always better value. No answer really, depends on what you want.
Reminds me of the last generation Panda I bought for my daughter. She and her partner absolutely loved it for its cheap n cheerful character and toughness that meant they could take it anywhere without worrying about damaging it. They're both doctors now so they're not short of money but still prefer the charming simplicity to fancy cars they subsequently bought and used it more than the new cars. I think it's a perfect second car and fine for most people's everyday life, it'll sell like hotcakes and hold its value well, with less to go wrong and damage easily, so it's a thumbs up from me!
I had an original Panda and still have the previous one. I really like my present one but somehow hanker for the original as it was so inspired in its simplicity and functionality. I'm eagerly awaiting the new Panda that has been teased recently but I fear it will miss the mark; I can see already that it will be too large (wide) and probably too complicated.
The Dacia Spring is an A segment city car so does not compete with the MG 4 or the Ora which are C segment like a Golf or Citroen E-C3 or Mini which are B segment superminis. The Spring is more comparable to Fiat 500, the Renault Twingo, or a Toyota Aygo
I have the Spring Expression the previous version of this. Love it. The car was designed by the same team that did the Zoe so had lots of experience. Plastic is good, you can wipe it, which believe me, with kids and a dog it is really, really handy. Love mine, fun to drive, cheap to refill at home. nippy and fun.
I like the way Dacia seems to have a healthy distain for these electronic so-called safety features that the discredited NCAP go on demanding. Its policy is only to fit what is legally required by ignorant legislators. It is strange that journalists seem to criticise cars that are deficient in some of these things and then go on about how they have to switch them all off because they are either distracting, irritating or plain dangerous!
The perfect electric city car and at a great price for brand new. It even looks good. The short range is close to the previous electric Mini, and that didn't harm sales. It would be a toss up between the Spring and Citroen e-C3 for me, if I was buying.
Whilst this is too small (size and battery) for me I think this is going to be a real Springboard for further cheap EV’s and in a few years there will be 200+ mile versions for this price.
The price gap between this and it's nearest competitor leaves space for an extra 5kw to the battery and an extra 10hp to the motor. Stick in a leather steering wheel while you're at it and add another 1500 or so onto the price and I'm sure there would still be thousands of potential customers.
Like the design an update on the 2004 Panda it would struggle with my commute and its no 400 mile holiday journey taker given the range and recharge times. As a second car and if the used price is under £10k it makes a useful alternative to a Seat Mii VW Up option.
I saw one of these today and thought 'WTF is that? It looks like a Citroen and a Fiat had a baby.' Then later I saw an ad and turns out it was one of these.
All car manufacturers should give the option to not have the tablet infotainment. I would prefer not have the thing on there. I'd actually go for the expression trim of that.
Kudos for making cheap electric cars. But…. Do you need to have a new car. For this cost and monthly payments you could just by something used. Dacia’s really appeal to people who must have a new car.
I think a large part of the public would be quite happy to have a car without a lot of the very annoying 'safety' features. Lane keep assist doesn't seem to like UK country roads on any car I have driven. The emergency brake assist that slams the brakes on when it sees a pedestrian walking on the pavement, with no intention of jumping in front of the car. Now we are to get speed limiters/warnings.... How about giving us a car that goes forwards and backwards and leaves the driving the person behind the wheel. Bet you could get the price closer to £10000 without the complexity of the radar/electronics.
I cannot imagine anyone using this for long motorway trips, leaving it at Tesco for 45 mins whilst doing your shopping for people without home chargine is much more likely.
I've driven a Dacia MCV for 100,000 miles and the hard plastics are not an issue. None of them have fallen apart like an old Skoda Favorit (pre VW) i used to drive. The biggest annoyance has been general noisiness over rough surfaces and lack of decent handling and lack of soundproofing. But thats why it was €10k cheaper than a Megane estate. You pays your money..... I DO think its a mistake not to give it a better DC charging rate, to give 10-80% charging in 20-25 minutes. Then you could take it on the occasional longer journey. Lots of people bring small cars on long journeys, because that's what they own.
I'm pretty sure the people buying this will cry in regret because of the hard plastic while sitting in a cosy restaurant enjoying a lovely meal for the money they saved from not buying some stupid status symbol of a car.
