‘Dacia goes extreme’ is the new slogan of Renault’s daughter Dacia. ‘Extreme’ is, in fact, the new top-of-line version for all Dacias, but the Spring gets a second, more powerful variant with it. We drove it on Belgian roads.

Until now, the Dacia Spring, the cheapest EV on the Belgian market, had a 188 kg battery pack with 26,8 kWh of net electric energy to be stowed. The small crossover with a city or suburban environment in mind had a 33 kW/45 hp electromotor under the front hood until now.

From now on, Dacia is adding a second, more powerful, faster revolving version of the same engine, with 48 kW/65 hp on tap. This, and a changed transfer gear, makes for seriously improved performance, one-third better acceleration from a standstill (0-50 kph in 3,9 seconds instead of 5,8), and a 48% better 80-120 kph time (from 26,2 to 13,5 seconds). On the contrary, the top speed of 125 kph hasn’t changed.

In our first test of the little car, we were enthusiastic about the power and especially the power consumption of the vehicle in its natural urban environment, with the lowest electricity consumption we ever had, added to a certain amount of driving pleasure and no-nonsense attitude: ‘less is more’.

That the car got a bit short-breathed at higher speeds and surely didn’t invite for a sporty driving style didn’t bother us too much. The harsh plastics inside, made of hard materials, weren’t very attractive, that’s for sure.

Number two

But now, there’s the Extreme top version. In reality, it’s far from Extreme, adding more luxury, comfort, and oomph to a generally fine, basic EV that works well if one uses it in its favorite environment. The surplus you pay for the added refinement and performance is €1 700.

Apart from the more powerful engine, you also get a rearview camera, powered windows in the back, the Media NAV Evolution kit, the specific copper pack for the Extreme version, electric rearview mirrors, and parking sensors in the back.

With an everyday drive style, the power consumption shouldn’t differ between the standard and the more powerful version: Dacia indicates a WLTP range of 230 km with the lower-powered variant and 220 km with the stronger version. In real urban traffic, the range should be the same (305 km). Excellent results for a small battery, but the secret lies in the weight: just one ton is very low for an electric car.

Charging the small battery doesn’t take too long. At a standard domestic socket (AC, 10 A), it takes 13 and a half hours, but this drops to 8 and a half at 16 A and 5 hours at 32 A. Even fast charging (DC) is possible; a 0-80% charge takes less than one hour.

Basic but enjoyable

Of course, this is a small car, 3,73 m short and 1,77 m wide, but it comfortably seats two adults in the front, if they’re not too big, and two smaller persons in the back. The Spring is easy and fun to drive in an urban environment, and with its 15 kW extra, it doesn’t have to squeeze everything out on the highway to get along with traffic. The interior atmosphere is also an improvement with the ‘Extreme’ outfit.

Unfortunately, the Dacia Spring has also known a severe price hike in the last few years, and the basic model now comes in at ± €21 000 instead of the original €17 000. On the other hand, the price difference of €1 700 between the standard and top model is very reasonable.

The indicated (WLTP) range of 220 km may seem very restricted. Still, internal research from Dacia with its Spring customers reveals that the average European owner drives almost a week with one charge. He does 31 km per day at an average speed of 26 kph (definitely urban driving) and three out of four charge at home.

Although there may be another vehicle in the family, the Spring is the primary means of transportation for 90% of the owners. For 93% of them, it’s their first BEV, and 72% are new Dacia customers. Where 330 Springs were sold in 2022, Dacia aims at 800 units this year now that the offer has been enlarged. A €99/month basic private leasing formula is being proposed to lower the financial threshold.

Dacia is doing fine, thank you

Lately, we’ve been seeing the Renault Group recuperating from losses in the past and boosting its sales again, but a large part of this turnaround is also due to the still growing success of ‘low-cost daughter’ Dacia.

Its main group of customers are individual buyers in Belgium and the whole of Europe. When we keep to this part of the market, Dacia is already number three in Europe and occupies first place in seven European countries. The Sandero is one of the best-selling cars in Europe.

In the first five months of 2023, Dacia sold 9 621 cars (+66% compared to last year). In the market for individual car buyers (also called retail in the sector), 74 429 were sold in this same period (+17% compared to 2022), and 8 608 of them were Dacias (+71%).

The electric part of this market is not very important yet: 3 730 units, or just 5%, are electric, but that’s already a 71% increase compared to the first five months of 2022. 149 Springs were sold in these five months, a +171% increase. Maybe the target of 800 cars is not as over-ambitious as we thought…