Renault’s electric Twingo proves less battery can mean more driving enjoyment

Renault made three big mistakes with the Twingo, happily none of which applies to this fourth, new generation. The first was back in 1992 when it created the original and considered it such a niche product, likely to sell in small numbers in Europe, that there was no business case for building it in right-hand drive. Big error. The car’s design was touched by genius, as clever a piece of packaging as we’d seen since the original Mini in 1959. I was on Autocar at the time and we actually bought one from France and racked up vast mileages because everyone loved bombing about in it.

The second and third mistakes were to make the next two Twingos poor shadows of the original. These were made with right-hand drive but not many cared.

Is the fourth attempt any better, even though it is entirely and exclusively electric?

In almost tacit acknowledgment of how the intervening generations lost their way, the new Twingo shamelessly apes the styling of the original, the same way as does the Renault 5 of its forebear. It may be an unimaginative approach but, when the Fiat 500 and Mini have enjoyed transformative results using precisely the same strategy, it’s easy enough to see why its designers went that way. And it’s hard also to take offence when the result looks this good.

It’s great on the inside too, young and funky, with lots of fun design touches in much the same way as you’ll find in the Fiat Grande Panda – chunky controls and clear instrumentation. Like other Renault EVs, it too allows you to group the ADAS you wish to switch off within a single Perso control.

The Twingo is surprisingly spacious too for such a small car, highlighting one of the benefits of ’skateboard’ EV design. And although a strict four-seater, its rear seats slide fore and aft allowing you to trade rear leg room for boot space and vice-versa according to need. The boot is also much bigger than you’d think as it has a false floor, below which is almost the same amount of space again, albeit substantially occupied by charging cables, if you choose to take them with you.

But perhaps the single most important aspect of the Twingo which needs to be understood is that Renault has quite deliberately given it a very small battery. Its 27.5kWh capacity stands in stark contrast to the 40kWh of even the basic version of its Renault 5 sister despite using the same platform, let alone the 52kWh that is available for that car. What does this mean? On the negative side of the balance sheet, range is limited: 163 miles is claimed but on a cold, wet winter’s day on the motorway at 70mph I’d be surprised if you’d be much past 100 miles before starting to search for charging stations. It will also only charge at 50kW, half of what’s possible with the 5.

“It’s a quarter of a tonne lighter than a Renault 5 and that’s what you feel”

The positives, however, are substantial. Most obviously it means Renault can make and sell it affordably: in the likely event it qualifies for the government grant when sales start in the autumn, expect an entry level model to cost as little as £17,000. And even at 50kW, such a small battery doesn’t take long to charge. As persuasive to readers of this title will be that, at 1200kg, it is up to a quarter of a tonne lighter than a Renault 5 and when you drive it, that’s what you feel.

Another economy Renault has made is to swap the 5’s sophisticated fully independent rear suspension for a simple torsion beam axle: it costs less and frees up more boot space but I was worried it might wreck the ride and handling. But no: while it lacks the outstanding finesse of the 5 chassis, by the less-exacting standards of any other small EV, the Twingo rides well enough and is a delight to hoof through some tight turns: agile, adjustable and with an easily found and simply controlled limit of adhesion. With less than 80bhp on top it might sound like it must be unable to get out of its own way, but in fact it has strong torque and can be rowed along far more rapidly than you might expect.