Dacia Spring

The UK's most affordable electric car arrives on our shores - but is it the bargain it appears to be? On sale Now Price from £14,995

- LAWRENCE CHEUNG

THE NUMBER 23, it turns out, is a significant one. In science, the Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, while humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. In basketball, 23 is one of the most sought-after numbers to wear, with Michael Jordan famously associated with it when he played for the Chicago Bulls.

Meanwhile, Dacia Spring owners in Europe apparently travel an average of 23 miles a day - at an average speed of 23mph. By this notion, this diminutive new electric car's official range of just 140 miles and maximum power output of 64bhp should be all you need for those short, low-speed journeys, while its inherent simplicity means the Spring can be priced well below its rivals. But does that mean it's a bargain, or is it simply too compromised?

The cheapest Spring is the 44bhp Electric 45, but we've tried only the more powerful 64bhp Electric 65 so far. Its 13.7sec official 0-62mph time makes it slower than the Citroën e-C3 (10.4sec), the Leapmotor T03 (12.7sec) and the entry-level Hyundai Inster 01 (11.7sec).

However, the 65 tackles the 0-40mph part of that sprint with genuine enthusiasm, so it will handle the urban cut and thrust with ease.