Tag Archives: UK

News

New Dacia Sandero Opens UK Order Books, Hybrid Stepway Confirmed

Order books have opened in the UK for the latest Dacia Sandero, reaffirming the Romanian brand’s iron grip on the budget end of the market. Prices start at just £14,765 for the standard supermini, while the tougher-looking Sandero Stepway commands a modest premium, kicking off at £16,065.

Those figures ensure the Sandero remains one of the cheapest new cars on sale in Britain, even if it has recently been undercut by Dacia’s own all-electric Spring following the introduction of new discounts. Still, for buyers seeking a conventional petrol-powered hatchback, the Sandero continues to represent remarkable value.

At launch, the updated Sandero range will be offered exclusively with a turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, available in two states of tune producing either 99bhp or 108bhp. However, electrification is firmly on the roadmap. As part of a mid-life update expected in around a year’s time, Dacia will introduce a hybrid option – though only for the range-topping Sandero Stepway.

The Stepway will gain Dacia’s new Hybrid 155 powertrain, already seen in the larger Bigster SUV. It pairs a 108bhp four-cylinder petrol engine with a 49bhp electric motor and a starter-generator, delivering a combined output of 154bhp and 125lb ft of torque. That represents a substantial uplift over the current 108bhp petrol-only model.

The hybrid system uses a compact 1.4kWh battery to enable short bursts of electric-only driving and is paired with a clutchless automatic gearbox featuring four ratios for the combustion engine and two for the electric motor. While Dacia has yet to publish official performance or efficiency figures for the Sandero Stepway Hybrid 155, the same setup returned an impressive 72.4mpg in urban driving and around 55mpg at higher speeds in Autocar testing of the much larger Bigster. Given the Sandero’s lighter weight and smaller footprint, even better results are expected.

The hybrid Stepway is likely to carry a price premium of around £3000 over the equivalent petrol model, based on the difference between hybrid and non-hybrid versions of the related Jogger estate. Notably, there are currently no plans to offer the Hybrid 155 powertrain in the standard Sandero.

According to Dacia’s product performance boss, Patrice Lévy-Bencheton, affordability remains central to the Sandero’s appeal. Speaking to Autocar, he explained that Sandero and Stepway buyers have distinctly different priorities.

“What is very interesting is that customers for the Sandero and Sandero Stepway are quite different,” he said. “A Stepway customer will hesitate more with B-SUV offers on the market, so there is a bit more purchasing power. A Sandero customer is really hesitating with a simple B-hatch and is going for the best possible price on the market.”

While Lévy-Bencheton confirmed that adding the hybrid to the standard Sandero would be technically straightforward, he stressed that Dacia will wait to see whether the demand exists before taking that step.

The mechanical updates arrive alongside a series of styling and interior revisions across the Sandero, Sandero Stepway and Jogger ranges. On sale from November, all three models adopt a new LED lighting signature featuring an ‘inverted T’ design, paired with a revised grille and updated pixel-style rear lights. On the Jogger, the new rear light motif is designed to visually extend from the rear window.

The Jogger and Sandero Stepway also gain new exterior cladding made from Dacia’s ‘Starkle’ plastic, which incorporates 20% recycled material. New paint colours and alloy wheel designs further freshen up the range.

Inside, changes are subtle but meaningful. Buyers will find redesigned air vents, tougher fabric upholstery, a reshaped steering wheel aimed at improving ergonomics, and a revamped infotainment system built around a larger 10.0-inch central touchscreen, replacing the previous 8.0-inch display.

With sharp pricing, restrained but useful updates and the promise of an efficient hybrid in the Stepway, the latest Sandero looks well placed to maintain its position as one of Europe’s most popular and affordable cars.

Source: Autocar

News

Dacia Spring Becomes Britain’s Cheapest New Car After £3,750 Price Cut

The Dacia Spring has never pretended to be anything other than what it is: the bare-minimum electric car for buyers who simply want cheap, simple mobility. Now, with a significant update for 2026 and a hefty price cut, it has doubled down on that mission—while quietly addressing its biggest weakness.

