2025 Dacia Spring Extreme 65 Review: Cheap Transport, Costly Compromises

A factory order for the base Dacia Spring in Germany currently demands 16,900 euros before destination charges. Stepping up to the Extreme 65 trim under review pushes that figure to 19,900 euros. That makes it the cheapest highway-capable electric car sold across the Republic. The small runabout sits squarely in the A-segment city car bracket, built for cramped urban streets and minimal running costs.

Its competitors have multiplied quickly. The Chinese-built Leapmotor T03 starts at 18,900 euros with a larger battery and more equipment out of the box. Citroën offers the Slovakian-built ë-C3 in You trim from 23,300 euros. Hyundai sells the South Korean Inster Select for 23,900 euros.

Those numbers show that Dacia is no longer competing against a vacuum. Citroën and Hyundai charge more money, but both deliver substantially more vehicle for the cash. Dacia is asking whether you want to save several thousand euros by accepting severe mechanical compromises.

Official WLTP figures suggest the Dacia Spring Extreme 65 achieves a combined driving range of approximately 220 kilometers from a full charge. The manufacturer claims this battery can stretch to roughly 305 kilometers if you restrict driving entirely to low-speed inner-city routes. You should treat those laboratory cycle figures as optimistic maximums rather than everyday promises.

Real-world driving conditions routinely shave 15 to 30 percent off laboratory range estimates due to weather, heating use, and aerodynamic drag. On German highways, the Spring cannot legally achieve the 130 km/h recommended cruising speed because the drivetrain is electronically capped at 125 km/h. Running the car flat out at 120 km/h in mild weather drains the small pack in roughly 120 to 130 kilometers. Urban stop-and-go commuting in summer will deliver closer to 180 or 190 kilometers on a charge.

Replenishing the pack is an exercise in patience. Dacia fits a single-phase onboard charger that draws a maximum of 3.7 kW on standard German household wallboxes, demanding over eight hours for a full top-up. Why does Dacia still demand 600 euros extra for a puny 30 kW DC port when competitors make fast charging standard? The only reason seems to be cost cutting, leaving highway top-ups from 20 to 80 percent at roughly 45 minutes.

The high-voltage pack holds 26.8 kilowatt-hours of usable energy and relies on nickel manganese cobalt cathode chemistry. Pack supplier Sunwoda builds the cells using a ternary NMC formulation to keep weight low. The entire battery pack tips the scales at just under 190 kilograms. Saving that weight is the main reason this car manages an overall curb weight of 984 kilograms.

NMC cells offer solid energy density, but they require careful temperature discipline to prevent accelerated degradation. Dacia opted out of a liquid thermal management loop to save production cost. The battery relies entirely on ambient air cooling with passive heat dissipation through the casing. Fast charging on hot summer afternoons will trigger thermal throttling, while freezing winter mornings cause sluggish energy delivery.

Underneath the fresh exterior panels sits the Renault-Nissan CMF-A platform, originally engineered for the combustion-powered Renault Kwid in India. Dongfeng builds the Spring for Renault at a joint-venture plant in Shiyan, China. The platform conversion involves bolting the battery pack beneath the floorpan where a fuel tank and exhaust tunnel used to run. Torsional rigidity remains rudimentary by European standards.

Propulsion comes from a single permanent magnet synchronous electric motor mounted across the front axle. In this Extreme trim, the motor generates 48 kilowatts, which equates to 65 metric horsepower and 113 Newton-meters of torque. A single-speed reduction gearbox spins the front wheels without a mechanical limited-slip differential. Getting from zero to 100 km/h takes 13.7 seconds, provided you floor the accelerator pedal and have patience.

Keeping mass below one metric ton pays dividends in rolling resistance. Dacia fitted tiny ventilated disc brakes on the front axle and simple drum brakes on the rear. Drum brakes perform adequately on a sub-one-ton city vehicle with modest speeds. Cost cutting appears aggressively in the wheel arches, where missing sound insulation lets every road pebble hammer against bare sheet metal.

