Dacia Spring Cargo (2026 - ) Electric review

Following the standard conversion to a commercial vehicle, the Spring Cargo’s rear seats have been removed and replaced with a levelled-off load space to provide just over a single cubic metre of load volume. Your payload is capped at 370 kg over the rear axle with a metal mesh bulkhead and lashing points keeping the load in check. The rear windows have also been blacked out to stop prying eyes from seeing too much of what you’re carrying, and access to your load is through the boot hatch and side doors. This is not a heavy load carrier by any means, but the 370 kg payload is slightly higher than the 300 kg provided by the Citroen e-C3 Van… although the Citroen provides slightly more load volume, but is slightly more expensive. It’s also very small, and parking to load and unload is a doddle.

If you’ve driven the Dacia Spring in car form, you’ll know what to expect from the Cargo version’s cabin. The front two seats are comfortable enough, although not height adjustable. The single trim level provides a 10-inch infotainment screen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. Climate control is all done through hard controls, so you won’t be searching through the screens to demist the windows. There’s some storage in the doors and a small storage basin in front of the manual hand brake for some bigger bits. It’s all very tidy and neat in the front, making decent use of the small space. Plastics and fabrics are durable without looking and feeling too cheap, and there are enough sockets and USB ports to keep two people happy. It’s very much a case of ‘it is what it is’ with this little van. You get what you need in a very small space, nothing more.

With a starting price around £16K (ex VAT with the plug-in van grant added), the Spring Cargo is more affordable than its closest competitor, the Citroen e-C3 Van. It can also carry more weight, but not drive as far. While the Citroen boasts a 200-mile range, the Dacia’s WLTP range is 140 miles (closer to 120 real-world miles). However, its regenerative braking is good and should be trusted to put miles back in the battery. To test it, we drove from Hemel Hempstead to Waddesden Manor in Aylesbury, along a bypass and many country roads. The journey is a 56-mile round trip and we started with 90 percent charge indicating 110 miles of range. We finished the day on 48 percent charge indicating 52 miles. The battery has a total usable capacity of 26.8 kWh, we used 42 percent of the charge equalling 11.25 kW. All those figures put into the maths pot showed we achieved 4.6 miles per kWh, which is pretty good. You'll get miles back into the battery by rapid charging from 20-80 percent is possible in as little as 45 minutes, making this a solid choice for short-range businesses operating in towns. The already affordable acquisition costs can be broken down even further on a good finance or lease deal, making this a good compact electric van for any business looking to make the switch to electric power. Although you will find pre-owned Renault Zoe Vans for around £7K (ex VAT) with their 200-mile ranges relatively intact on the Autotrader marketplace. We’re just mentioning that so you have all the facts.

As befits a compact and affordable electric van powered by Renault tech, reliability is considered to be good. The Spring Cargo is covered by a very industry standard three-year / 60,000-mile warranty and the battery packs by their own eight-year / 75,000-mile warranty. This kind of coverage would suit anyone looking to lease for a couple of years to ensure coverage while they’re in-contract. Just be aware that the Dacia Spring Cargo is marketed as an affordable electric van… long-term reliability can sometimes be impacted by budget-cutting design choices.

The Dacia Spring Cargo performs quite well as a compact car-derived van, and needs to be judged on those terms. It’s so small that you’ll be able to park it nearly anywhere, and nipping about tight streets is no challenge at all. Its tiny size impacts on load and people carrying capabilities, and the smaller battery pack impacts on range. Make peace with these compromises through the price.

While it’s no slouch, power will rapidly trail off and the Dacia Spring Cargo is a very light vehicle to drive. You will experience significant roll in the corners whether you’re carrying load or not. You will want to have regenerative braking activated to save charge and therefore will have to get used to the rapid slow down when you lift off the accelerator. The blacked-out windows hugely impact visibility in your blind spots, and you have to lean right around the B pillar to see anything... the tiny mirrors are also rubbish and the driver side one wouldn't angle far enough away from the van's body to see anything. It drives fine, but it's not fun to drive.

A one-star Euro NCAP safety rating is pretty dismal, but it’s what you get with the Spring Cargo. Beyond air bags, emergency braking, speed assist and traffic sign recognition there’s not much else to shout about. It feels very lightweight and some will feel like they’re sitting in a tin rather than a compact van. The Citroen e-C3 Van, despite scoring lower in safety ratings, feels slightly safer to drive… maybe it just feels a bit heavier on the road. That said, no one drives with the intention of having an accident, but it would be nice to add a few more obvious safety features to such a small vehicle. Also, the hugely compromised visibility from rubbish door mirrors and the blacked-out windows can make you feel isolated and unsafe in the cabin.

There’s enough equipment on the Spring Cargo to surprise and delight, including a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, V2L power, the solid mesh bulkhead and more. There’s not a lot of room inside, but the space available is well used and the equipment level is what you’d expect from a small and affordable electric car-van.

You’ll buy the Dacia Spring Cargo because you’re a small local business with barely any weight-carrying requirements looking for a compact van that will definitely not break the bank. It’s cheaper than the Citroen e-C3 Van, can carry more but not drive as far. At the compact end of the market there’s only a niche audience, but the £16K (ex VAT) starting price might open it up to tradespeople looking for a ‘pricing run’ or ‘small jobs’ vehicle. It's an easy day runner, but night is not this van-car's friend.