The new Dacia Duster and Spring EV are about to arrive in Ireland and the Spring will be, by quite a long shot, the cheapest electric car you can buy.
Go on then, how much?
Landing at a price of €16,990 - inclusive of the SEAI grant - the Spring is some €6,500 cheaper than the next-cheapest EV, the Citroen e-C3.
Compact and light - it weighs just 975kg - the Spring will come with a choice of 45hp or 65hp models, but only the 65hp one gets DC rapid charging. Dacia knows from its European Spring customer base that all but a handful of owners do all their charging at home and only drive on short journeys every day.
What’s the range like?
The Spring’s maximum range is up to 225km from a 26.8kWh battery pack.
Expression and Extreme trims will be available, and all versions feature parking sensors, cruise control, air conditioning, electric windows, and a host of ADAS features, including driver attention alert, traffic sign recognition, and speed alert. Thanks to the MySafety switch, many of these can be switched off with a simple double-click.
Extreme models get. 10.1-inch touchscreen, whereas the Expression gets Dacia’s simple mobile phone clamp.
On top of that bargain price tag, the Spring will be available with zero per cent interest finance and no deposit for customers who order one between now and the end of December.
What about the Duster?
The Spring isn’t the only important new Dacia model arriving in time for the 251 registration period. The new Duster is coming, too.
The Duster, now in its third generation, will be priced from €25,990, and will also come with zero per cent finance if ordered before the 31 December.
There will be three engine choices for the Duster: a basic 100hp 1.0-litre with LPG bi-fuel capability, a 130hp 1.2-litre petrol turbo, which is your only choice if you want a four-wheel drive Duster, and a 140hp 1.6-litre hybrid. The 1.2-litre 130hp gets mild hybrid assistance, while the 1.0-litre bi-fuel can go for a claimed 1,000km on twin full tanks of petrol and LPG.
The Duster will come in four trim levels - Essential, Expression, Journey, and Extreme.
The Essential version comes with that classic mobile phone clamp on the dash and a multimedia system that can be controlled through your smartphone. This multimedia system includes digital radio, four speakers, Bluetooth, steering wheel controls and voice recognition.
Expression, Journey and Extreme versions feature a large 10.1-inch central touchscreen, with wireless smartphone replication for both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Real-time traffic navigation and up-to-date maps are included on Journey and Extreme. Drivers can also benefit from the practical connected services such as remote vehicle location or the display of mileage information through your MY Dacia app. There’s also the option of a new 3D sound system developed by Arkamys, which includes six speakers.
The Duster also comes with new generation GSR2 driving aids, representing a major safety upgrade. Using the My Safety button, you can disable some of these aids at any time. These features include active emergency brake (AEBS), traffic sign recognition with speed alert, lane keeping assist, and lane departure warning. Other safety features included are Blind Spot Warning (for Journey & Extreme models only), Hill Descent Speed Monitoring (for 4x4 models only) and the Multi-View Camera for parking.
What about other Dacia models?
As for the rest of the Dacia line up - the Jogger, Sandero, and Sandero Stepway - these will also all benefit from the zero per cent HP finance offer, or there’s 4.9 per cent interest PCP finance available, all through the Mobilize Bank, which like Dacia is part of the wider Renault Group.
If you want to find out more about the new Duster and Spring, Dacia Ireland will be holding a sales event at its dealer from Thursday to Saturday, 14 to 16 November.