Finally an affordable and simple new option in the BEV market, with 7 year warranty if you get it regularly serviced by a Dacia dealer. Disappointing to see a brain-dead review which fails to recognise and highlight the importance of this breakthrough pricing - even though price is widely known to be THE major hurdle for many folks wanting to switch to a BEV! Even if these specs won't work for everyone, it creates COMPETITION with all the other brands dragging their feet on offering affordable BEVs, and force them to compete on value. Thus we might see a 40 kWh competitor for a couple of thousand more with more range (and power)... which will have wider appeal... and stimulate even more competition, etc. And so it goes.
its likely they managed to get that low price because they didnt make the car structuraly safe... they know a lot of people will buy without a safety certificate
Hard plastic, a Millennials nightmare. You'd have shriveled & died in the 1970s in our car world then. As long as it doesn't creak I don't give a damn, it's a car! Charging cables, Dacia thought of that, easy - stick it under the seats. Millennials also discovered vinyl records, but the latest is knobs & buttons, they cant contain themselves.
No mention of the Chinese origins of this car so likely to have a higher price yet once the anti-China tariff is applied. Dacia is a Romanian car maker who also builds cars in Morocco at the Renault factory so why not build them for the pre-tariff price there? Would be interesting to see what the Chinese version costs in China - 50% of the price in Europe?
Its crazy he is comparing two different cars charging speed 20% to 80% when one car has a range of 140miles and the other almost double. 80% of 100 ofcourse will be faster than 80% of 200
"Easily replaceable when scratched." I'm not even 5min in and heard this two times or more already. Not saying the video is bad, far from it, but if I were to put my car on a pedestal, I probably wouldn't drive it in the first place. I know I pay a lot of money for it, but replacing outside plastic because of scratches? A thing that is meant to be used and can't even rust like metal does? Something that is supposed to take the blows? Why would I replace it because it's scratched? That's what it's for! Talking about the car, I really don't like the camo print. If the reason is to pull it off or make scratches less visible, couldn't they have gone with a rougher dark pattern or texture print vinyl?
What makes you say that? It's got 5 seats and a big-enough boot for most families' kit. And a 3-4 hour motorway schlep / 200 range with sub-30 minutes recharge time. I'd say that's pretty-much enough for any regular family, wouldn't you?
@@jonathantaylor1998I live in Norwich and I go to Manchester every two-ish months. I live in a block of flats with no access to a charger, my friends lives in a terrace also with no charger. On a full charge it’s unlikely I’d make the 190 mile journey. So I’d have to find chargers all the way along where there could be a long queue or even worse not working. Not to mention trying to find somewhere in Manchester to charge it when I’m there. Not to mention public chargers can cost around £50 to fill the battery for a 200 mile range, twice the refuel cost of my 1.0l petrol, in which I can do the journey in one hit and not have to worry about where I might end up when the fuel gets low. Pretty much anyone who lives in a flat or terrace house, and people who occasionally want to go a spontaneous long road trip pretty much can’t own one. It’s no wonder that the vast majority of EV owners have them as a second or third vehicle. They just can’t be relied upon as a sole family car
Most people who live in cities can't charge at home, so the glacial charging speeds are going to be off-putting for many making it incredibly tiresome on even a modest journey..
Mate are you kidding me? Find me something better in the EV world for 15 k. This little electric car is genius and, for the price, well equipped and good looking. Will consider it as a second car for me wife.
I want to like it but I can't, it's ugly like most other electric cars, saying that I do like the look of the new Renault 5 that's coming soon but the 25k price tag I don't think so 👎
So an expensive local shopping trolley then. 140 miles official range = 100 if you're lucky. Useless as an only car and 0-60 in 20 seconds is dangerous in today's traffic.
For a unashamedly dedicated city-car, the 0-60mph time is irrelevant - what would've been WAY more useful to know would be the 0-30mph time i.e. pulling out from a junction in to the traffic flow. Most EVs are instantly quick off-the-line and that's why they make great city transport. As for the range-per-charge, in another review, the Spring was giving slightly over 7 miles/kWh so it's 26kWh battery would mean a range of about 170-180 miles in the city - that's a once-per-week recharge over a Costa / Starbucks visit for most city / commuter drivers.
It won’t get a good score but remember the tests are harder lately, the Renault Zoe scored 5 stars in 2013 when it came out and now it has 0 stars, that doesn’t make it a death trap
Well this is just a major facelift of the first Spring, but still just a facelift, and the first one only got 1 star. But it is a very small car. No car that small will get a very good EuroNCAP rating.
That map camp around the plates and the massive DACIA logo on the back look so stupid and will age super fast. I think the interior looks awful - a hodge podge of geometry and colours that makes no sense.
Very fair review. Just can’t get over its hellishly awkward exterior design, which is a heavy facelift for the original. Looks rough and Russian, and that isn’t a compliment.
The test has changed since then so the Clio wouldn't be 5-star now as it doesn't have all the must have latest gizmos that we managed without for over a century.
