Renault Twingo - a cool, small city car from the 90s!
Автокөліктер мен көлік құралдары
The Renault Twingo
Retailing at 55,000 French Francs at launch, the Twingo was Renault’s cheapest offering in the range and replaced the 4 as the cheapest car; but unlike the outgoing Renault 4, it was modern motoring in a cheap and cheerful shell.
The Twingo, named by Manfred Gotta, was the byword in economy and practical motoring for French citizens and Renault fans in the markets the car was sold into.
The car was designed to be as cheaply made as possible - but they didn’t do it by putting in poor quality fabrics and parts - they instead did things like putting the radio antenna on the side mirror to save on the length of the cabling use.
The car was as basic at entry price as you might hope for in 90s motoring: there’s no air bag, there’s no ABS, no central locking, no electric windows, no electric mirrors, no power steering, no air con and no automatic transmission option.
Which to be fair, does cut back on potential to go wrong if you’re trying to run one of these as your daily driver.
The low weight at 790kg, pared back design inside and lack of frills coupled with its size gave the car a low fuel consumption and some components were borrowed from other cars like the Clio to ensure they weren’t specialist and therefore kept costs down further.
The low entry price point and thrifty running and maintenance costs made the car a popular choice and it was so popular circa 2.4 million of these were sold into the Renault markets where Twingo were available.
However, it wasn’t all cutting costs and being meagre, because despite cost saving being vital, the car was designed with end user in mind. For example, the car’s wheels were pushed as far into each corner as they possibly could be to ensure the interior space was at maximum capacity. The windows were oversized not over to ensure visibility was enhanced but to give the feeling of being light and airy inside the car. The rear seats slid and folded and that had never been a thing in cars of this size before; making it a small car with an awful lot of potential.
In fact, the advertising for this car is wild and there’s an advert floating round from the time which shows two men dressed as sumo wrestlers laid down in the car as though they’re laid in a double bed.
Being a car which could easily fit into city life, Renault thought about how it would fit into life in Paris. The car was designed with a turning circle of 9.7m which gave drivers the ability to do a U-turn on a two lane street in the busy capital.
One of the things which stands out for many in terms of these early Twingos is the colour and on this generation you were able to choose from four colours: ultramarine blue, india yellow which is sometimes named as curry yellow in German markets, coriander green and coral red.
After launching in 1993, the car soon began to progress in terms of what it offered and whilst the body shape might not have changed swiftly, even as early as 1994 new models are launched, Twingo Easy transmission is introduced and Renault Boutique are offering a package called Pack Electrique which gives you things like the electric windows and central locking along with air con and abs.
But a vehicle’s success is largely measured on its sales figures and by 1995, half a million had been produced; a boon for the budget Renault Twingo.
Now whilst we never got these in the UK, there were a few dealers who shipped a few over to be sold in the UK as a bit of a press opportunity and to offer a bit of excitement. You’ll notice a dealer mentioned on the plates of this car, well that’s one of the dealers which did it at the time although isn’t believed to have sold this particular car.
Now this is a very brief history of the Twingo, but should you wish to know more, the owner of this car Chris will be bringing out a book on the Twingo next year and it’ll dive deep into the rich history of this brilliant little motor.
With so many still about and parts still available for all your service items especially, if this is a car that takes your fancy, there’s never been a better time than now to find a decent example to cherish.
Пікірлер: 214
My neighbour has a very late phase 1 Twingo, a "Paris" edition with all the amenities like alloy wheels, sunroof, power windows and airconditioning. He does all the work to the car himself, recently it got new shocks and springs. It's a wonderful little car, ideal for local traffic (for work he has a van), easy to park, very frugal, can take 4 adults and has proven reliable. But most of all, when I open the curtains in the morning, the look of a Twingo parked across the street puts a smile on my face.
