Those who remember the 1970s and ’80s will also recall the very cheap new cars that came into the UK from the Communist countries of Eastern Europe and Russia, wearing nameplates such as Lada and FSO. For most the only attraction was the price and very few survive today.
One former Communist maker, however, has not only survived but flourished. The Romanian firm Dacia effectively built its reputation by assembling badge-engineered Renaults, continually updating them to extend the lifespan of a single model to more than 35 years.
Eventually, as the Soviet Union collapsed, Renault stepped in to buy up Dacia and turn it into a proper Western car maker, but with one basic trait remaining – its cars would always be among the cheapest on the market.
That philosophy remains today and, despite adverse headlines for its poor safety ratings, Dacia appears in rude health, adopting the new challenges in its established way. The new Dacia Spring is the company’s first electric vehicle and yes, challenging for the title of cheapest EV you can buy.
So who or what is Dacia?
The Dacia company had its beginnings in the 1960s in Romania, then a part of the Soviet Union – the company name comes from the historical Roman region of Dacia that is today known as Romania. The first factory in the area was opened during the second world war to produce aircraft engines, and afterwards was taken over by the Romanian railways and would eventually form the basis of Dacia car production.
Dacia had a Renault connection from the start – the Renault 8 was built under licence as the Dacia 1100, selling more than 37,000 between 1968 and 1972.
The 1100 was followed by the 1300, a much more modern car launched in 1969 and effectively the Renault 12, Dacia having acquired the design and tooling for the car. The 1300 spawned estate and even pick-up variants, and Dacia could not build them fast enough to keep up with customer demand in Romania.
Dacia briefly made its own version of the Renault 20 in the early 1980s but the co-operation with Renault then foundered and plans for future models were dropped. The company continued to rely on various versions of the 1300, including a model sold in the UK as the Dacia Denem. Parts from the 1300, meanwhile, were used in a car made by another Romanian manufacturer of off-road vehicles called ARO, and when sold in the UK the ARO10 became the first Dacia Duster.
Dacia continued with a wide variety of new model ideas, all based on the 1300 and some surviving in production to the noughties. Much of the development was carried out in secret and Dacia enthusiasts today still try to unravel the extent of the rare and sometimes novel versions of the 1300 that were produced over the years.
Not until 1994 did an all-new model appear in the Dacia range – this was the Nova, a three-box saloon on which development work had started some 11 years earlier. As a result even as it launched it looked dated amongst rivals, while questions over its reliability and durability ensured it was never as popular as the 1300 variants, the last of which was launched in 1998. Despite being based on a car now some 30 years old, its €4,200 starting price maintained its popularity.
The big change in Dacia’s fortunes came with the reappearance of Renault, which snapped up the Romanian manufacturer in 1999, planning to concentrate its production for central and eastern Europe in Romania. The first new model after the Renault takeover was an improved version of the Nova with a Renault engine and gearbox, called the SupeRNova, but it was merely a stopgap car as Renault prepared for what followed.
This was the Dacia Logan, launched in 2004 and promoted as the ‘€5,000 Car’, Renault signifying Dacia’s future as the French giant’s budget brand. While never quite reaching that price level, the Logan became a phenomenal success, popular in many countries and a best-seller in Romania, across central Europe and even in Russia.
The 2010s marked a decade of substantial European expansion for Dacia, as Renault pushed the brand into new markets with its full support. The Duster returned in 2010, now as an SUV in both two and four-wheel drive variants. Models like the Logan estate and Sandero went on sale in the UK in 2013, and while the former was discontinued in 2020, the latest Duster and Sandero models remain at the core of the Dacia range today, the latter also available in a more rugged version called the Sandero Stepway.
New models have also joined the family in recent years. The Jogger is a compact people-carrier, while the new Bigster SUV (is as its name suggests) Dacia’s largest model yet. But it is the Spring, launched in 2025, that is making the most headlines, preserving Dacia’s traditional image by claiming to be the cheapest electric vehicle on the UK market.
What models does Dacia have and what else is coming?
