From cheap home to self-confident brand: Dacia has made an amazing development in recent years. Initially derided as Renault’s Resterampe, the Romanian subsidiary established itself as a sustainable and affordable alternative for a small budget. A total of 800,000 models were sold in Germany in the past 18 years and 2022 was a record year with almost 60,400 sales and a 2.3 percent market share. Four fifths (79 percent) of these went to private customers, with the brand moving up to sixth place across all manufacturers. “Meanwhile, Dacia is perceived as cool,” believes German marketing manager Frederik Monnet. With the maxim “concentration on the essentials”, the Renault subsidiary now wants to open a new chapter.

To this end, the model range was reduced to four series and given a uniform look including a new brand logo for the first time. Even if they are so uniform that they can hardly be distinguished in the rear-view mirror. In addition to the undisputed compact bestseller Sandero, the SUV Duster, which is hardly less in demand, and the tiny electric Spring, the new Jogger is to replace three former models with MCV, Lodgy and Dokker and in late summer will also be the first full hybrid Dacia with 141 hp (104 kW ) will come.

In fact, the mix of station wagon and van with a subtle SUV look offers great suitability for everyday use. At prices from 16,800 euros, the 4.55 meter long compact car with up to seven seats is suitable, whereby the two optional nine kilogram light seats in the third row (plus 1000 euros) can be quickly removed, as well as 160 to 1819 liters of possible luggage space as an all-rounder family and free time. Of course, you have to cut back on the prices when it comes to the choice of materials and engines.

So even in the highest equipment level Extreme+ (from 20,750 euros) there is still plenty of hard plastic, albeit well processed and laminated. The drive alternatives are currently limited to a bivalent LPG version with 101 hp (74 kW) as the entry-level model and a turbocharged petrol engine with 110 hp (81 kW), which floats well in an urban environment. The top is given as 174 km/h, but you don’t really want to experience that, as driving and wind noise can be felt exponentially from a speed of 140. When concentrating on the essentials, better insulation would certainly have done well.

In terms of functionality, on the other hand, the first Dacia model to win the prestigious “Golden Steering Wheel” award is quite generous. LED headlights with automatic lighting, roof rails, a multimedia system including a USB port, Bluetooth hands-free system and steering wheel controls are always on board. The next three equipment levels include an 8-inch touchscreen including smartphone integration and navigation, digital cockpit, automatic climate control, reversing camera, heated seats and a keyless entry and start system. The assistance systems alone meet only minimum standards in every version with emergency brake and blind spot warning.

The Dacia Spring is also minimalistic. The only 3.71 meters short city electric car in SUV optics is the cheapest four-seater electric car on the German market at prices from 22,750 euros – and the most environmentally friendly, as the consumer protection organization Green NCAP announced at the beginning of February. Where four-seater is high. While the front seat is still relatively adequate on seats that are a bit too short and without much lateral support, the two rear passengers must like each other, they sit so close to each other. And taller people should also pay attention to their heads when boarding at the back and hope that they aren’t of similar caliber at the front, so that they can also get their knees under. Despite the SUV look, the Spring is noticeably a 1.58 meter narrow microcar.

Real heavyweights are not allowed to get on anyway, because the payload only allows an additional 320 kilograms. And the roof rails only seem bling-bling, as the Spring is not allowed to carry or pull any load. Another curiosity, or an indication of the subsequent electrification of the model originally developed for India, is the manual handbrake and the “ignition key” that has to be turned to activate the electric motor.

It has 33 kW (45 hp), of which the Romanians have already delivered 18,500 units in Germany since the market launch in 2021. Before the summer, a more powerful “Extreme” variant with 48 kW (65 hp) and copper-colored decorative elements is to be added at prices starting at 24,550 euros. However, this does not change the battery capacity. The 26.8 kWh battery remains, which should ideally give the basic model an average WLTP range of 230 kilometers (extreme: 220 kilometers) with 13.9 kWh (extreme: 14.5 kWh). On urban terrain with frequent stop-and-go and recuperation phases, a few more kilometers should also be possible. And more kilometers can be wrested from the energy store by pressing the Eco button, which robs the electric motor of ten kilowatts and limits the top speed from 125 to 100 km/h.

In the city it doesn’t really matter. The basic jumping model, which weighs just under 1000 kilos, swims along happily in every situation and is even a lot of fun when weaving tracks with its lively, seamless spurts. After the town limit sign, on the other hand, things get tough. If the Stromer completes the 50 km/h in 5.8 seconds, it feels like it takes almost three times as long for the next section. According to the data sheet, it takes more than 19 long seconds to get up to speed on country roads from a standing start. Overtaking manoeuvres, one of the great advantages of electric cars, need to be well prepared. The upcoming Extreme version with the more powerful engine is a little more adequate at just under 3.9 seconds from zero to 50 km/h and 13.9 seconds to 100 km/h.

Incidentally, the new extreme outdoor look will also be available as an equipment variant in the Sandero and Duster this year, before a completely new development of the popular SUV model is due to appear in spring 2024. And a year later, Dacia will move up a notch with its largest model to date, appropriately named Bigster, in the highly competitive C-SUV segment. With the beefy styled Tiguan competitor, which at 4.60 meters is ten centimeters longer, the Romanians then provide the affordable alternative in a good two-thirds of the model segments. (Frank Wald/cen)