- Olga Kokorina
- Translated by Olga Apetenok
- Ru
The Spring has come to the city of electric vehicles
The Dacia Spring is an electric city SUV, which has been produced since 2021, but is descended from the 2015 Renault Kwid. In 2019, the Renault City K-ZE electric vehicle was released in China, followed by the Dacia Spring Electric concept vehicle in 2020. The new Dacia Spring EV SUV belongs to the same price segment as the Sandero petrol hatchback and is deservedly considered almost the most affordable environmentally friendly vehicle on the European market. Just remember that one of the Spring’s main competitors, the Volkswagen e-up! , is now estimated at 21,421 euros.
The most affordable electric vehicle became available in Europe in March 2021. The Spring has a Spring Business version, designed for car sharing or rental and ready for active use, featuring the seats upholstered in durable leatherette, mats, kicking plates and trunk sill covers. The vehicle is prepared for position detection (via a connected smartphone) and is equipped with rear parking sensors and a rear view camera. In 2022, a cargo version of the Dacia Spring Cargo will also be released.
Exterior
The Spring’s “face” immediately gives away the electric nature of the vehicle. Just look at the plug that hides the charging connector instead of the radiator grille. The SUV is 3,734 mm long, 1,622 mm wide and 1,516 mm high. The ground clearance is reduced in comparison with its petrol counterpart Kwid and is equal to 150 mm (versus 180 mm), with the traction battery occupying additional space. The exterior of the small SUV is decorated with bright accents on the sidewalls of the body, roof rails and side mirror housings.
Interior
It is not surprising that the interior of the 2021 Dacia Spring was borrowed from the Kwid. However, the trim materials and the steering wheel are different. Plus, the recirculation mode of the climate system is activated by a button. The passenger compartment comes standard with a modest monochrome screen on the front panel, central locking and power windows. The expensive trim levels have air conditioning, a rear-view camera coupled with parking sensors, electric mirrors, a multimedia system with a 7-inch touch screen, navigator, Bluetooth, USB-connector, as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functions. The trunk volume of the electric vehicle is of the same volume as that of the original Renault Kwid petrol car.
Powertrains
The new Dacia Spring is equipped with a rather modest electric motor that develops 45 hp and 125 Nm. Thanks to the compact battery with a capacity of 27.4 kWh, the declared driving range in the WLTP cycle is 230 km, and it can be increased to 305 km in the city mode. When Eco mode is activated, the power of the electric motor is reduced from 45 to 31 hp, and the maximum speed is limited to 100 km/h.
Due to the limited output of the motor, the 2021/2022 Dacia Spring is one of the slowest electric vehicles in the world. The claimed acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 19.1 seconds. The maximum speed of an electric vehicle is 125 km/h. You can recharge the battery to 80% with the optional DC charger (30 kW) in less than an hour. It will take you less than an hour and a half to charge the battery to 100%. A 220 volt outlet will charge the electric vehicle in about 14 hours.
Equipment
The entry-level Dacia Spring boasts air conditioning, electric power steering, automatic headlights, central locking with remote control and six airbags, as well as ESP, speed limiter and automatic braking system, which operates at speeds of 7 up to 170 km/h (despite the fact that the maximum speed to which the little vehicle is capable of accelerating is limited at around 125 km/h).