Too expensive for a cheaply built car with almost no power nor range. Someone I know bought one, the interior is pure hard plastics, small, slow and again, too expensive
It's only about £2k more expensive than THE cheapest, most basic, plasticy petrol city-cars you can buy on Autotrader right now... They're gonna cost the average 10,000 mile a year driver around £1,300 per year in petrol versus about £100 for the Spring owner who can charge up at home so, in less than 2 years, that differential's wiped out and the Spring is saving the owner money.
This car killed itself when its doubled its price. I love it but for current price its the worst ev because literally everything is better. If the starting price was the current used one than it would have a future. This is the third uplift but never seen anything after the first which is telling.
@@David_Polak when it released it went around 11000 eur in romania and it was literally sold everywhere else used for the same price or more after half a year.
So given the £15k penalty for selling over you quota of ICE. Dacia has built the ultimate compliance car. It is being sold at a vast premium to the EU price and mug UK punter will think its a get tax dodge (BIK). Its a throw away product after so a 20% battery degrade after a 4 year lease who will buy a second hand 60 mile winter range (highway speed)?
@@grahamjohnson4702 manufactured in China at a Plant jointly owned by Renault, Nissan and Dongfeng Motors batteries from Sunwoda EVB. So, the cheapest possible supplier.
@@reececollison5101 Then why is it selling so well in Europe and who said it will be your only car because we all have different needs and this car can replace those little cars that older people have and use on the continent especially in France and Spain, no good for you but joy of joys for many.
Very much doubt many people will have this as a company car to take advantage of cheap BIK rates - it’s too small/basic. As for battery degradation, that’s nonsense.
The uk is physically in Europe even if your xenophobia prevents you from grasping that simple concept. The stupidity of brexit doesn't mean you moved your island to Asia.
"Which makes me think, if you're not going to implement it [regen] properly, why do it at all?" This is a staggeringly uneducated comment for a professional automotive journalist. I know you are aware that the the vehicle has a low powered, low geared engine because you mention it in the video. Obviously, along with the small battery and cheap interior, this is fundamental to keeping the price point so low. This is a budget city EV. How can you possibly be a car journalist and not instantly know that a 33kW motor is going to deliver very little in the way of regen braking? Do you not have a basic teenage school level of understanding of how electric motors work? The only way to get good regen is the put a 150kW motor in there and bang, there goes your budget EV price bracket and you're in the budget sports car market. You do realise that motors and generators are the same device, don't you? Good grief.
I can't remember the last time I "interacted" with the top of a dashboard 🙄
Are you kidding??? Every time I step into my Dacia I start knocking the door pannels, the top of the dashboard, I caress the steering... just to remind me I bought a "budget" car 😂
I’m not a Dacia fan at all. But you’re absolutely right. Who actually squishes their dashboard?!
I think Nigel doesn't have a license yet. :)
Is everyone forgetting the VW E-UP? Plastic interior everywhere, rear windows on a hinges. Yet, when that was tested everyone said how great and simple it was... at £27,000.
I used to see the odd one at Bca sales, even farm owned, abused to hell inside & out, basic model was.being held on reserve (demanded of) for way.too much money compared to even a.basic leaf or a rare imiev / peugot citroen variant, it was batsh1t crazy
Or the Seat Mii electric or Skoda Citigo electric -both started around 23k new and the same electric range as the Dacia
Very good video, but I have some observations...This is a budget car, no leather steering wheel? Surprise? Hard plastics? who sits on the dashboard? Who fondles their dashboard, or the doors? It is a non event, and simple hard plastics are lighter. It is a tiny, FIAT 500 sized car, and it has better seating capacity than an Aston Martin. It is meant to be cheap for singles or one or two to run around a city in. It isnt meant to be perfect. Steel wheels- excellent! with cheap and effective, nice trims. But you are ranking this with VW ID4 standards, and it is in a completely different market segment. Why is everyone paranoid about 0-60mph times? This is 21st Century Britain, where everywhere is covered in speed limits and cameras. 80% of people drive daily max 10 miles each way to work, schools or shops, how fast do you need to get there? EVs are meant to save the planet, small and efficient should be praised over huge 2 tonne monstrosities, especially when driving alone. It is a good, cheap, effective second car. Scuse the rant!
I excuse your rant - the Spring is such a brilliant essay in common sense! - especially re. the steel wheels. I hate high-maintenance alloys and those wheel trims look especially stylish. I just think Dacia design is so inspired in the way it offers so much for relatively little. Many other car companies need to reconsider what they are actually doing.
It was annoying me when he said the standard lazy car review BS about scratchy plastics, why are they worse, easy to clean and I dont stroke the dash
I agree with everything you say, and that's why I conclude that's it's a terrible video.
If you're reviewing the cheapest EV on the market, you talk about what it does have, not what it doesn't have. This review is riddled with 'it doesn't even have...' remarks. Very annoying.
I can't remember the last time I touched any car plastic and thought...ooo that's a bit scratchy.