At £12,240, the updated Spring is officially the cheapest new car you can buy in the UK, electric or otherwise. That headline figure comes courtesy of a £3750 discount introduced by Dacia to mirror the UK government’s Electric Car Grant. Because the Spring is built in China, it doesn’t qualify for the official scheme, which offers up to £3750 off eligible EVs. Dacia’s response has been refreshingly direct: match the saving itself.

For buyers looking at finance, the numbers become even more compelling. On a four-year PCP deal, with a £2776 deposit and an annual mileage allowance of 6000 miles, the entry-level Spring comes in at £129 per month. In a market where even small petrol hatchbacks now flirt with £20,000, that positions the Spring as a genuinely disruptive proposition.

But price alone isn’t the whole story this time. The original Spring’s biggest flaw was performance—or the lack of it. The outgoing 45bhp and 65bhp motors made the car feel out of its depth anywhere beyond urban streets, particularly on faster A-roads and motorways. Dacia has clearly taken that criticism on board.

Both old motors have been dropped, replaced by new 70bhp and 101bhp units. The entry-level motor now gets the Spring from 0–62mph in 12.3 seconds, a vast improvement over the glacial 19.1 seconds of the old 45bhp version. Step up to the 101bhp option, priced from £13,240, and that sprint drops to 9.6 seconds—finally placing the Spring in the realm of what most drivers would consider acceptable for motorway use.

Dacia says these changes make the Spring “fit naturally into motorway traffic,” and while no one will confuse it with a hot hatch, the numbers suggest a car that no longer feels like a rolling compromise once speeds rise.

Powering both motors is a new 24.3kWh battery using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry. This marks a first for any Renault Group model and reflects a growing industry shift toward LFP for entry-level EVs. Compared with conventional nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries, LFP packs are cheaper to produce, more durable over time and offer improved thermal safety—key considerations in a budget-focused EV.

Range remains unchanged at 140 miles on the WLTP cycle, but that figure has always been more than adequate for the Spring’s intended use. Dacia claims it’s enough to “easily cover a full working week with a single charge,” and for urban commuters, that’s a fair assertion. Charging speeds have improved too, with range-topping Extreme models now capable of charging at up to 40kW, up from the previous 30kW standard rate. It’s still no rapid charger champion, but it shortens top-up times enough to matter.

Beyond the drivetrain, Dacia has quietly refined the Spring’s dynamics. An improved braking system with stronger assistance, a newly standard anti-roll bar and retuned suspension all aim to deliver better stability and confidence. Subtle aerodynamic tweaks have also reduced the drag coefficient from a lofty 0.743 to 0.665—still high by modern standards, but a meaningful improvement nonetheless.

These changes build on updates introduced last year and suggest a brand increasingly aware that even the cheapest car on sale still needs to feel competent, not compromised.

Customer deliveries of the updated Spring are scheduled to begin next spring. By then, the EV market will be even more crowded, but few rivals will be able to match the Spring’s blend of price, simplicity and now, finally, usable performance.

The Dacia Spring remains a car defined by restraint, but with this update, it no longer feels like a city-only experiment. Instead, it stands as a reminder that affordable electric mobility doesn’t have to mean settling for the bare minimum—just something thoughtfully engineered to do exactly what it promises.

Source: Autocar

News

The £0.03 Question: Britain’s Pay-Per-Mile EV Tax Is Coming—and It Changes the Math

For years, electric cars have enjoyed a near-mythical status in the cost-of-ownership conversation. Cheap to run, cheap to tax, and—if you played the charging game right—almost smugly inexpensive per mile. That advantage is about to shrink.

From April 2028, the UK government plans to introduce a pay-per-mile road tax for electrified vehicles, officially known as eVED (Electric Vehicle Excise Duty). In simple terms, it means EV and plug-in hybrid drivers will start paying for how far they drive, not just what they drive. In practice, it could add £200–£300 a year to the cost of running an electric car—and that’s before standard road tax is factored in.

