Renault Twingo

Twingo's a little star

It's cute, it's cheap and it's coming to a city centre near you this summer.

Auto Express Car Reviews

Cute front end gets a distinctive air dam and sweeping headlamps

By Chris Thorp

14th March 2007

At the Geneva Motor Show, the Twingo - the little car with the big personality - grabbed most of the lime-light. It's been a long time coming, but Renault has finally pulled the cover off its new baby - which will be built in right-hand-drive form for the first time.


	While Renault is known for its economical diesels, the firm has decided not to sell a Twingo oil-burner in Britain

A familiar Continental favourite, the Twingo has been a top seller thanks to its cute looks and budget prices. The all-new version aims to continue that success and cross the Channel to take on Citroen's C1 and Kia's Picanto.

However, the firm hopes the car's image will allow it to straddle class boundaries. Aiming to mirror the desirable and youthful image of BMW's MINI in a smaller, cheaper package, the Twingo has been developed to appeal to a wide range of buyers.

The tiny three-door-only model merges familiar Renault styling cues with an all-new front-end look. While top brass sent the original designs back to the drawing board after judging them too conservative, the Twingo's cute shape is striking in the metal. The nose boasts a low air dam but no conventional grille. Big headlamps stretch far up the wings, while the sporty GT gets neat chrome foglight trim. In profile, the swollen wheelarches and window line are similar to those of the latest Clio, while the back scales down Renault's trademark pert rear.

Access is via a cheap but novel door catch, and once inside drivers will be impressed by the space. The dash features a neat, centrally mounted display and Smart-style rev counter set just above the steering wheel. Sharing its underpinnings with the old-shape Clio, the diminutive Twingo manages to offer reasonable space for four. To make the most of the room, the brace of separate rear seats are mounted on long runners which can slide backwards to accommodate a pair of adults if you are not carrying too much luggage. With only two on board, the chairs can be pulled forward to boost load capacity from 165 litres to a substantial 285 litres.

While Renault is known for its economical diesels, the firm has decided not to sell a Twingo oil-burner in Britain. Instead, the hatch will be available in Dynamique trim with a frugal 75bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine or sportier GT guise with a 100bhp 1.2 turbo.

This simple two-model launch line-up will arrive in the UK in September, with prices tipped to start at around £8,500. However, lower-spec versions will be available in other European markets and are expected to come to Britain later, bringing the entry-level cost down to around £7,000.

Summer 2008 will see the arrival of a Renaultsport variant. Using a tuned version of the GT's turbo, the flagship Twingo will deliver around 140bhp to the front wheels.