The chassis layout uses independent MacPherson struts up front and a rudimentary torsion beam axle at the rear. Steel coil springs work alongside passive twin-tube hydraulic dampers on all four corners. There is no adaptive damper wizardry or compliance bushing under the car. The wheels are 15-inch stamped steel units wrapped in narrow 165/65 R15 tires.

Ride quality on smooth city tarmac feels tolerable, but broken pavement quickly upsets the chassis. The short 2.42-meter wheelbase causes noticeable pitch over speed bumps and bridge expansion joints. Sudden steering inputs provoke sharp body lean, followed by an abrupt intervention from the electronic stability control. Crosswinds on open rural roads will move the car across the painted lane markings without warning.

Dacia recalibrated the electric power steering rack for this update to improve self-centering. The steering wheel now turns with slightly more natural weight than the vague pre-facelift system. Road feel through the rim is nonexistent. You steer the car by visual reference rather than tire feedback.

The refreshed cabin layout deserves credit for keeping fundamental driver controls physical. Three tactile rotary dials govern climate temperature, fan speed, and air distribution directly below the central air vents. Physical pushbuttons handle window demisting, hazard flashers, and the door lock toggle. You never have to take your eyes off the asphalt simply to warm your hands or adjust airflow.

A 10.1-inch central touchscreen sits atop the dashboard on Extreme models to manage media and navigation. Menus respond sluggishly to finger taps, and secondary settings require poking through small virtual tiles. Operating complex touchscreen menus while driving forces you to look away from the road, which introduces serious safety risks and constant driver annoyance. If a car forces basic operational tasks onto a display screen, that is an engineering failure.

Ergonomics reveal where Dacia cut manufacturing pennies. The steering column adjusts for height but offers zero reach adjustment. The driver seat lacks height adjustment, leaving taller drivers perched high with their heads close to the roof lining. Seat cushions are short and offer minimal thigh support after thirty minutes of driving.

Practical storage throughout the cabin proves surprisingly decent for a vehicle measuring 3.70 meters long. Boot capacity measures 308 liters according to standard luggage tests, expanding to 1,004 liters when the single-piece rear bench folds forward. Dacia installed its YouClip mounting system, allowing you to clip cup holders, bag hooks, and flashlights to fixed anchors around the cabin. A bidirectional charging adapter plug is also available, turning the car battery into a 230-volt socket.

The rear passenger compartment is strictly a two-place bench. Legroom behind an average-sized front passenger is tight, and foot room under the front seats is severely constricted. Tall adults will find their knees wedged into hard plastic front seatbacks. You should treat the rear row as emergency seating for adults or space for small children.

Crash safety performance remains the darkest cloud hanging over this vehicle. Euro NCAP tested the Spring platform and awarded it a single safety star out of five. Adult occupant protection scored a miserable 44 percent, while child occupant protection stood at 31 percent. Dacia added standard lane-keeping assist and autonomous emergency braking to meet current European safety mandates, but active software cannot disguise weak underlying sheet metal.

Mechanically, the permanent magnet electric motor and single-speed transaxle have proven durable in simple city use. The official inspection records tell a far grimmer story regarding chassis hardware and structural build quality. In German TÜV defect reports, the Dacia Spring posted a 13.0 percent significant defect rate at its first mandatory test, ranking 107th out of 110 models due to worn suspension joints, corroded brake lines, and misaligned headlights. ADAC breakdown statistics further document recurring roadside callouts for dead 12-volt auxiliary batteries and erratic onboard charging software.

Do not buy this car expecting decade-long peace of mind without constant workshop visits. If you only need a cheap runabout for low-speed grocery runs within city limits, lease it with a full manufacturer warranty and hand the keys back when the term expires. For highway commuting or family duties, spend the extra money on a Citroën ë-C3 or Hyundai Inster.