RE: Renault Twingo: Review
Discussion
Hmmm luke warm reception at PH it seems?
Been very interested in this because I am in the market for such a car. The new Aygo is also on the list and includes many of the things this car has as well.
They Agyo X-Cite (none of the Aygos in fact) have anything other than a 70 hp 3 cylinder, but the X-Cite does have a touch screen DAB radio thingy with reversing camera and all the BT connectivity nonsense as standard. It even has a rev counter on the dash, nestled in a pod to the side of the main binnacle. I have to say I think the Aygo looks sharper and the interior is nicer looking. The Twingo seems a bit frumpy looking depending on the colour choice.
The R_link thingy is a £600 option on the Twingo for the TCe 90 Dynamique...Pricey but it does add TomTom nav and I believe the car also has full cruise control whereas the Aygo employs a speed-limiter only.
Going to test the Twingo at the weekend and hopefully will come back to do another go in the Aygo for comparison. Found the Aygo's gearbox very vague, especially the clutch and clutch bite. I was hoping the twingo might be nicer to drive and more spritely with the 90 hp engine, but sounds like I might be disappointed. If my maths is right though they should give similar MPG, the TCe90 is in the new clio and gets 14% less MPG than the Aygo (based on spritmonitor) but conversely it weighs a good 12% more. So maybe we can have the performance for the same consumption.
One thing that does irk me about both cars is that they're supposed to be highly customisable little city cars to have how you like. If you spend any time on the configurators you will find frustration as you arbitrarily cannot have certain things depending on what engine you choose or what trim level you choose or even what colour you choose!
Been very interested in this because I am in the market for such a car. The new Aygo is also on the list and includes many of the things this car has as well.
They Agyo X-Cite (none of the Aygos in fact) have anything other than a 70 hp 3 cylinder, but the X-Cite does have a touch screen DAB radio thingy with reversing camera and all the BT connectivity nonsense as standard. It even has a rev counter on the dash, nestled in a pod to the side of the main binnacle. I have to say I think the Aygo looks sharper and the interior is nicer looking. The Twingo seems a bit frumpy looking depending on the colour choice.
The R_link thingy is a £600 option on the Twingo for the TCe 90 Dynamique...Pricey but it does add TomTom nav and I believe the car also has full cruise control whereas the Aygo employs a speed-limiter only.
Going to test the Twingo at the weekend and hopefully will come back to do another go in the Aygo for comparison. Found the Aygo's gearbox very vague, especially the clutch and clutch bite. I was hoping the twingo might be nicer to drive and more spritely with the 90 hp engine, but sounds like I might be disappointed. If my maths is right though they should give similar MPG, the TCe90 is in the new clio and gets 14% less MPG than the Aygo (based on spritmonitor) but conversely it weighs a good 12% more. So maybe we can have the performance for the same consumption.
One thing that does irk me about both cars is that they're supposed to be highly customisable little city cars to have how you like. If you spend any time on the configurators you will find frustration as you arbitrarily cannot have certain things depending on what engine you choose or what trim level you choose or even what colour you choose!
HeMightBeBanned said:
Très déçu 
What is there to be so disappointed about? It's a non expensive rear-engined, rear-wheel drive small car with the potential to be great even though the cooking model isn't designed for anything more than a trip to the shops and city driving. This is the introductory model but I'd bet there's more around the corner.There's just no pleasing some people.
Kookanoodles said:
In the French press Renault officials have said that the sporty version will be a GT, not an RS, so it most likely won't be as powerful as the outgoing Twingo RS. I hope that at least they sort the handling to make it feel more like the RWD car it is. There's also been talk of a dual-clutch auto for the standard car in a year, I hope they stick with stick for the GT.
It doesn't need lots of power, just a bit of chassis tuning to bring the rear into play more, some playing with the steering for feel, and a few more Euro's spent on decent dampers. I'm sure Renault have the engineers who know the recipe for cheap, fun, thrashable small cars.Something like the 100hp Panda would be fine, or a 112bhp/900kg hatchback from a few years ago:
SS7
UnderSteerDan said:
I've been awaiting the release of the VW Up GT for far too long now...
If (when) a hot version of this Twingo arrives I'll certainly be joining the queue for a test drive.
