Dacia Spring

Small hatchback will be the UK's cheapest new electric car when it arrives On sale Summer 2024 Price from £20,000 (est)

- Lawrence Cheung

 

THE FIRST STEP in healthy living is to remove the excess fat from your diet. Stick to nutritious essentials and the pounds will soon fall off, and that also explains how the electric Dacia Spring carries such an alluringly lean price tag.

Set to proudly assume the title of the UK's cheapest new electric car when it goes on sale, the circa-£20,000 Spring will substantially undercut our current favourite small electric car, the MG 4 EV (which starts at £26,995).

Before we go any further, we should point out that the car we're testing here is the current European-market model; the UK will get a refreshed version. The changes are unlikely to be radical, though; it'll still be a small hatchback with an air of SUV style, but with front-wheel drive and next to no off-road ability.

Two power outputs will be available: 44bhp and 64bhp. Both of these grant the same top speed (78mph), but the less powerful version's languid 19.1sec 0-62mph time suggests it'll be more at home in the city than on the open road.

The 64bhp version, however, is quite sprightly at low speeds, as well as being able to keep up with motorway traffic. You might not want to do that too often, though; the current model is noisier than all its rivals, with a lot more ruckus kicked up by the tyres, wind and electric motor.