BEVs

[Carlton green]

It’ll be interesting to see what the USA’s attacks on Iran does for the popularity of BEV’s. The price of crude oil has gone up significantly as availability has become restricted and uncertain; at the same time I believe that some electricity suppliers have canned their cheap overnight rates for BEV’s but charging at standard tariff rates is still possible.

Meanwhile expect a windfall bonus for oil companies operating away (distant) from the Strait of Hormuz. How long this interruption to world supply will last is anyone’s guess but my best guess is it’ll be a few months before Iran is ‘subdued’, and longer again before oil prices drop.

If there were a second hand BEV that met my budget and needs then the impending fuel crisis would push me towards purchase. I suspect there will be others, with greater funds and more pressing needs, that will now go out and buy a BEV and then try to get a home charger organised. What a peculiar situation; whilst the orange one doesn’t like renewables and BEV’s his actions make them more popular and us more aware of the insecure supply of oil.

[UpWrong]

The 2026 Dacia Spring has a new platform, new battery, new suspension, new motor, new charger/rectifier. Battery is now an LFP in pack under the floor. Power is increased to 100 bhp and the handling is immensely improved. Still built in China. The weight has crept up marginally, just exceeding one tonne.Still the lightest electric car available in the UK.

[UpWrong]

It’ll be interesting to see what the USA’s attacks on Iran does for the popularity of BEV’s. The price of crude oil has gone up significantly as availability has become restricted and uncertain; at the same time I believe that some electricity suppliers have canned their cheap overnight rates for BEV’s but charging at standard tariff rates is still possible.

Meanwhile expect a windfall bonus for oil companies operating away (distant) from the Strait of Hormuz. How long this interruption to world supply will last is anyone’s guess but my best guess is it’ll be a few months before Iran is ‘subdued’, and longer again before oil prices drop.

If there were a second hand BEV that met my budget and needs then the impending fuel crisis would push me towards purchase. I suspect there will be others, with greater funds and more pressing needs, that will now go out and buy a BEV and then try to get a home charger organised. What a peculiar situation; whilst the orange one doesn’t like renewables and BEV’s his actions make them more popular and us more aware of the insecure supply of oil.

I'm afraid this USA administration will just "drill baby drill" to become more self sufficient. I regret the way the war will bolster Putin's oil and gas revenues.

[UpWrong]

If there were a second hand BEV that met my budget and needs then the impending fuel crisis would push me towards purchase. I suspect there will be others, with greater funds and more pressing needs, that will now go out and buy a BEV and then try to get a home charger organised. What a peculiar situation; whilst the orange one doesn’t like renewables and BEV’s his actions make them more popular and us more aware of the insecure supply of oil.

Regarding home chargers, they are expensive. With a small battery BEVs it's possible to get by on a 10A granny charger, BUT you really should get the wiring checked, have a special plug with thermal protection and run it on a separate spur with it's own circuit breaker. If you don't do all of these then you risk burning your house down.

[Carlton green]

The 2026 Dacia Spring has a new platform, new battery, new suspension, new motor, new charger/rectifier. Battery is now an LFP in pack under the floor. Power is increased to 100 bhp and the handling is immensely improved. Still built in China. The weight has crept up marginally, just exceeding one tonne.Still the lightest electric car available in the UK.

I’m not sure of the full range of changes and how much difference they’ll make in daily use, references would be useful. What’s for sure though is that new Springs cost a significant amount - well, a bit over my budget - and their residual value will drop like a stone. So in avoiding high fuel costs you hit a high capital loss instead. Having said that we tend to keep our cars from near new (ideally we’re the second owner) until worn out so (further) depreciation hasn’t been a particular concern … but dealer support (to enable longevity) certainly is. Unless someone is desperate for a brand new BEV they are, imho, probably better off leaving the Spring in the showroom and buying something else secondhand - not sure what though.

There’s an indication of Spring changes here: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/new-c ... d-sandero/ Other references welcomed.

Though it appears (near enough) no more fuel efficient than its 100 HP brother a 70 HP ‘engine’ would be fine for my needs. I note the change of battery chemistry and slightly reduced capacity, declared range has been maintained via slightly improved efficiency. Whether right or wrong the changed chemistry gives me hope for a longer battery life, and whilst the range ain’t encouraging (100 - 120 miles) it’s usefully better than the original Leaf’s (24Kwh battery, say 60 - 80 miles of range with a good battery) and determined folk have managed to do lots of stuff with the original Leafs.
https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1019/Nissan-LEAF-24-kWh
https://ev-database.org/uk/#group=vehic ... s=1&p=0-10
https://www.facebook.com/groups/5948342 ... 152844174/

[UpWrong]

No english reviews of the 2026 Spring yet, but there are a couple of dubbed ones, but you have to watch on Youtube to get the translation it seems.

