Discussion
When the Twingo 3 was announced as a small rear engined car, I as many others it seems had high hopes. What has since transpired is a car that is hard to identify as being rear engined or RWD, vague steering and overbearing ESC. It would seem that this also applies to the GT.
Are there any after market remedies for these? Eibach springs with the GT's stiffer dampers, Softer front ARB or stronger rear? ESC delete?
Anyone got a Twingo 3 or tweaked one. I see Ktec don't offer anything for it yet.
Are there any after market remedies for these? Eibach springs with the GT's stiffer dampers, Softer front ARB or stronger rear? ESC delete?
Anyone got a Twingo 3 or tweaked one. I see Ktec don't offer anything for it yet.
Edited by xu5 on Thursday 9th March 11:42
Thanks for all the feed back, I have a test drive in a GT booked for Tuesday. If I do get one it will replace my daily C1 for zipping through rural and semi rural Scotland.
Miglia 888 said:
Twingo 3 Dynamique TCe 90 owner here.
Slightly wider Yoko AD08R's help reduce understeer nicely.
Inside front wheel does lift in tight hard cornering, so ARB mods would help.
Drive a Twingo 3 like you would a 911, for best results.
ESC fuse can be removed - doesn't disable the ESC completely, just reduces its premature application and instantly enables significantly quicker progress - over 2 secs a lap quicker even on a very short circuit.
Could be left out permanently, but there's an annoying warning light in the dash, which disappears when you replace the fuse.
Cross-winds on motorways do buffet you, and the road noise from the tyres is loud, but it's a lightweight spacious city car which isn't just boring white goods. Try one.
What size tyre's do you use? Does the chasis feel stable/balanced with the ESC fuse out? I have heard that is you take out the ABS fuse under the bonnet it will disable ESC completely. Have you ever tried this on track?Slightly wider Yoko AD08R's help reduce understeer nicely.
Inside front wheel does lift in tight hard cornering, so ARB mods would help.
Drive a Twingo 3 like you would a 911, for best results.
ESC fuse can be removed - doesn't disable the ESC completely, just reduces its premature application and instantly enables significantly quicker progress - over 2 secs a lap quicker even on a very short circuit.
Could be left out permanently, but there's an annoying warning light in the dash, which disappears when you replace the fuse.
Cross-winds on motorways do buffet you, and the road noise from the tyres is loud, but it's a lightweight spacious city car which isn't just boring white goods. Try one.
Edited by xu5 on Sunday 12th March 08:08
Just got back from the test drive, It involved town and out country roads. Here are my thoughts.
I think the styling is on the GT is great. Off the top of my head I can not think of hatch I think is better styled, particularly for a five door. The Blaze Orange is a great colour and I think it would suit the Lunar grey with orange details aswell. It sits slightly tall and the 17" wheels seem a bit excessive but I like the wheel design. The rear quarter view has some hints of R5 Turbo about it and any car with pop out rear windows get +5 bonus points from me.
Inside is bright, spacious in the front with a fairly mature yet funky design. The seat is height adjustable but can feel a bit high, comfy though. The view out is good enough for a modern car, though the roof line seems a bit low. I am at the stage in life where five doors and isofix are also a plus, though this wounldn't be our family car.
Instantly very easy to drive. Engine has acceptable levels of poke, (110bhp, 120 ft/lb ish, 1000kg) and picks up quite eagerly aslong as you are not labouring it at low speed. Accelerator response could of been better but not bad. At low speed the exhaust has a bit of triple bass about it and sounds quite good but could do with a bit more verve at other times. Despite the large wheels and low profile tyres it rode well which suprised me a bit and had pretty good damping, 40% damping increase over other models. Didn't notice any banging, jarring or bouncing even on degraded tarmac. I found first and second gear a bit short for my personal taste. I think it had barely touched 50 by the time the rev limiter hits in second.
Steering was precise, overly light and hardly any feed back which was a shame. Despite it being a blustery day at 70 mph I detected no vagueness or wandering. I felt being the kind of car it is being pitched as (a warmish hatch) that I had some liberty to push it a bit. It handled well and could be pitched into a tight corner quickly, when you lift reasonably aggressively it will tighten its line quite smartly, more so than your average modern fwd but then ESC cuts in. It feels like out of the box there is absolutely no way the driver aides would let you do anything other than tighten you line just a bit. It also saps power on sharp corner exit if you try and gee it on. As I have never owned a car with stability management I found this particularly frustrating.
I did not instantly fall in love with the GT but it will remain on my radar. Over the past few years the Twingo and ND MX5 have been about the only cars that have pricked my interest for daily drivers. I find modern cars these days pretty unappealing in general. Almost went for the mk4 MX5 last year but bought another 205 instead!
I will keep my eye on the Twingo. I feel that with some subtle tweaks perhaps like 195 tyres all and dialing back the ESC it could be really enjoyable little car.
I would say it IS a fun car, just not fun to thrash.
I think the styling is on the GT is great. Off the top of my head I can not think of hatch I think is better styled, particularly for a five door. The Blaze Orange is a great colour and I think it would suit the Lunar grey with orange details aswell. It sits slightly tall and the 17" wheels seem a bit excessive but I like the wheel design. The rear quarter view has some hints of R5 Turbo about it and any car with pop out rear windows get +5 bonus points from me.
Inside is bright, spacious in the front with a fairly mature yet funky design. The seat is height adjustable but can feel a bit high, comfy though. The view out is good enough for a modern car, though the roof line seems a bit low. I am at the stage in life where five doors and isofix are also a plus, though this wounldn't be our family car.
Instantly very easy to drive. Engine has acceptable levels of poke, (110bhp, 120 ft/lb ish, 1000kg) and picks up quite eagerly aslong as you are not labouring it at low speed. Accelerator response could of been better but not bad. At low speed the exhaust has a bit of triple bass about it and sounds quite good but could do with a bit more verve at other times. Despite the large wheels and low profile tyres it rode well which suprised me a bit and had pretty good damping, 40% damping increase over other models. Didn't notice any banging, jarring or bouncing even on degraded tarmac. I found first and second gear a bit short for my personal taste. I think it had barely touched 50 by the time the rev limiter hits in second.
Steering was precise, overly light and hardly any feed back which was a shame. Despite it being a blustery day at 70 mph I detected no vagueness or wandering. I felt being the kind of car it is being pitched as (a warmish hatch) that I had some liberty to push it a bit. It handled well and could be pitched into a tight corner quickly, when you lift reasonably aggressively it will tighten its line quite smartly, more so than your average modern fwd but then ESC cuts in. It feels like out of the box there is absolutely no way the driver aides would let you do anything other than tighten you line just a bit. It also saps power on sharp corner exit if you try and gee it on. As I have never owned a car with stability management I found this particularly frustrating.
I did not instantly fall in love with the GT but it will remain on my radar. Over the past few years the Twingo and ND MX5 have been about the only cars that have pricked my interest for daily drivers. I find modern cars these days pretty unappealing in general. Almost went for the mk4 MX5 last year but bought another 205 instead!
I will keep my eye on the Twingo. I feel that with some subtle tweaks perhaps like 195 tyres all and dialing back the ESC it could be really enjoyable little car.
I would say it IS a fun car, just not fun to thrash.
Edited by xu5 on Tuesday 14th March 13:30
Twingo GT is manual only. Would be good to hear your views of it if you for a drive.
Also I found this seemingly Renault Sport endorsed video of the Twingo in the snow with no ESC. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykyyRl8gOx8
Also I found this seemingly Renault Sport endorsed video of the Twingo in the snow with no ESC. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykyyRl8gOx8
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