@@ukman9797 I have - usually on Audi's and Volkswagens!!!
Given the price, I think Dacia should be forgiven for the copious use of hard plastics, which anyway would serve as functional and offer protection against everyday thuds and bumps. This car deserves to do well in the UK.
For me the plastics are not the problem. Its more the poor range, performance and overall driving experience.
Never in my life did I inspect plastics until I started watching programmes about electric cars. I don't care. My first car was a 1.3 Escort Estate and it was heavier (995kg+55kg for a tank of petrol) and had 59BHP new, probably much less than that in 2002 when I owned it, and the 0-60 didn't bother me at all. Give me small, cheap electric cars, and make the charging infrastructure better to compensate for the range. The back seats may be a little too small on this one though...
@@fasthracing I think the Hyundai Inster (depending on price) and the eC4 are going to be far superior vehicles.
But like the current range of Dacia's, or even the earlier versions, it will fulfill the needs of many, especially if it is cheap enough.
Trouble with journos is they get spoiled with testing top of the range vehicles, never the base model or one step up from base. The ones that most people actually buy.
So journos miss all the gimmicks and mod cons which are great, but cost a fortune.
Hard plastics arent a real problem, its the ergonomics and usefulness which are importance.
@@francisdoran971 Price and convenience are also important I would say.
What is it with motor journalists and hard plastics - scratching nails and pulling their faces.
Another car “ journalist “ expecting to get a Rolls Royce for under 20k, is a small city car what do you expect
He doesn’t expect that literally says it’s built to a budget which it is
For around £14,000 it's fantastic value. He said you'll get around 4 miles per kW in town, which is nonsense. Some reviewers have seen up to 7
@@Ben-kp6bp He concluded that after mentioning everything it didn't ('even') have. A leather steering wheel, really? A very negative review for what he concluded.
A somewhat harsh review of what is a budget city car that will adequately meet the needs of many people and fuel savings will practically make the car pay for itself. I envisage it being popular with younger people, older people and mum's as a second car. More like this please to reduce pollution and congestion in our urban areas. You failed to mention it has a 5* green rating.
I thought this a terrible review. It’s like going to a non-league game and saying the football didn’t look like Lionel Messi at his best.
It’s an excellent car for 15k, but a crap car for 60k. We get it. Most people struggle to pay for their rent or mortgages, so to be able to get a new electric car for 15k is a very good thing. Well done Dacia.
wait till BYD opens a factory in Hungary
The mount for a smart phone in place of a screen is brilliant. Wish this was an option in all cars.
Every car journalist: I have to say it's a great value car great speed great all round brilliant car but I can't recommend it because scratchy plastic.
Haha nice one!
Quite right - I really do not understand journalists' phobia against "scratchy plastics" on a budget car, especially the bits you don't habitually touch, which is practically everything bar the steering wheel, door pulls and handles. I get quite fed up with them going on about it ad infinitum so that it becomes a bore and a waste of time and paper. Attractive design (as in this Dacia) is far more important - you see it all the time rather than occasionally feel it!
@@michaelbacon561 Also cheap scratchy plastic is much easier to clean and ages better than other higher end plastics. Also I really like cheap cars to feel cheap because I worry that the cost cutting has come from somewhere else.
@@SnazzBot Yes, that's why a Toyota might have an unimpressive interior but will be a whole lot more reliable and longer lasting than a German so-called premium marque!
I don't understand this current obsession with fabric on dashboards. Going to be some pretty minging "premium" cars in a few years.
You have some brass balls on you. This car is £15,000 and is a CITY CAR. It isn't even close to a £30,000+ Mini or Fiat 500 E. You spend the whole video trashing it's basic interior and then get around to it being HALF PRICE.
You have some brass balls you do, he did not spend the whole video trashing it', I thought a perfectly good basic interior, rough and tough and hard wearing, he did explain it's short comings because that is what is expected of a review, I thought a perfectly good and well presented review, but I won't be buying one as it is just a city car.
@grahamjohnson4702 There you go, you got from this review that " it's just a city car" that is of course nonsense. It's a car that you wouldn't use to travel much more than a hundred miles in a day, but that's inter city distances. Unless you're talking about metropolitan Tokyo, in which case you could still drive across Tokyo and back, which is about a six hour drive outside peak times.
@@ziggarillo It's just that your idea of a city car is different to the vast majorities idea of a city car judging by your mixed up post, why you bring Tokyo into it when this car will not ever see Tokyo I can't imagine.
Dry your eyes mate
Its a car to transport people, basic and efficent, the interior is fine, performance is adequate, the original ford fiesta was 45bhp, it was adequate then and the speed limits are still the same.
Speed limits near us are much lower too.
Basic, with air conditioning and electric windows 😂
@@megapangolin1093Get the bus then.
@@docastrov9013 Why?
It’s an OK city car for those who absolutely have to have a brand new car but you could get much, much better in the used EV market at that price.
Strange comparison, this will be much cheaper than those other options once it's on the used market.
@@stephenballantyneWhat’s strange? You have 15k to spend; do you buy this new or another brand used?
@crm114. if you're buying used you could get this for well under £10k in a couple of years. That's the comparison.
@@stephenballantyneYou have 15k to spend and you want an EV now, not in 2 years
Always the classic issue - a new car with that brand new feel and warranty or a nearly-new used. Depends a lot on how you are financing it - new cars always have better finance/lease rates but used are always better value. No answer really, depends on what you want.
Reminds me of the last generation Panda I bought for my daughter. She and her partner absolutely loved it for its cheap n cheerful character and toughness that meant they could take it anywhere without worrying about damaging it. They're both doctors now so they're not short of money but still prefer the charming simplicity to fancy cars they subsequently bought and used it more than the new cars. I think it's a perfect second car and fine for most people's everyday life, it'll sell like hotcakes and hold its value well, with less to go wrong and damage easily, so it's a thumbs up from me!
I had an original Panda and still have the previous one. I really like my present one but somehow hanker for the original as it was so inspired in its simplicity and functionality. I'm eagerly awaiting the new Panda that has been teased recently but I fear it will miss the mark; I can see already that it will be too large (wide) and probably too complicated.
@@michaelbacon561 alas I think you may be right about a newer version, that's progress apparently!
The Dacia Spring is an A segment city car so does not compete with the MG 4 or the Ora which are C segment like a Golf or Citroen E-C3 or Mini which are B segment superminis. The Spring is more comparable to Fiat 500, the Renault Twingo, or a Toyota Aygo
Such a bad reviewer from whatcar
They all are
I know there are some people that MUST have a new car, but for approx £10K you can get a Corsa-e or Nissan Leaf 22-reg with low miles, 1 owner.
I have the Spring Expression the previous version of this. Love it. The car was designed by the same team that did the Zoe so had lots of experience. Plastic is good, you can wipe it, which believe me, with kids and a dog it is really, really handy. Love mine, fun to drive, cheap to refill at home. nippy and fun.
Why are we still fed a diet of over sized electric SUV's, who cares whether hard plastic is used. Just don't expect to pay £60k
I like the way Dacia seems to have a healthy distain for these electronic so-called safety features that the discredited NCAP go on demanding. Its policy is only to fit what is legally required by ignorant legislators. It is strange that journalists seem to criticise cars that are deficient in some of these things and then go on about how they have to switch them all off because they are either distracting, irritating or plain dangerous!
The perfect electric city car and at a great price for brand new. It even looks good. The short range is close to the previous electric Mini, and that didn't harm sales. It would be a toss up between the Spring and Citroen e-C3 for me, if I was buying.
Nuts value if that sold in the states it would be under 10k with credits if it was made here.
Whilst this is too small (size and battery) for me I think this is going to be a real Springboard for further cheap EV’s and in a few years there will be 200+ mile versions for this price.
I love the fact you can get such a basic model. I'd like to see an even more basic version tbh
3 wheel version? 😂
@@ISuperTed Maybe not take it that far, but I don't mind winding my own windows
Who needs a touch screen when your phone is plugged in and you have actual buttons for demist??
The price gap between this and it's nearest competitor leaves space for an extra 5kw to the battery and an extra 10hp to the motor. Stick in a leather steering wheel while you're at it and add another 1500 or so onto the price and I'm sure there would still be thousands of potential customers.
Like the design an update on the 2004 Panda it would struggle with my commute and its no 400 mile holiday journey taker given the range and recharge times.
As a second car and if the used price is under £10k it makes a useful alternative to a Seat Mii VW Up option.
I saw one of these today and thought 'WTF is that? It looks like a Citroen and a Fiat had a baby.' Then later I saw an ad and turns out it was one of these.
All car manufacturers should give the option to not have the tablet infotainment. I would prefer not have the thing on there. I'd actually go for the expression trim of that.
Looking at this car, public transport ain't so bad.
When will sales of this car start in the UK?
About time we had something sub £20k
On the face of it this is a great car! It's main challenge however is what 'nearly new' EV you could potentially buy for £15k
Mazda mx30. Is in the same ballpark for range, but you have a descent car that drives just nice.
I have a 5 years old ignis. I never interact with the hard plastics.
Kudos for making cheap electric cars. But…. Do you need to have a new car. For this cost and monthly payments you could just by something used. Dacia’s really appeal to people who must have a new car.
Inevitably larger and more expensive to keep.
Great review
Finally someone who is not afraid to actually give an honest review.
£16K for this or a 1 year old MG4 SE long range? I'd know i'd prefer the 280 miles, 7 year warranty option
What irks me is that a large part of the sale price is shipping and import tariffs. You're essentially getting a 10000 euro car for 18000.
So don't buy one.
Euro car made in China 😮
@@Steve-gc5nt I won't. I'll get the eC3 which, despite being more expensive, is much better value.
True but they are looking into whether it could be made in Europe in the future. If the final price is the same, then why not.
Correct. This is just a Chinese Dongfeng. Journalist doesn't mention this. Weird.
EuroNCAP haven't tested the Citroen e-C3 yet. So where is the "added piece of mind". It may also get one star.
Talks about flush door handles whilst showing door handles that are anything but flush 😂
I think a large part of the public would be quite happy to have a car without a lot of the very annoying 'safety' features. Lane keep assist doesn't seem to like UK country roads on any car I have driven. The emergency brake assist that slams the brakes on when it sees a pedestrian walking on the pavement, with no intention of jumping in front of the car. Now we are to get speed limiters/warnings.... How about giving us a car that goes forwards and backwards and leaves the driving the person behind the wheel. Bet you could get the price closer to £10000 without the complexity of the radar/electronics.
I cannot imagine anyone using this for long motorway trips, leaving it at Tesco for 45 mins whilst doing your shopping for people without home chargine is much more likely.
I had a 1 litre petrol Kia Picanto that I drove everywhere in and did 72,000 trouble free miles in 7 years
This is a great little electric car, don’t agree with the journalist reviewing it, need to remember how much the car is and the market it is aimed at
The top spec also has front parking sensors and a rear parking camera, so a no-brainer to upgrade
I've driven a Dacia MCV for 100,000 miles and the hard plastics are not an issue.
None of them have fallen apart like an old Skoda Favorit (pre VW) i used to drive.
The biggest annoyance has been general noisiness over rough surfaces and lack of decent handling and lack of soundproofing.
But thats why it was €10k cheaper than a Megane estate.
You pays your money.....
I DO think its a mistake not to give it a better DC charging rate, to give 10-80% charging in 20-25 minutes.
Then you could take it on the occasional longer journey.
Lots of people bring small cars on long journeys, because that's what they own.
I'm pretty sure the people buying this will cry in regret because of the hard plastic while sitting in a cosy restaurant enjoying a lovely meal for the money they saved from not buying some stupid status symbol of a car.
Finally an affordable and simple new option in the BEV market, with 7 year warranty if you get it regularly serviced by a Dacia dealer.
Disappointing to see a brain-dead review which fails to recognise and highlight the importance of this breakthrough pricing - even though price is widely known to be THE major hurdle for many folks wanting to switch to a BEV!
Even if these specs won't work for everyone, it creates COMPETITION with all the other brands dragging their feet on offering affordable BEVs, and force them to compete on value. Thus we might see a 40 kWh competitor for a couple of thousand more with more range (and power)... which will have wider appeal... and stimulate even more competition, etc. And so it goes.
2024 Fiat Grande Panda looks so much better, eagerly awaiting UK review.
I don't think it will exude simplicity like the original - we'll see.
To me this mainly city car low miles per day and charge at home.
I would say get top spec higher range at around 10montths old.
Worth considering at 2 years old when it has lost half it's value if you don't venture very far from home.....
its likely they managed to get that low price because they didnt make the car structuraly safe... they know a lot of people will buy without a safety certificate
He would play Stephen Merchant if Stephen Merchant would do the casting.
A very thorough review. Thanks!
Excellent review.
Hard plastic, a Millennials nightmare. You'd have shriveled & died in the 1970s in our car world then. As long as it doesn't creak I don't give a damn, it's a car! Charging cables, Dacia thought of that, easy - stick it under the seats. Millennials also discovered vinyl records, but the latest is knobs & buttons, they cant contain themselves.
As ever, a What car review done by someone with no fuckin clue. What a waste of resources 😂. This guy is a whopper
My thoughts exactly, well said!
@@maximilianholland Jealous ? Get yourself back to CleanTechnica ! 🤣
Looks Ok but the rest of it is a let down.
It's an entry level BEV, don't expect much for it
@@sebyst7907 I agree
I suppose you could get much better in a new car for the price.
@@megapangolin1093 such as? For 15k you're not getting much in new cars
@@sebyst7907 Dacia Sandero?
No mention of the Chinese origins of this car so likely to have a higher price yet once the anti-China tariff is applied. Dacia is a Romanian car maker who also builds cars in Morocco at the Renault factory so why not build them for the pre-tariff price there? Would be interesting to see what the Chinese version costs in China - 50% of the price in Europe?
