What is it?
The Renault Twingo is an unusual car for its segment. Using a rear-engine rear-wheel-drive layout, it has some pretty sporty credentials. It's the cheapest car in Renault's refreshed lineup, an entry point if you like.
That engine. How can it fit in the back? Doesn't it eat into the limited space?
There's no other way of saying this - of course it's going to eat into the space out back. But by doing this, Renault was able to cut down on the front overhang, making the Twingo a very cute car to look at. The engine is mounted at an angle under the boot floor to avoid eating into the space excessively. By doing this, the boot floor was raised which has one positive outcome. The load lip is non-existant. Combine this with the flat-folding 50:50 split folding rear seats and you have a pretty versatile city car. If you want to carry 2 rear passengers, you have a 188-litre boot which can be extended to some 219 litres by moving things about a bit. Fold the seats down though, and you uncover a total load area of 980 litres. A neat feature is the front passenger seat, which on models equipped with it, can fold down to allow room to carry items as long as 2.31 m.
It sounds pretty practical.
It is! None of that climbing into the back seats malarkey! The Twingo has taken a page out of the Clio's books and opted for the 5-door-only guise with hidden rear door handles. It boasts 33 cm more cabin space than the Twingo II thanks to a 12 cm longer wheelbase, despite being 10 cm shorter overall, at 3.59 m. Its 8.59 m turning circle isn't quite good enough to compete with the London taxis though.
What other improvements are there?
Fuel economy has been said to have had an increase of up to 14 mpg, with CO2 emissions improved by as much as 35 g/km. With a 45:55 rear-biased weight distribution, it's certainly more agile than most of its rivals whose distributions resemble something more like 30:70.
What about inside?
If you're the one to keep everything at hand in the cabin as opposed to hidden away in the boot, the Twingo's a good contester. It boasts more than 50 litres of in-car storage, from 3-litre front- and 2.9-litre rear-door pockets, a 6.4-litre glovebox and 29 litres of space under the rear seats with optional nets available.
Have the engines been refreshed?
Certainly. The new SCe 70 is a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated unit which produces 70 bhp and 91 Nm. Unfortunately, most of its power comes in at 6,000 rpm meaning you have to hold on to gears for longer, thus resulting in a poor 0-62 mph time of 14.5 seconds. It's true to say that this car is more at home in the city, but then again that's the class in which it sits.
The 0.9-litre turbocharged TCe 90 produces, no surprise, 90 bhp. Add to that 135 Nm of torque to achieve a 0-62 mph time of 10.8 s.
Both 3-cylinder engines come mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox at the moment, and whilst the TCe 90 comes as standard with Stop & Start, the SCe 70 can be specified with or without. All models are said to achieve more than 60 mpg, and all Stop & Start models emit under 100 g/km of CO2.
An important note is that, ok, the engine's in the back, but the battery and fluid reservoirs remain at the front. Good luck opening the bonnet though, as it's far from normal! I'll give you a clue, it slides off frontwards.
Is the Twingo as customisable as its rivals?
Definitely. Just have a flick through the brochure, and you'll see so many "Personality Packs" - Fashion, Retro Racer, Party, Techno, Casual Chic and Urban.
As regards paint jobs, three non-metallics come in the forms of white, a duck egg blue and yellow, whereas the metallics are red, an ocean blue, brown and black.
Interior Style Packs change the upholstery, door panelling and storage compartment lid below the centre console. They're available in 'Standard' white, red, blue and 'Sport' which is a mixture of red, black and some white.
If you've opted for one of those, it'd be wise to also go for an Interior Touch Pack in order to change the wheel inserts, centre console surround and air vent surrounds to match. These come in blue, red or black.
The Exterior Touch Pack, in white, red or blue, brings life to the grille insert, side door strips and door mirrors.
Seeing as the entry-level models don't come with alloys, Renault offer 3 wheel trim options in addition to the 4 alloys wheel designs.
What about the options list?
I would go for a central armrest, it's only £128 and includes a 1-litre storage container. You can go for a Standard or Premium 'Delivery Pack' which adds mats and a safety kit in a handy bag which includes essentials like a warning triangle - either £45 or £65.
If all that is optional, what comes as standard?
Entry-level Expression comes with an AM/FM/DAB radio, Bluetooth, aux-in and USB and R&Go. The front windows are electric but the mirrors are manually adjustable. LED daytime running lights and halogen headlights are standard too.
Next is Play. This brings manual air conditioning and driver's seat height adjustment.
Dynamique is, in a way, the top model. Standard equipment includes cruise control, front fog lights and electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors.
Dynamique S is a sporty model (well, maybe sporty isn't the best choice of words). Design features include aluminium pedals, the Red Interior Touch Pack, part leather red and black upholstery, 16-inch Sport diamond-cut alloys, the Exterior Touch Pack and a matt black side decal.
What's the best way to specify your car?
That completely depends, if you're all about personalising your Twingo, I'd settle for Play and throw in a couple of design packs. If you're a fan of premium products in your city car, Dynamique is an attractive prospect.
How much money do I need to buy Renault's Twingo III?
Expression in £9,495. Add to that just £500 to step up to Play. Dynamique is an additional £1,000 and to add the 'S' termination, throw another £850 in Renault's direction. All in all, you can have the Dynamique S for £11,845. Not bad.
How would you specify your Twingo?
In a very expensive manner. Technology is key for me, but so are the looks. Saying that, £15k for a fully-loaded highly-practical city car isn't that bad! Ok, 150% the base price, but it's in line with competition.
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