Any Twizy owners here?

[ZesPak]

So, for a couple of reasons I'm looking at getting a Twizy.

1. The budget is there and the bike needs to go
2. we do a lot of short (<20km) trips
3. I want a convertible, open air experience but no room in my life nor garage for a convertible at this point
4. It'll be ideal for the wife's work situation, where she could really benefit from a small nimble vehicle in the summer

For me it's actually a bit of a bike replacement. I used to do massive miles on the bike and that was fine, but these days I find getting dressed up (and down) for 10km is just not worth it. On top of that, that's just me. The Twizy can be driven by my wife. We also do car sharing with someone in the neighborhood and this would be a nice addition to our little fleet, they have a surplus of electricity and would love an electric vehicle of some description.

Of course I'm poking a dealer to rent one for a week at a reasonable rate, just to see if all the potential drivers here (5 in total!) are comfortable and actually like it.

I just wanted to hear some opinions on it from actual owners, ex-owners or people who have driven it.

Serious question here: how do you think it'll drive on a grass field in the summer?

[ZesPak]

ash73 said:

Death traps, imo.

Poor visibility compared to a bike, plastic shell offers zero protection in a crash, and you can't bail out.

Plus you have to rent the battery, iirc.

You don't have to .

That said, usually she takes the bike but it's a bit cumbersome as she ideally would then need an electric cargo bike of some sorts. Which costs nearly half what the twizy costs and still isn't as safe, fast or convenient imo.

[ZesPak]

Venom said:

- it's made to be an occasional town runabout. It lacks any sort of grunt or refinement. Top speed is circa 30ish mph. I wouldn't take it anywhere near a national speed limit road, you'd feel horrendously exposed, moreso than on a push bike where people expect you to be slow, whereas in this you'll catch some people unawares.

Not planning on NSL road travel with it . As for the top speed, you can order it with the 30 mph limit for people without a license, probably that's what you drove around in? The normal one should have a speed limit closer to 50 (takes ages to get there apparently)

Venom said:

- the suspension travel is non-existent. Incredibly harsh ride. The seat slides forward and back. Beyond that, there's no means to adjust your sitting position, so if you don't get on with the ergonomics you're screwed. Try one first on this count.

Yep, I won't buy one if I haven't had one for a week. Looking into that right now. Want to surprise her with it just for that week.
Biggest worries from what I've seen are:

1. Comfort & performance, or lack thereof
2. There's a 50/50 chance she'll love it or hate it.

Venom said:

- you get very limited carrying space - think over-sized panniers and you're about right.

My wife checks pieces of land in the neighborhood in the summer and has minimal distance to cover but she's still a professional and has documentation/laptop maybe with her. A backpack on a bike in the summer just isn't that professional, a cute electric runabout would serve her great. Backpack/briefcase can go on the passenger.

[ZesPak]

ash73 said:

Your wife's safety not a priority then?

Of course not, we have good life insurances.

[ZesPak]

So, just talked to a dealer and almost no discount on the list price.

Took one home for a week, was a bit disappointed at first at the hard suspension combined with typical Renault "disconnection" on the controls. As in overly assisted steering wheel, slow throttle response,...

By the time I got home, about 15km further, I started to enjoy it a lot. I can imagine the doorless versions to be quite terrifying but on a longer stretch I got it just over 80km/h and while you felt that was the limit for the vehicle, it was still very stable.

The one they gave us now is fully kitted, with doors, glass roof, heated windshield, Parrot,...

Around urban areas it's magnificent. Beat my 100D home by sheer virtue of being able to slip through all the gaps, and it turns on a dime, I can literally drive circles on my driveway, a 4-point turn in most cars.

Edited by ZesPak on Friday 31st July 16:27

[ZesPak]

AnotherClarkey said:

Overly assisted steering? It doesn't have power steering. Agree about the extraordinarily hard ride though.

It did feel assisted. I can easily turn it with a finger even when standing still. Anyway, it felt more "disconnected" than I was expecting in a car of that type.
Owners' forums say a powerbox fixes the lazy throttle response though.

[ZesPak]

I saw that, pretty cool. Looks like a decent step up from the Twizy but also twice the price though.

[ZesPak]

As I said, the Twizy doesn't have any competition and that's a shame.
I found that it works as a second car for our family of 4 (!) 95% of the time.

The wife seems to love it, the main thing I can't get over is that the 6 kW "buy battery" option is 4500 EUR.
That seems enormously steep for a battery imho.

[ZesPak]

ash73 said:

Death traps, imo.

ash73 said:

I had a quick go in it and would never get in one again. Try before you buy.
Unlike a Smart car, there's no safety cage or anything, it's just plastic...

ash73 said:

Your wife's safety not a priority then?

ash73 said:

Shouldn't be allowed on the roads with no safety cell, imo. At least on a motorcycle you can abandon ship, or be thrown clear... the Twizy is basically a plastic coffin; you'd be mad to buy one.

ash73 said:

It's your funeral, but letting the rest of the family get in it is irresponsible.

Your record is broken mate.
This is what it replaces:


Oh and "abandon ship" or "be thrown clear"... sure... safety features on a bike you might want.

Look at your own car history... MG Midget, Porsche 911 and so much other known death traps (what's the NCAP on a 911 again?)
Please, go buy yourself a Tesla instead of the death traps you decided to buy.

Oh, I've got a Tesla, we do over 95% of the miles in that. So on average my family is a lot safer than yours. Don't you care about the safety of your family at all?
Let's do a test.

Pick which one you want to be in in a head on collision of both, at let's say 50km/h:
Jaguar XJ vs Tesla Model S
Smart vs Alfa Giulietta
Ducati vs Twizy

Edited by ZesPak on Wednesday 5th August 11:50

[ZesPak]

Give it a rest and crawl into your cage.

As a biker, you should know better than playing the safety card over and over and over and over and over and over (yes, 6 times now) again.

Edit: Holy st! Just watched the NCAP video.

I'd be worried to get into a Smart after seeing that...
Or are we talking about another NCAP video?

Edited by ZesPak on Wednesday 5th August 12:28

[ZesPak]

It's actually been a revelation for my wife.
It's amazing how well it suits her for her work. I'm not going to go too deep in what she does, but it gets her places where she couldn't go before (on private domains), being able to do her work a lot more efficient.
Anything wider would be a problem.

The fact that it's quiet and unobtrusive is a big plus. Everywhere she goes, people seem to love it. It really does draw a crowd.