Its crazy he is comparing two different cars charging speed 20% to 80% when one car has a range of 140miles and the other almost double. 80% of 100 ofcourse will be faster than 80% of 200
"Easily replaceable when scratched."
I'm not even 5min in and heard this two times or more already. Not saying the video is bad, far from it, but if I were to put my car on a pedestal, I probably wouldn't drive it in the first place. I know I pay a lot of money for it, but replacing outside plastic because of scratches? A thing that is meant to be used and can't even rust like metal does? Something that is supposed to take the blows? Why would I replace it because it's scratched? That's what it's for!
Talking about the car, I really don't like the camo print. If the reason is to pull it off or make scratches less visible, couldn't they have gone with a rougher dark pattern or texture print vinyl?
I think citroen ec3 for slightly bigger price offers more of everything
... which starts from £22, so almost 50% more expensive...!
Have you seen the Fiat Grande Panda, that shares the same platform as the ec3?
@@UrbanNomad883 fiat looks even better than citroen in my opinion, but it seems it will be priced on the expensive side as well
The first thing i would do is peel those awful stickers off the bumpers and maybe put something more subtle on.
18:48 most people certainly couldn’t use the new Citroen eC3 as their only car
What makes you say that?
It's got 5 seats and a big-enough boot for most families' kit.
And a 3-4 hour motorway schlep / 200 range with sub-30 minutes recharge time.
I'd say that's pretty-much enough for any regular family, wouldn't you?
@@jonathantaylor1998I live in Norwich and I go to Manchester every two-ish months. I live in a block of flats with no access to a charger, my friends lives in a terrace also with no charger. On a full charge it’s unlikely I’d make the 190 mile journey. So I’d have to find chargers all the way along where there could be a long queue or even worse not working. Not to mention trying to find somewhere in Manchester to charge it when I’m there. Not to mention public chargers can cost around £50 to fill the battery for a 200 mile range, twice the refuel cost of my 1.0l petrol, in which I can do the journey in one hit and not have to worry about where I might end up when the fuel gets low. Pretty much anyone who lives in a flat or terrace house, and people who occasionally want to go a spontaneous long road trip pretty much can’t own one. It’s no wonder that the vast majority of EV owners have them as a second or third vehicle. They just can’t be relied upon as a sole family car
The modern 2CV!
Those flush fitting door handles aren’t very flush.
So it's alright as long as you don't want to go anywhere.
A friend of mine has a Dacia.....she doesn't listen to the radio because she cant hear it for all the rattles of cheap plastic.
That would be OK with a basic 1 litre petrol engine . Otherwise , forget it .
aren't they usually called hub caps?
Most people who live in cities can't charge at home, so the glacial charging speeds are going to be off-putting for many making it incredibly tiresome on even a modest journey..
Why is he scratching the plastics, he is looking at the most affordable ev, and the other stuff, so he needs to get a life !
Mate are you kidding me? Find me something better in the EV world for 15 k.
This little electric car is genius and, for the price, well equipped and good looking.
Will consider it as a second car for me wife.
By the unfortunate turn of events, a system error led to the transaction being sent to an invalid email address.
Bring back Doug & Will! Not loving this reviewers opinion 😢
Its Kwid in Indian
So energizer or duracel?
I want to like it but I can't, it's ugly like most other electric cars, saying that I do like the look of the new Renault 5 that's coming soon but the 25k price tag I don't think so 👎
Who is buying the ora? They musy have sold less than 100 at 30k, if youre high enough to pay that you shouldn't be driving
No touchie with le bargepole.
The thing is that it's not a Dacia, it's a rebadged Chinese car and although it's cheap, it's not made in Europe so for that reason I'm out!
So an expensive local shopping trolley then. 140 miles official range = 100 if you're lucky. Useless as an only car and 0-60 in 20 seconds is dangerous in today's traffic.
True, but there are an awful lot of people who don’t need any of that.
For a unashamedly dedicated city-car, the 0-60mph time is irrelevant - what would've been WAY more useful to know would be the 0-30mph time i.e. pulling out from a junction in to the traffic flow.
Most EVs are instantly quick off-the-line and that's why they make great city transport.
As for the range-per-charge, in another review, the Spring was giving slightly over 7 miles/kWh so it's 26kWh battery would mean a range of about 170-180 miles in the city - that's a once-per-week recharge over a Costa / Starbucks visit for most city / commuter drivers.
The 0-60 is insultingly slow. A 3 cylinder gasoline engine Mitsubishi Mirage is faster.
Ruff and Tuffty design ? How soft are you ? 🤣🤣🤣
The new Fiat Grande Panda is much better
15K can get you so many better and safer low mileage cars.