This isn’t just a new line item on a spreadsheet. It’s a philosophical shift in how EVs are taxed, and one that arrives at a delicate moment in Britain’s electric transition.

How It Works (At Least on Paper)

Under current proposals, fully electric cars will be charged three pence per mile, while plug-in hybrids will pay one and a half pence per mile. Both rates will rise annually in line with inflation. The charge sits on top of regular Vehicle Excise Duty, which currently stands at £195 per year and is unlikely to be frozen until 2028.

Mileage won’t be tracked digitally. Instead, odometer readings will be logged annually—via the MoT for cars over three years old, or through accredited mileage checks for newer vehicles. Once a year, drivers will log into the DVLA system, estimate their annual mileage (much like an insurance declaration), and choose whether to pay in one go or spread the cost over 12 months. Drive more than expected? You’ll get a bill. Drive less? A rebate lands back in your account.

Simple, relatively low-tech, and deliberately light on surveillance. The downside is equally simple: you pay for every mile, including those driven outside the UK.

EVs vs ICE: The Numbers Still Favour Electric—For Now

One of the strongest arguments for EVs has always been running costs, and eVED doesn’t completely undo that. But it does blur the lines.

Take a Volkswagen Golf and its electric cousin, the ID.3. Charged at home on an off-peak tariff—around eight pence per kWh—the ID.3 works out at roughly two pence per mile for electricity, plus three pence per mile in tax. That’s still comfortably cheaper than a petrol Golf at roughly 12 pence per mile, or a diesel at around 10 pence.

The picture changes quickly, though. Charge at the energy price cap of 26p per kWh, and the ID.3 climbs to around nine pence per mile all-in, effectively matching the cost of running an ICE Golf. Rely on public rapid charging at up to 90p per kWh, and the electric option becomes decisively more expensive per mile than petrol.

The conclusion is unavoidable: where and how you charge now matters more than ever. The mileage tax doesn’t kill the EV cost advantage, but it makes it fragile.

Why the Government Is Doing This

The motivation isn’t subtle. As fuel duty revenue collapses with the rise of EVs, the Treasury is staring at a growing hole in the public finances. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, eVED could raise up to £1.4 billion per year by 2029–30.

But there’s a catch. The same OBR estimates that by 2031, around 440,000 fewer EVs will be sold than would otherwise have been the case, as buyers react to higher ownership costs. That’s a remarkable admission: the tax raises money, but actively slows adoption.

Which leads to the central question—is this the right tax at the wrong time?

Industry Pushback—and Consumer Doubt

Reaction has been predictably mixed. A survey of readers found 37 percent consider the charge fair, while 23 percent see it as an unjust penalty on EV drivers. Another 32 percent believe it’s poorly timed and risks stalling momentum just as EVs approach the mainstream.

Industry voices have been sharper. Ford UK described the policy as “a confusing message at a critical moment,” warning that investment in charging and purchase incentives can’t offset the damage of a new usage tax. Charging providers echo that concern, arguing that reduced EV uptake weakens the business case for expanding rapid-charging networks—exactly the infrastructure the transition depends on.

Even organisations broadly supportive of fair road pricing, like the AA, stress the need for safeguards. Rural drivers, carers, and others who depend heavily on their cars could be disproportionately affected by a flat per-mile charge.

A Transition at a Crossroads

The government has attempted some damage control. From April 2026, the Expensive Vehicle Supplement threshold for EVs will rise to £50,000, easing the blow for higher-end electric cars. It helps—but it doesn’t change the broader message.

For the first time, EVs are being treated not as a special case, but as just another way of moving down the road. In one sense, that’s a sign of maturity. In another, it risks undermining the very incentives that helped electric cars gain traction in the first place.

Come 2028, the honeymoon is officially over. Electric cars will still make sense—often financial sense—but no longer by default. Every mile will count, literally. And for a government betting heavily on electrification targets, that may prove to be a risky recalculation.

Source: Auto Express