While the 2020s feel a bit looser than some previous decades, appearances still matter to an extent. Case in point: If your latest Amazon Prime delivery rolled up in a hatchback, it might look sus, right? Ah, but you see, this isn’t a hatchback. This is the Dacia Spring Cargo, and its Romanian makers tout it as “Britain’s most affordable compact electric van.” A van? This? Well, yes, but only technically.
Automakers of Britain have a rich history of taking small hatchbacks, boarding up the rear windows, chucking out the rear seats, and producing vans. For a while, you could get a Ford Fiesta van, or a Vauxhall Corsavan, and that was all well and good. However, the Dacia Spring cargo is a bit different from those other small parcel vans, starting with the fact that it has five doors.
Now, an extra door or two to better grab cargo stuck against the divider is a sound idea in theory, but it’s also a relatively uncommon one in the segment. After all, doors present a unique challenge for blanking out windows, as the windows in most rear doors move. Naturally, Dacia decided to get around this problem by just tinting the shit out of the rear windows.
Huh, that’s certainly one way to do it in a cost-effective manner. Well, if Dacia didn’t end up making blanking plates for the rear windows, maybe it spent the money where it actually matters? You know, on cargo division, payload, that sort of stuff. You know, things that help a van do van work.
Well, look at that. Not only has Dacia fitted a sturdy-looking carpeted lip to keep low cargo from sliding into the backs of the front seats, a mesh divider also acts as a critical safety device, while the whole cargo floor is kept level-ish with the addition of a new platform floor. The result? Dacia claims the Spring Cargo can haul 815 pounds, and while that doesn’t sound like the most wildly impressive figure in the world, keep in mind that the Spring Cargo itself weighs just 2,067 pounds. Talk about pulling one’s weight.
Oh, and there’s another facet of the Spring Cargo that deserves consideration — it’s all-electric, and with a range of 186 miles on the admittedly optimistic WLTP cycle, this mean it’s just about perfect for same-day delivery of small parcels. Think about it — it doesn’t waste much money idling, it’s efficient at low speeds, its the right size for odds and sods, and since it’s electric, there might even be other benefits for it beyond the low price tag of £14,995. That’s an electric van, even if it stretches the definition of a van, for less than $19,000 at current conversion rates.
The Dacia Spring Cargo might not be the most purpose-built execution of an electric van, but by going cheap where possible, Dacia might’ve stumbled onto a small-town Amazon driver’s dream. I guess one could even call it good news. Anyway…
(Photo credits: Dacia UK)
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Ireland had a rich vein of hatchbacks used as vans back in the 90s. There’s a good thread here with some pictures:
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593288/#Comment_118593288
Question is, could the Nissan Leaf be dumbed down enough by removing stuff to get even close to the 15K US price point? It would be an interesting Experiment to see if anyone here in the US would even Bite?
Probably, if you assembled it in a country that isn’t Japan
I’m still mad we never got the Fiesta Van in North America!
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/ford/fiesta/van
There’s some tax reasons to have a van instead of a car as a business (I forget the exact details), so this sector was moderately popular for workers who only needed to move themselves or a few tools about. The last Corsa van and fiesta van were reasonable sellers, there were less common ones like the 207/206 and the Clip for a while too
You can claim 100% of the VAT as a tax refund in the UK (if the vehicle is purchased by a business).
Funnily enough, despite this being classified as a commercial vehicle, the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster does not qualify — meaning nobody is going to buy them in the UK.
I really want one! that would be a great dog van. The divider is already there, tinted rear glass, is done. If you can set the interior temp to a specific temp. Perfect. It would also be a great errand running run about town for 2 people. Load up those groceries!
those dividers are actually dog dividers I believe. it looks just like the ones suggested for use in the Maverick, except they impede the side airbag function and are technically illegal for a 4 seater. less so with no back seat I suppose.
I’m wondering how many of these get sold to private buyers as something cheap to run down to the shops
Probably not much new ones, but second hand, they are really nice for someone without kids in need of a cheap ride.
Zero. The reason for this to exist is differential VAT rates for business purchases of new cars vs individual (or ‘Car Scheme’) purchase.
£14,995 is the price of the basic 45hp car version. I was genuinely looking at one to replace an aging Ford Fiesta last weekend but decided against it when I discovered the top speed was 78mph. 0-60 was very much ‘eventually.’ Charges in under 13 hours from a normal English wall socket. The only thing that stopped me was the idea of not feeling safe on the motorway.
For that price and that much cargo space, I’m now interested.
So, $40K in the US, eventually?
Well, since Dacia is a fancy exotic luxury brand from Yurp, it will start at 50k.
Oh, wait, Romania.
At this 15K LB price it might not be the worst thing. if it is priced and optioned solely for gig work so they can leave their main ride at home, I would also suggest a fold down passenger seat or remove that and all the related safety cost increasers and make it even more useful. But yeah, it would probably be thrice as much in the US, and few would buy them as gig workers rarely can afford their main ride, let alone a work vehicle.
We just gotta figure out how to make them cool, like how the Sandman Ute and its competitors became cool kid cars in Australia.