The NCAP test will be interesting.
It won’t get a good score but remember the tests are harder lately, the Renault Zoe scored 5 stars in 2013 when it came out and now it has 0 stars, that doesn’t make it a death trap
I’ve heard something that it’s 1 star
Well this is just a major facelift of the first Spring, but still just a facelift, and the first one only got 1 star. But it is a very small car. No car that small will get a very good EuroNCAP rating.
Better than you think - it’s all the driver aids that matter nowadays, not the crash protection.
I have an MG4 already as well as a 24 kwh Leaf so at some point I want to upgrade the Leaf to either an EC3 or the Dacia for local stuff.
That map camp around the plates and the massive DACIA logo on the back look so stupid and will age super fast. I think the interior looks awful - a hodge podge of geometry and colours that makes no sense.
Very fair review. Just can’t get over its hellishly awkward exterior design, which is a heavy facelift for the original. Looks rough and Russian, and that isn’t a compliment.
It's basically French and it looks pretty cool.
I'm not sure a 10 year old Clio would be less safe as that was a 5 star NCAP car.....as was the generation before (2005)! 😂😂
The test has changed since then so the Clio wouldn't be 5-star now as it doesn't have all the must have latest gizmos that we managed without for over a century.
If you get in an accident, lets just say it’s your last…..
Nah no thanks. Life's too short for this sort of thing.
Embarrassing 4m/kwh is still labeled as good when a niro or tesla have done this for ages and a lot bigger and heavier
The up can do almost 7 btw
Too expensive for a cheaply built car with almost no power nor range. Someone I know bought one, the interior is pure hard plastics, small, slow and again, too expensive
It's only about £2k more expensive than THE cheapest, most basic, plasticy petrol city-cars you can buy on Autotrader right now...
They're gonna cost the average 10,000 mile a year driver around £1,300 per year in petrol versus about £100 for the Spring owner who can charge up at home so, in less than 2 years, that differential's wiped out and the Spring is saving the owner money.
This car killed itself when its doubled its price. I love it but for current price its the worst ev because literally everything is better. If the starting price was the current used one than it would have a future.
This is the third uplift but never seen anything after the first which is telling.
@@P4TRICCS Was the first Spring really 7.500 pounds? (Converted) How is it the worst EV when everything is better?
How can it be the worst when Dacia is leader in electric and hybrid vehicles.
@@David_Polak when it released it went around 11000 eur in romania and it was literally sold everywhere else used for the same price or more after half a year.
@@xSlavic how is it leading when toyota makes the best hybrid and tesla,vw is the most popular EV IN EU?
Why do you keep calling the car "a thing", it's a car
So given the £15k penalty for selling over you quota of ICE. Dacia has built the ultimate compliance car. It is being sold at a vast premium to the EU price and mug UK punter will think its a get tax dodge (BIK). Its a throw away product after so a 20% battery degrade after a 4 year lease who will buy a second hand 60 mile winter range (highway speed)?
So you have the official battery degrade figures do you? could you please share them with us
@@grahamjohnson4702 manufactured in China at a Plant jointly owned by Renault, Nissan and Dongfeng Motors batteries from Sunwoda EVB. So, the cheapest possible supplier.
@@grahamjohnson4702even without degradation, the range is inadequate for most people, it couldn’t be your only car anyway
@@reececollison5101 Then why is it selling so well in Europe and who said it will be your only car because we all have different needs and this car can replace those little cars that older people have and use on the continent especially in France and Spain, no good for you but joy of joys for many.
Very much doubt many people will have this as a company car to take advantage of cheap BIK rates - it’s too small/basic. As for battery degradation, that’s nonsense.
I won't touch unrepairable, rebranded lithium bombs.
Dacia invented, you rebrand and copy.
Flush door handles hahahahaha
17k for that rubbish, go to Nissan and buy one of the last of the Nissan Leaf for 17k new. Much better car for the same money.
The uk is physically in Europe even if your xenophobia prevents you from grasping that simple concept. The stupidity of brexit doesn't mean you moved your island to Asia.
"Which makes me think, if you're not going to implement it [regen] properly, why do it at all?"
This is a staggeringly uneducated comment for a professional automotive journalist. I know you are aware that the the vehicle has a low powered, low geared engine because you mention it in the video. Obviously, along with the small battery and cheap interior, this is fundamental to keeping the price point so low. This is a budget city EV.
How can you possibly be a car journalist and not instantly know that a 33kW motor is going to deliver very little in the way of regen braking? Do you not have a basic teenage school level of understanding of how electric motors work? The only way to get good regen is the put a 150kW motor in there and bang, there goes your budget EV price bracket and you're in the budget sports car market.
You do realise that motors and generators are the same device, don't you? Good grief.