Renault Twingo Road Test

Renault Twingo

Both versions are mated to 5-speed manual gearboxes, designed to suit and exploit the performance.

The Twingo, in either format, is another of Renault’s Eco2 cars; the company’s criteria for environmentally-friendly vehicles, which dictates that CO2 emissions must be less than 140g/km or it must be able to run on biofuels. The GT has emissions of 140g/km and the Dynamique, 135g/km. The second stipulation is that a minimum of five per cent recycled plastics must be used in the manufacturing process and the third states that the production plant must have an ISO4001 certificate for environmental management. Furthermore, the Twingo is 85 per cent recyclable, by weight.

The Twingo sits on a revised version of the Clio platform and inherits a good amount of the driving dynamics. The fun element is helped by the stiffened suspension and positive steering, which combines to prove that small-engined cars needn't necessarily, be dull. Renault describes it as feisty, which seems about right.

Small engines are, of course, economical. The Twingo GT’s figures show a return of 36.2-, 57.6- and 47.8mpg for the urban, extra-urban and combined cycles, respectively. The Dynamique, is marginally better but not by much.

When it comes to safety, the Twingo didn’t quite get full marks but wasn’t far off, gaining a 4-star rating for impact protection in the Euro NCAP safety tests. There are four airbags, as standard, for the front passengers, while curtain airbags are available as an optional extra as part of the (£275) Calm Pack. ABS is a standard feature as are ISOFIX, child-seat mountings but on the front passenger seat, only. ESP is expected to become available, shortly.

For me, as far as specification goes, the Twingo doesn’t stand out from the crowd. The looks both inside and out are very different but I’m not sure that that is enough.

Renault Twingo