Three years after its release, the Spring is getting a thorough restyling. Dacia’s city car has a more modern look and offers more current equipment with the ambition of remaining the least expensive on the electric market.
[Mis à jour le 21 février 2024 à 11h54] Dacia will not have waited long before giving its little Spring a makeover, its 100% electric city car produced since spring 2021. Less than three years after its arrival on French soil, the Romanian firm was not satisfied to give three brushstrokes to one of its flagship models, on the contrary, it carried out an in-depth restyling.
Metamorphosed on the outside, modernized on the inside, the Spring appears much more attractive with the aim of remaining one of the most attractive electric vehicles on the market (nearly 30,000 sales in France in 2023). But it will have to face tough competition, notably that of the brand new Citroën ë-C3 before the arrival of the future Renault Twingo E-Tech and electric R5, without the benefit of the ecological bonus since being assembled in China now excludes it from the government system. A new situation which could well redistribute the cards.
What’s new on the restyled Dacia Spring?
- Apart from its dimensions (3.73 m long, 1.62 m wide and 1.52 m high) and a few elements, everything has changed on the Spring to the point that this mid-career restyling could pass for a new generation of the small model from the Romanian brand. At the front, the shield is more massive but the very horizontal grille is very refined while the thin black strip highlights the manufacturer’s new logo. At the ends of this strip, we find the Y-shaped light signature now developed on the latest Dacia models. The front is more vertical, giving the city car the look of a mini SUV or even a mini Duster as the Spring copies many elements of its big brother, the third generation of which was presented at the end of 2023.
- As at the front, the rear of the Spring appears more robust than on the 2021 version. The shield is also more imposing and we now find a black strip welcoming the name of the brand in full and connecting the lights rears redesigned in Y. On the Extreme finish, more high-end than the Essential and Expression, the lower part of the shield, at the rear as at the front, receives a customizable sticker which can be replaced after an impact in order to hide marks on the bodywork.
- New hubcaps and the generalization of 15-inch rims from the Expression finish bring more character to the Spring, whose wheel arches have been redesigned for a more upscale look. Despite its very small dimensions, the mini city car gives the impression of permanently puffing out the chest and offering more robustness than before its makeover.
- Change on the outside but also on the inside. It must be said that the Spring’s interior was far from being a strong point. Here too, the city car will take many elements from the Duster III to modernize, starting with its fully digital 7-inch meter, much more complete than the previous one. The dashboard accommodates a 10.1-inch panoramic touch screen as an option on the Expression finish and as standard on the Extreme finish. In particular, thanks to Media Nav Live, it allows connected navigation for which, icing on the cake, Dacia offers eight years of subscription. Below the screen, the center console is also dusted with new climate and heating controls.
- Between the front seats of the city car, the old rotary selector gives way to a new gear lever already seen on the Duster but also on the Jogger. The driver of the restyled Spring will now be able to activate position B, which is used to increase the intensity of regenerative braking, which allows electricity to be recovered in the battery.
The engines on the restyled Dacia Spring
If the Spring has undergone changes in terms of its silhouette and interior design, don’t look for new features under the hood. The city car retains its two small engines, the first of 33 kW for a power of 45 horsepower, the second of 44 kW for a power of 65 horsepower. The single battery keeps the same capacity as on the initial version of the Dacia, 26.8 kWh, which still gives it a range of just over 200 kilometers. Figures far from what is done elsewhere, but Spring targets an essentially urban clientele for whom autonomy is not a primary factor.
When will the Dacia Spring of 2024 be released?
Presented on February 21, 2024, the restyled city car should hit our roads in the fall, possibly in October. That is roughly six months after the Citroën ë-C3 and two years before the new Twingo E-Tech, two of its announced rivals.
What will the price of the restyled Dacia Spring be?
Long considered the cheapest car on the electric market, the Spring can no longer claim this title with the new provisions of the ecological bonus. If this was reduced by 1,000 euros in 2024, going from aid of 5,000 to 4,000 euros for the purchase of a new electric vehicle for a large majority of French households, the little Dacia, like all models manufactured outside Europe are no longer entitled to any discounts.
With today a starting price set at 18,400 euros, the Spring has every chance of costing a little more in its restyled version. The trend would be towards an entry-level price between 19,000 and 20,000 euros, which would place it at the level of the new Citroën ë-C3 (19,900 euros). With the difference – and it is a big one – that the French brand’s city car will still be able to see its price lowered by 4,000 euros, or even 7,000 euros for the most modest households.