We review the Renault Twingo from price to economy and all its features
RENAULT have launched their new Twingo with the help of Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts.
They’ll be desperately hoping their new supermini is more in tune with buyers.
Small star ... the new Twingo
I’ve always liked the Twingo but, in comparison to rivals Mini and Fiat 500, it has always lacked the same personality and fallen way short in cabin quality.
There’s no doubt this latest version is far more striking.
It’s the first Renault to get a look heavily influenced by recent concepts such as the DeZir.
The new grille stretches across the nose and incorporates a large Renault diamond badge, while bold headlamps and huge spotlights mean the Twingo has a lot more road presence.
The rear is far more abrupt but effective but the real shoow stoppers are the eye-catching alloys — there are 17 difference wheel designs in total.
There are two extra body colours — Bermuda Blue and Fuchsia.
I drove the latter and the Fuchsia looks good. Renault will be hoping that’s a prophecy.
In truth it was a bit camp for my liking — definitely more Girls Aloud.
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Renault have taken a leaf out of Mini’s book and now offer lots of personalisation options, with a choice of different decals for the roof and contrasting colours for the door mirrors and protective side mouldings.
And it’s no surprise they’ve had to up their game.
It’s not just about Mini and the Fiat 500 anymore.
The city car battle is now even tougher with the addition of the VW Up! and sister cars Skoda Citigo and Seat Mii.
The Twingo starts at £10,350 — that’s a whopping £2,850 more than the cute Citigo — so it needs to be good.
I think the exterior styling definitely outshines the three new boys. The inside is not so good. The dash gets a darker and higher quality look and finish while there’s new seat patterns and extra colour choices and codings for the controls and upholstery stitching.
But it’s still not that exciting. The dash just isn’t dashing enough.
However it does make up for it in other areas.
The four-seater cabin is quite spacious, with 50/50 split-fold rear seats and decent room in the back, even if the VW Up! has more legroom thanks to a slightly longer wheelbase.
The real class of this Twingo is its driving ability.
It has the fun factor and is nippy around town with great vision that makes parking and jumping from lane to lane a confident breeze.
The steering is perfectly weighted and if you throw it around bends you’ll be surprised at the level of grip and lack of body roll.
But the ride is on the firm side.
I drove the 1.2litre entry-level 75bhp and you need to give it plenty of revs to really get on the move.
That made it a tad noisy on motorways — but it was nothing too unpleasant.
But what it lacks in grunt in gains in green.
It’s quite economical, returning 55mpg and emitting 119g/km of CO2.
The latter ensures road tax is free in the first year.
All in all, the Twingo is much improved but faces a massive battle to compete with the Mini, Fiat 500 and new small car trilogy — especially as the Skoda Citigo is so much cheaper.
It’s a ruthless world trying to stay top of the charts. Just ask Girls Aloud.