[Carlton green]

No english reviews of the 2026 Spring yet, but there are a couple of dubbed ones, but you have to watch on Youtube to get the translation it seems.

Thanks for that, a very interesting review with multiple takeaways from it.

The Spring has been ungraded a couple of times already so it seems like a car in constant evolution, that’s not a bad thing but good products usually don’t need (as frequent) further development.
I suspect that this new version will be revised again in a couple of years time with: even better batteries, an even more efficient power train, and better headroom.
The reviewer mentions tightness of headroom, I wonder whether the previous model was the same or whether some cabin space has been somehow robbed to accommodate the now underfloor battery.
I picked up on the resale importance of having air-conditioning, not that I’ve needed it much in my car and shortish journeys but it might be a dealbreaker for someone else.
Moving the battery and rejigging the suspension doubtless helps the handling. More weight over the FWD too.
It’d be daft not to spend a little more and gain the improvements of the newer model (better handling and improved battery), but if money’s very tight then the old version with the 65HP motor would be functional and cheaper.

From the Spring Owners Facebook group I picked up that some companies won’t insure the Spring, many companies will though so getting cover shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Elsewhere I read that BEV insurance is dropping, but whether that’s also relative to ICE insurance or not I’m unsure.

From elsewhere I picked up that even the revised Spring’s days are numbered, it will be phased out as other product is introduced: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new- ... ed-city-ev

[al_yrpal]

I’m a car salesman. The electric vehicles mandate is a joke

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/eb8246017a298427

[Carlton green]

I’m a car salesman. The electric vehicles mandate is a joke

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/eb8246017a298427

An interesting article, thank you,

You cannot force a market to move faster than it is ready to. That is why the 2035 deadline looks increasingly unrealistic from where I stand. The timetable has to move – I think 2040 or 2045, and this will have to include some hybrids.

In my business, there’s one rule that has never changed – the customer is always right. Perhaps it’s time for the Government to finally listen to them too.

Interestingly I’ve got it in mind to buy a BEV, it’d be replacing an old ICE car. Most in my sights is a nearly new Spring, but I’m inclined to at least wait until the updated 2026 models are being sold at some significant discount. They’re not what I’d call good cars, but if they have a decent lifespan then, for the money, they might work out as independent local transport.

Why haven’t I jumped on one of the pre-facelift models? They’re a bit of a bargain for such a young car but VED is much more than I currently pay, insurance will be much more than I currently pay, depreciation will be way more than I currently suffer and whilst the fuel will be cheaper my petrol bills aren’t massive. My present car has a range, should I need it, of 400 miles and that could be driven non-stop. The Spring has a range of say 120 miles at motorway speeds and with limited recharge rate would take an hour to recharge; for those long journeys that’s heading towards having an average speed of 40mph. So changing would cost me a packet and leave me worse off, that doesn’t entice many folk.

I like small cars and here is where the European Governments’ have made the big mistake, they should have primed the small BEV market with tax breaks and then let those small BEV’s trickle down onto the second hand market. Large BEV’s should have got but half the support of smaller ones, let the rich pay their taxes.

Moving forward there’s a big market for BEV’s, or rather there could be if Governments woke up and recognised what was happening in the market. Tell the likes of VW to sell eUP cars, support the Micra and cap support for expensive BEV’s. Introduce public (electric) charging that’s cheap and make on-street charging outside your own home easier. It ain’t rocket science but it does need folk who get out of the ‘Westminster Bubble’ and ground themselves in the reality of day to day life as experienced by the ‘unclean masses’.

[UpWrong]

I’m a car salesman. The electric vehicles mandate is a joke

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/eb8246017a298427

An interesting article, thank you,

You cannot force a market to move faster than it is ready to. That is why the 2035 deadline looks increasingly unrealistic from where I stand. The timetable has to move – I think 2040 or 2045, and this will have to include some hybrids.

In my business, there’s one rule that has never changed – the customer is always right. Perhaps it’s time for the Government to finally listen to them too.

Interestingly I’ve got it in mind to buy a BEV, it’d be replacing an old ICE car. Most in my sights is a nearly new Spring, but I’m inclined to at least wait until the updated 2026 models are being sold at some significant discount. They’re not what I’d call good cars, but if they have a decent lifespan then, for the money, they might work out as independent local transport.