The Dacia Duster small SUV remains as the core model in the Romanian maker’s line-up and is now in its third generation, launched in 2024 and now only offered with petrol and hybrid powertrains. The latest model is noticeably improved over its predecessor, especially the interior, while still retaining its bargain basement status. It earns an overall New Car Expert Rating of B from The Car Expert, though its safety specification only merits a C – below-average safety scores being a recurring theme with Dacia models.
The current Sandero small hatchback – along with its Sandero Stepway sibling – has been around since 2021, although unlike the previous model, this one is no longer the cheapest new car on sale. While praised for its comfort and practicality, the Sandero is let down by a damning two-star safety rating from Euro NCAP. The car also remains available with the option of a dual-fuel petrol/LPG engine instead of the normal 90hp petrol unit.
People carriers are a rarity on the market these days and the Dacia Jogger is one of the newest, on sale from 2022. It’s essentially a stretched Sandero with another pair of seats, which makes it the cheapest way of having seven seats in a new car. That should make it hugely popular, but while the comfort and practicality themes of other Dacia models apply here, the safety issues get even worse. Due to poor protection for those in the rear-most seats, Euro NCAP awarded the Jogger a disastrous one-star safety rating.
Current Dacia range on our Expert Rating Index
The most recent arrival in the Dacia showroom takes the firm’s budget credentials into the electric market. The Spring is the cheapest electric car you can buy, though a host of budget rivals are on their way. It’s basic, not exactly quick which many EVs are, and it can only go an official 140 miles between charges. But again, the big drawback is safety, with the Spring matching the very poor one-star Euro NCAP rating for the Jogger.
Hitting UK roads in the summer of 2025 is Dacia’s newest – and largest – model, called the Bigster. It is trying to be a bargain basement model in a market in which bargain basement isn’t really a thing, and it will be interesting to see if what has worked for Dacia in the smaller car sectors continues to do so in the very competitive compact SUV sector. One positive point though – the Bigster has improved Dacia’s woeful Euro NCAP showings, managing three stars.
What will follow the Bigster remains to be seen. Dacia is known to be working on a mid-sized hatchback to rival the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Astra. When or even if it will launch any time soon is yet to be revealed, and there could be a saloon variant too.
Some reports also suggest that Dacia is working on a replacement for the Spring small electric city car, based on the latest Renault Twingo and a car that could launch within two years. Althouigh the Spring has only recently arrived in the UK, it has been on sale in Europe since 2021 so it is already in the second half of a regular seven-year model cycle.
Where can I try a Dacia car?
It’s quite easy to find your nearest Dacia dealer – seek out your local Renault outlet, and more often than not the badge of Dacia will be alongside it.
There are around 140 outlets spread across the UK, and being allied to Renault is a boon when it comes to aftersales, as the entire Renault network is available to Dacia owners for their servicing.
What makes Dacia different to the rest?
Dacia makes no attempt to glamourise its sales philosophy – basically as cheap as possible. The firm’s vehicles are the epitome of the bargain basement car, giving customers the choice of a new car for the price of a used one from other brands.
Dacia’s Romanian home is now very much part of Europe, and ensconced under the wing of Renault its cars are built to the standards expected by European buyers. While the less-than-normal safety ratings remain a concern, generally by choosing a Dacia, you won’t get any of the bells and whistles that are the norm with cars from other brands, but your money will go a long way.
A Dacia fact to impress your friends
In communist times, savvy buyers in Dacia’s home country of Romania would go abroad to buy their car, rather than purchasing from their local dealer.
Popular belief held that there were two production lines in the factory, with one building cars for export using better-quality parts than those on the cars intended for domestic sale.
Summary
Dacia continues to provide a new-car option for those buyers who normally wouldn’t have the money to buy one. Its offerings are unashamedly budget but, thanks to its tie-up with Renault, without the inherent risks that once came with buying at the bottom end of the market.
While the pressure on the lower end of the car market has never been higher, thanks chiefly to the influx of several new Chinese entrants, we can expect Dacia to keep following the same path that has worked very well for the brand.
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