Watt a Comeback: new Twingo

First of all, it has to be said that the Twingo doesn't quite sit in the same category as the two mentioned above. Anyone who actually made everyday use of an R4 in their younger years is well past retirement age right now. The Twingo on the contrary was launched in the 90's and stayed in production until a few years ago, succumbing like so many small city cars to the vice of regulation and economics. Making money with small cars that actually fulfill all safety and environmental guidelines while commanding a high enough price to make money has become nearly impossible. Within the Renault group that role was left to Dacia anyway.

So now the Twingo is back and I must say I like it. Let's get the reality check out of the way first. Yes, the specifications are seriously sobering. A 27,5 kwh (at this size the 0,5 counts) LFP battery pack that is smaller than what some PHEVs can count on, a puny 60 kw motor and only 6,6 kw of AC charging (no DC) for the base model. Even with the right options ticked you will only get up to 50 kw fast charging. You wonder what the point of a car like this is.

The point is simple: price. Here we have a vehicle that doesn't try to be everything at once and ends up disappointing everyone. The target of Renault was simple: get below € 20.000 without compromising too much on interior space and driving quality. And they have delivered as far as I can tell. The base version will sit below 20K, have more space than an R5 and, according to the journalists, have a very mature and predictable driving behavior. If you are looking at this car to bring you to your far away holiday destination speeding down the highway fully packed, please look elsewhere. If you are in the market for a run-around-town (second) car that can reliably hold your groceries, your kids on their way to school and the occasional family trip to grandma two villages over, this is it! Going electric at this price point is still flawed. You either get a brand new very good car with some use case limitations or you go for a 4-5 year old just-off-lease EV with over 150.000 km on the clock that can do it all. As with everything in life, we can't seem to have it all. But at least there is a very good extra card in the deck you can play with this Twingo.

Besides bringing a very mature product to the "20K or less" market, Renault should be applauded for doing it in Europe. Both the vehicle, in Slovenia, and the battery, in Hungary by CATL, will in time be produced on the continent. The French company makes a strong case towards politicians that they have done their piece, now it's up to them to show they can help revive the minicar segment with some fiscal support. Europe seems to be doing exactly that if the new regulation on super-credits makes it through the regulatory process. Every EV shorter than 4.2 meters would then count as 1.3 cars towards the emission targets, incentivizing manufacturers to reinvest in the segment. Renault has already done its homework.