Why haven’t I jumped on one of the pre-facelift models? They’re a bit of a bargain for such a young car but VED is much more than I currently pay, insurance will be much more than I currently pay, depreciation will be way more than I currently suffer and whilst the fuel will be cheaper my petrol bills aren’t massive. My present car has a range, should I need it, of 400 miles and that could be driven non-stop. The Spring has a range of say 120 miles at motorway speeds and with limited recharge rate would take an hour to recharge; for those long journeys that’s heading towards having an average speed of 40mph. So changing would cost me a packet and leave me worse off, that doesn’t entice many folk.

An English Dacia Spring 2026 review. The reviewer was so impressed, he bought one! Head height in the back not an issue:

He does seem to suggest there are discounts to be had on 2026 models. Perhaps take a look on CarWow to see what deals there are near you. My tip would be to check out the reputation of the dealer for service prior to buying.

[Carlton green]

An English Dacia Spring 2026 review. The reviewer was so impressed, he bought one!

The reviewer does seem to buy and sell a lot of low end cars, for him I don’t thank it’s a keeper but rather more of something to talk about on his channel. Perhaps he got cut a ‘sweet deal’ too, who knows?

As for me I’ll wait a while yet, and see what the future brings. Changing cars is massively expensive, but when the time is right a small BEV would tick a lot of boxes. As I said earlier this size, price, and type of vehicle is just the thing that Governments should be supporting and not the larger and more luxury orientated stuff.

It occurs to me that - accidentally or not - Dacia have got something right. If manufacturers are judged on the percentage of their sales being electric then making bargain basement electric cars that sell - possibly even at some loss - enables them to also sell very expensive fossil fuel cars too and (still) hit Government targets.

[Ferrij]

Dacia have a business ethic now to produce vehicles that are functional and competitively priced rather than profit maximisation, and in fairness their current products are decent

[RickH]

I quite liked the look of the Spring. I passed one on the motorway recently & it looked tiny (not that that is a bad thing in my view). But I wasn't sure on the range as I quite regularly do a journey of about 100miles round trip which would probably mean at least a short top-up en route so ensure getting home.

We'd been planning to get rid of our old car fairly soon as it is on 117k on the clock, 13.5 years old & has had a corrosion advisory on the rear axle for the last 3 MOTs. The jump in fuel prices pushed me to do something about it as I reckoned the 20ppl increase between the last 2 tanks of fuel put an extra 2p per mile on running costs. And it has since gone up at least as much again. Combined with the fact that our off-peak electricity (we're on economy 7 with a fixed tariff until Jan 2027 ) is about to drop from 14p to 10.5p.

So we're about to trade in for a Hyundai Inster which should cost around 2.5p per mile in fuel cost, & still probably less than 3p if we have to occasionally rapid charge it.

Insurance has gone up from ~£225 to ~£250, but that is from a £500 car to one nominally worth 50 times as much.

One big plus on the Inster is, although you can't tow with it, they do a "bike carrier hitch", aka a towball, to use a rear mounted bike carrier.

So I will have that option, as well as still being able to use the roof rack carrier(s) on the car's built in roof bars. Load rating is 75kg on each.

[Carlton green]

The Spring is advertised as having 140 miles of combined use range, if I were doing a round trip of 100 miles on the motorway then I’d be wondering about recharging at my destination / the 50 mile point.

I think that the Inster is very likely to give you some really good motoring, they’re double the price of a Spring but a better car and if you can fund it then their price still gives what I think of as good value. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to hear that other folk had, like you, decided to go electric when pushed by rising petrol prices. New cars are expensive and compared to depreciation fuel is, imho, a relatively small cost - my annual mileage is relatively low. However, if we again get a Petrol shortage then those with Electric Cars are going to be pretty pleased with themselves.

A second hand Spring is still in my sights - I think I can live with their limitations - but when the time comes to change then we’ll have to see what works out as being logical. To add confusion to the (my) mix I now wonder about going car less; that’d be an elective decision on my part before older age forces that situation on me, and it would take effect when my current care eventually dies. My small car is our ‘second car’, so occasionally borrowing my wife’s car, cycling more, and sometimes travelling by bus won’t be the end of the world. It’s far too early to be making decisions … we’ll see what the future brings.

[Jdsk]

... So we're about to trade in for a Hyundai Inster...

Really impressed with your homework: thanks for sharing it.

Have you looked at the interaction of electricity tariffs with choice of EV charger? For example many owners have chosen Intelligent Octopus Go but it only does the automated scheduling with some types of charger.

Jonathan