+1If (when) a hot version of this Twingo arrives I'll certainly be joining the queue for a test drive.
This is exactly my view. The vw up is crying out for a quicker version,especially as they dont do a warm skoda fabia anymore. What with Renault's reluctance to build a hot twingo,you might think this type of model doesn't sell. Won't a 'hero' model boost sales throughout the range?
Was eyeing up the Twingo as a new car when it first got announced at Geneva but we have gone with a new Aygo (expression model) as it worked out better value and cheaper (you'd be adding the sport plus convenience packs to the twingo taking it to a nadge under 14k)
Tbh, I wouldn't say there is that much difference between them, spec wise. Toyota are currebtly offering the sat nav version of the touch screen thingy for 300 as opposed to 700 (goes up after sept). A word on the phone screen mirroring function... yes it works... on Nokia and the Samsung S3 only currently!
How much of a known quantity are those engines?? Our smart roadster engine was an expensive pain at service time!
Tbh, I wouldn't say there is that much difference between them, spec wise. Toyota are currebtly offering the sat nav version of the touch screen thingy for 300 as opposed to 700 (goes up after sept). A word on the phone screen mirroring function... yes it works... on Nokia and the Samsung S3 only currently!
How much of a known quantity are those engines?? Our smart roadster engine was an expensive pain at service time!
"Nor has it tuned the handling to make it feel rear-drive ... in fact the engineers have gone to great lengths to make it feel like a safe and sorted front driver. With some success."
Wow, they've finally found a way around physics, well done Renault.
A car with 45/55 weight distribution car can never perform like one with a 65/35 weight distribution, even if you forget about what wheels are driven.
Wow, they've finally found a way around physics, well done Renault.
A car with 45/55 weight distribution car can never perform like one with a 65/35 weight distribution, even if you forget about what wheels are driven.
Liked the review very much, well written and informative. Thanks PH! Two questions remain, if anyone has an idea: why is it Vmax limited? What's the weight distribution?
Can't say I'm much surprised about the current PH worthiness of the Twingo. They just need to make extra sure it does not gain a reputation of introducing a host of young drivers to high speed botanical studies
. Good to hear it is generally competent though.
The base 70hp in the Twingo seems to be the Mitsubishi engine as used in current Smart 42. That is actually pretty good IMO. Doesn't mind getting revved at all and should go nicely with a manual box. Perhaps the better engine choice at this time?
Bring it on, RS. Please!
Can't say I'm much surprised about the current PH worthiness of the Twingo. They just need to make extra sure it does not gain a reputation of introducing a host of young drivers to high speed botanical studies
. Good to hear it is generally competent though. vsabljic said:
It's a Renault engine, nothing to do with the old Smart engines.
And wasn't the service on the Roadster expensive because they had to take the back off to e.g. change spark plugs? The base 70hp in the Twingo seems to be the Mitsubishi engine as used in current Smart 42. That is actually pretty good IMO. Doesn't mind getting revved at all and should go nicely with a manual box. Perhaps the better engine choice at this time?
shoestring7 said:
It doesn't need lots of power, just a bit of chassis tuning to bring the rear into play more, some playing with the steering for feel, and a few more Euro's spent on decent dampers.
Fully agree. This is all it needs to be really ace. So much potential. Other comparison: depending on power, this is pretty much same specs as the original 911 or at the very least a 912.Bring it on, RS. Please!
Kawasicki said:
"Nor has it tuned the handling to make it feel rear-drive ... in fact the engineers have gone to great lengths to make it feel like a safe and sorted front driver. With some success."
Wow, they've finally found a way around physics, well done Renault.
A car with 45/55 weight distribution car can never perform like one with a 65/35 weight distribution, even if you forget about what wheels are driven.
Driven it?Wow, they've finally found a way around physics, well done Renault.
A car with 45/55 weight distribution car can never perform like one with a 65/35 weight distribution, even if you forget about what wheels are driven.
Kolbenkopp said:
The base 70hp in the Twingo seems to be the Mitsubishi engine as used in current Smart 42. That is actually pretty good IMO. Doesn't mind getting revved at all and should go nicely with a manual box. Perhaps the better engine choice at this time?
It isn't; it is the 0.9 3 cylinder unit found in both the Clio and Captur but without the turbo. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff