The Dacia Hipster is designed not only to be reasonably priced, but in addition an antidote to cars seemingly growing ever larger, more complex and expensive.
Measuring 3.0 metres long, 1.53 metres tall, and 1.55 metres wide, the Hipster is roughly half-a-metre longer than the two-seat Smart ForTwo, but around the identical size because the four-seat Toyota iQ. The Dacia is 10mm narrower than each vehicles, though.
With a view to profit from its small footprint, the Hipster has flat sides, a box-like body, wheels pushed out to the corners, virtually no overhang, and space- and weight-saving sliding glass windows.
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The Hipster seats 4 individuals with a bench seat up front, which incorporates a fabric mesh backrest. Dacia says the Hipster’s seating position is comparable to the Sandero hatchback.
Interestingly, the rear bench has headrests that swing away and exposed plastic towards the lower portion of the backrest that allows it to fold completely flat.
Boot space is just 70L with the rear seats up, but grows to 500L when the rear pew is folded down. As a substitute of a standard hatch, access to the boot is via a two-piece design, where the rear glass lifts up and the tailgate folds down.
Dacia has not provided any details in regards to the Hipster’s drivetrain, including whether it drives the front or rear wheels. No word too on the automobile’s battery pack, except that it has been designed to have “sufficient range for each day journeys with the necessity to recharge just twice every week”.
In accordance with Dacia, 94 per cent of French motorists drive lower than 40km per day. That likely means the Hipster has a small battery with around 150km of range.
A key focus of the Hipster’s design is reducing the quantity of fabric needed to provide the automobile, in addition to minimising weight. For instance, the tail-lights are positioned behind the rear windscreen so that they don’t require their very own ‘glass’ cover, and a strap replaces a standard exterior door handle.
The Hipster concept is designed for only one body color, and features only three painted elements: the front, and the doors. The bumpers and wheel arches are made out of Starkle, a fabric consisting mainly of recycled plastic, with the bumpers dyed to match the body color.
A few of the Hipster’s weight saving features are also practical, including the unadorned dashboard that doubles up as a series of storage areas. Although there’s a digital instrumentation display, a smartphone holder replaces the fashionable infotainment system. All up, the Hipster is claimed to weigh 20 per cent lower than the Dacia Spring EV.
It stays to be seen whether Dacia can bring the Hipster to market, and the way low its price can go. The Hipster will likely only make it to production if the EU is in a position to create the mooted ‘E-car’ category, which might loosen safety regulations for tiny, likely electric, vehicles made in Europe.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
