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ON THE UP

It’s upped its power, its price and its fuel economy figures but has the wacky little Twingo become too serious and is it too late?

In the 90’s the Renault Twingo was heralded as the funky, fun little city car that we all loved to drive around Spanish cities. Meanwhile back home in London we had a choice of tinny Korean offerings which threatened to seriously dent our street-cred. However these days the likes of Kia, Daewoo and Hyundai get head turning looks for all the right reasons. Not only this but they have still kept their promise of good value and for this statement to stand the workmanship has improved ten-fold. So where does that leave Renault having just arrived in the budget sector? If it had come twelve years earlier would it not have been enjoying the fame Fiat’s 500 is getting right now?
Well, it will suffice to say that Renault is probably kicking itself for not capitalizing on the Twingo’s UK following sooner but they have done a riveting job of the mark 2, it’s got everything a city car should have; style, dynamism, excellent use of space, can squeeze its way anywhere and is economical enough to endure stop-start traffic. It’s even got a GT turbo version which with the aid of an artificial boost produces 100bhp. It also accelerates to 60mph from zero in 9.8 seconds as well as having a top speed of 117mph. Its 145Nm of torque is equivalent to its Clio sibling and because it weighs just 980kg it can thrust itself around quite happily. Another selling point is its combined 47mpg fuel consumption and its relatively low insurance bracket which is of course crucial for perspective young buyers.
The souped-up Twingo costs £9,995 which is at the top end of its sector. A Kia Picanto for example is practically half the price and is excellent value due to lots of standard equipment and cheap running costs. The Twingo GT though is twice as eye catching and sinister enough to distinguish itself from its standard sibling. Its additional features include a re-designed front bumper and black inserts in the headlight clusters – these seem to give more of a scowl to its pretty face. Its new 15” alloys are then a ploy to bolster its small super mini frame and details like the body-coloured side mouldings, aluminium finish for the spoiler and chrome exhaust tips ensure its got its name in with the customized cars scene.
New interior touches for the GT spec trim are limited to a leather steering wheel, leather gear knob and aluminium pedals. Without these the Twingo is very drab and uninviting. The first thing college kids are going to do when they get their finance schemes approved is max out another credit card with new upholstery and faux carbon fibre laminates. Either that or they’ll get a taste for the retro Fiat 500 which is awash with chic Italian styling.
Renault’s Twingo fights back with all the latest technology though – its central feature is an iPod® and MP3 friendly ‘Tune Point’ Audio Connection Box which no student would be without. It also features steering wheel-mounted controls so that taking telephone calls and operating the stereo can be done without taking your eyes off the road. Controlling the wipers and switching on the lights is automatically taken care of for you and you even get a full-length sunroof, air-con and cruise control as standard.
The use of interior space is another selling point for the Twingo; there’s plenty of useful storage space and stretching room for passengers. There may only be four seats but they do all slide independently. If the seats are all in use you can fit 165 litre bottles of coke from the broken vending machine in the cafeteria or if you have just two seats in use, the boot space expands to 959 litres – that’s a lot of sleepless nights!
Safety is good but not quite up to scratch with Renault’s usual five star standards. Despite it being one star short, features such as lateral airbags for front seat passengers, ABS and electronic brakeforce distribution are no doubt reassuring but it would also benefit from stability control. Against the majority of other competitors in this class it is ranked very well but the Fiat 500 got a full five stars which is a bit of a kick in the teeth for the French manufacturer. The pricing of Fiat’s top spec 500 is about £700 more than the Renault Twingo GT but the cultish appeal of the Italian model is worth the extra. The Italian model may not be as practical but its bravery in resurrecting an old classic with such vibrancy and passion means that it will be tough to knock it off its perch. We guess Renault will have to settle for second place.

Verdict

FOR: Big on style, Keen handling, functional interior space and cheap to run
AGAINST: Only four seats, cabin design could have been more creative and safety drops slightly below Renault’s usual standards.
CONCLUSION: It’s been a long time coming to the UK and would have been met with a wild mob of fans in the 90’s. The mark 2 is still very desirable but it is also pricey and could do with a more colourful and wacky interior design like we saw in the concept.

Spec

ENGINE: 4cyl 16v 1149cc
Co2 (g/km)/tax: 140
POWER: 100 @ 5500rpm
TORQUE (lb/ft): 145Nm @ 3000rpm
0-62mph (sec): 9.8
TOP SPEED: 117
MPG: 36.2/ 57.6/ 47.8 (urban/extra-urban/combined)
TRANSMISSION: 5 speed manual
WEIGHT: 980kg
PRICE: £9,995