The Dacia Spring received one out of five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests. Linked to the absence of driving aids, this poor score is not a surprise for the low-cost electric city car. Discover the details of its results in the safety assessments of the European body.
Like the Renault Zoe, which receives a zero point that should be analyzed before worrying too much, the Dacia Spring, another small 100% electric model from the Renault group, was subjected to crash tests by Euro NCAP. The elevated Romanian city car also received a poor rating as it was awarded only one in five stars. This result was expected.
A “low cost” base that pays for itself
The Dacia Spring is based on the Renault City K-ZE initially developed for China from the Indian thermal Renault Kwid, countries where safety requirements are not as strict as those on the Old Continent. Despite the modifications made to the vehicle for the European market, its intrinsic design therefore augured for a poor score at Euro NCAP. In addition, safety equipment has been chosen to keep the selling price as low as possible in line with Dacia’s “low cost” positioning.
Finally, Euro NCAP’s rating gets tougher every year and places increasing importance on active safety aids, very few present aboard the Spring, again for cost reasons. The small Dacia is still equipped as standard with an autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which remains basic since it does not detect pedestrians, cyclists or other vulnerable road users. ” Poor crash performance and weak crash avoidance technology result in a one star rating for the Dacia Spring », Explains Euro NCAP.
Varying results depending on the situation
The Dacia Spring is equipped with two front frontal airbags, front side airbags and curtain airbags. During a frontal impact, the Euro NCAP test shows poor protection of the driver’s chest and thighs. Children in the rear on suitable seats do better with protection deemed “good”, with the exception of the head of a small (average size of a 6-year-old child), whose protection was rated as “low”.
In a side impact, safety was rated between “good” and “fair”, but the significant offset of an occupant to the opposite side was rated “poor”. In the event of a rear impact, the necks of the front occupants are well protected, but not that of the second row passengers. At the end of the physical crash tests, Euro NCAP emphasizes: “ The score was penalized by the large forces required to open the door after impact. “Regarding impacts with pedestrians, the Spring achieved average performance and collected 21.3 points out of 36.
A little surprising score, but not very satisfactory
In the end, the Dacia Spring received the following ratings from Euro NCAP:
- adult protection: 49%
- child protection: 56%
- protection of vulnerable road users: 39%
- safety aids: 32%
Starting at € 17,390, the Dacia Spring is the cheapest electric car on the French market. Now, it is also the lowest rated of the small city cars in the A segment at Euro NCAP. The Volkswagen e-Up !, its closest rival, sold for € 24,690, had received three stars in 2019 but with the old test protocol. A new passage under the 2021 scale could mean a lower score.
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