SPRING WATCH

Things are hotting up in the electric city car class, with the refreshed Dacia Spring facing Leapmotor's new TO3

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Romanian city car faces up to challenge of Chinese EV newcomer

WHEN the new car market started to sway towards electric power, many of us hoped that small, affordable cars would lead the charge. It's a bit of a shame, then, that with the exception of one or two credible but expensive city cars, what we mainly got was a glut of large, heavy SUVs that make little to no sense in urban areas.

After a couple of false starts in the small-car segment, the choice is now rapidly expanding; the vehicles' sizes are coming down, but more importantly, so are the prices. The two cars you see here are perfect examples of that: a pair of small EVs that cost less than almost any petrol-powered alternatives in the class.

The Dacia Spring is hugely popular in mainland Europe already, with thousands of them zipping around continental city streets. But it's only now, following a cosmetic and mechanical overhaul, that it's available to British buyers, so was it worth the wait?

We're testing it against the dinky T03 from a brand unfamiliar to most people in the UK, Leapmotor. We want to find out if it's possible for a new car to simply be too cheap. And do these two rivals demand any compromises that will be too much to bear in everyday use?

CONTENDERS

Dacia Spring

A CHEAP EV from a brand that does cheap cars better than pretty much anyone else; on paper, the Dacia Spring seems like the right car from the right brand at the right time.

With prices starting at a smidge under £15,000, it's one of the most affordable cars money can buy right now. That's an eyeopening achievement considering that many EVs cost more than their petrol or diesel counterparts. Even the Extreme variant you see in these pictures, which tops the Spring range, costs just £16,995.

Leapmotor T03