The actually cheap electric car. For some the final frontier for EV adoption. For others the symbol of the demise of the Internal Combustion Engine. For me? Half-and-Half. And this is really problematic because the car that brought along this thought process in me is small, cheap, a bit shit, and perfect for the city dweller that hates public transport.
Yes, I know. I know. Public transport is superior if your city is above a certain density and you should prepare for lifestyle changes that reduce your use of a car. Make more trips with less stuff from the grocery store. Rely on third parties and last-mile delivery. I know. However, it’s astounding that on times where we see echo chambers galore and collective ideals versus personal freedom on pretty much every issue, that humans aren’t and shouldn’t be completely rational. And that sometimes, you don’t want to be at the mercy of the deliverymen for a new television. The 15-minute city can forget that we may want to get something from two cities away.
It is on these conditions that the Renault Group has dropped what has to be the most interesting EV for me. The Dacia Spring. That it’s a Dacia and not a Renault, except on the markets where the vehicle is badged Renault City K-ZE, should tell you everything you need to know. If it doesn’t, the 44-horsepower motor, 970kg weight, 20-second 0–62 time, one-star Euro NCAP results, 14” wheels with covers designed to integrate seamlessly into the steelies and real-world 92 mile range should tell you all you need to know. This is a City car in the purest definition. A vehicle hyperfocused on the person that expects to never leave the city and use someone else’s vehicle if they do. The corporate parts bin means that the controls should be familiar to anyone that has touched a cheap Renault or a Lada in the past half-decade or so. That it’s 2022 means that even on the cheapest name-brand EV around you get Air Conditioning and a touchscreen infotainment system (anyone who laments the days of cheap cars coming without an Stereo or A/C should be gifted a copy of The 120 Days of Sodom and told to remember that it’s supposed to be safe, sane, and consensual.
Okay, admittedly, a price of just under $20,000 for a vehicle with the features described above is perhaps a bit dear. Nevermind the fact the thing is all of $8700 in China. Nevertheless, the European market is absolutely adoring the little thing. They sold 40,000 of them in the first eight months of release and being on the top 3 vehicles for sale on its native Romania since inception. It seems like the realities of ancient cities with small roads, weekly driving distances still measured in the double digits and the convenience of just running a plug from your house have conspired with generous government incentives to make it a hit.
Nevermind the “32 unique audio files” that VAG is fitting to their top of the line EV’s to recreate the experience of driving an ICE car; nevermind Tesla’s continued and repeated efforts to make you feel like you are driving around in a smartphone, the most exciting thing to happen to a BEV as far as I am concerned, is a group of Frenchmen deciding “What if Modern Renault 4, with batteries?”