@chucku00
6 ай бұрын
"When Raymond Levy (Renault CEO in 1992) looked for the first time at the Twingo that was smiling at him, he smiled back at it." - Patrick Le Quément (Renault chief of design)
@RIZFERD
3 ай бұрын
Basically the better version of BMW Isetta I miss the 1990s and early 2000's some of the best years ever
En France, la Twingo est une icône et on attend qu'elle devienne une voiture de collection.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Merci pour votre commentaire 😊
I live in Germany and you still see Twingos everywhere, they seem to be indestructible. Would love to have one, still very clever packaging like a mini Espace Great review as ever Steph 😁
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Thanks Lee! Good to hear they’re in Germany too. Haven’t been to Germany in ages
@leeharkis
8 ай бұрын
If you ever come over we'd be very pleased to host you! We are NRW/Lippe - and have a Z12 cube and MK3.5 MX5 which you'd be welcome to review 😊
@___Steinn___
8 ай бұрын
Another german here! My mother bought her first Twingo in 1996 when I was 10 years old. A bright yellow 1.2 with the big folding sunroof. A few years later she switched to an phase 2 Twingo in light blue and, of course, the sunroof. I grew up with these cars and they were very reliable. When I was 20, I drove a black one, that was borrowed from a friend and the engine died at 150kmh on the autobahn... She never checked the oil level and I didn't either when borrowing the car... 😅
I remember when I was a kid and we went on Holiday to France being fascinated by the Renault Twingo. Seeing these cars that you don't see in the UK. Honestly a Car that has aged pretty well.
@twingotalk
8 ай бұрын
Lovely memories! Same for me; it all began with a trip to France. /Chris
I love small, basic underpowered cars and this is a prime example.
This Renault Twingo is 30 years old doesn't look as though it's 30 years old very well looked after the 1990s and the early 2000s is the peak of motoring and this Twingo is a classic example of that its simple equals reliability not many things to go wrong its cheap but doesn't look cheap those bright green on the buttons dials and trim pieces look so good and when l found out this Twingo was from 1993 it doesn't look like it's from 1993 because it's in such good condition and it's a pity it's only left hand drive which means Australia totally missed out on this car this is one of the most impressive cars you have reviewed l just really like it and it goes well to you could call it a time capsule
Excellent to see a review on a Twingo - 30-years old but still looking fresh, and some surprisingly good design features.
I'm glad you like the Twingo, Steph. You mentioned you wanted more boot space, but you can easilly push the back seat forward. You you have the option to have good boot space or limousine like leg room for the back passengers. I myself drive one (I live in The Netherlands) from 2006, so the same shape, but I have aircon and 2 airbags. It has the 1148 (I think it is 1148) cc engine. Officially a 1.2, but more of a 1.1 really. I am a 42 year old man, but I really, really like my Twingo. It is so cheerful and it actually is a very good car. My Twingo has been very reliable for me. I think i'll keep driving it forever because I just don't like modern cars. They are soulless and overengineered. My Twingo is just perfect for me.
I had mine in the UK for 16 years covering 400000km same colour brilliant car - thanks Steph
My favourite
This was one of the last of the smiling front end big sales hits. The last was the 2006-2015 MX5 NC, which then changed to a strange frowny half smile with the ND. We could use more pleasantly smiling cars in today's congested roads, all the aggressive frowny front ends can only make the rats-in-a-cage situation worse. Great review, nicely shows how well this handles urban madness. Don't drive a LHD through a drive-in backwards btw, they get really mad at you for some reason.
Had one from new in 1994, metallic red had been released, did 150k kms in 4 years travelling around Europe I loved it.. so spacious and well designed, in fact 30 years on it still looks fresh! I’m tempted to find another.. remember carrying 55000francs across from England to pay the dealer when moved to France 😂
I always wanted one. Renault pulled out of the US market in 1987 and I was still puttering about in my 82 R5 when the Twingo came out. I read all the motoring press I could find on the Twingo.
Love the original Twingo. Had a new one decked out in promotional livery with foot-high 'TWINGO' down the sides as a hire car in Switzerland. It was my first time driving LHD and abroad. Plus my daily at the time was a Mk1 Allegro with Quartic wheel and no brake servo. The Twingo was like something from Mars.
Shame they didn't make RHD versions for the UK. They would have been great sellers. Another great review Steph, as they all are.
@user-pl7sf9qm9o
5 ай бұрын
Why spoil the thing with a specialized version for an eccentric market that wont drive in the correct side of the road and then insults the maker by calling it "quirky". Im with the guard in Python Holy Grail.....
I remember the storm it created here when it first came out. They were so CUTE, but simply unavailable. You used to see them running around on French plates and it was only a matter of time before somebody imported them. Looking at it through today's eyes, Alec Issigonis would have been proud of designing that. It is more Mini than a Mini. Classless, ubiquitous, cheap to run, roomy, and cute. It has to be a future classic.
@chucku00
7 ай бұрын
You're spot-on, the first Twingo is the real OG Mini's heir. Renault quite lost the plot with the second an third iterations but they are coming back to the first one with their electric new Twingo.
Wow, what a delightful little car! I’ve never heard of this model before this video (coming to you from the U.S.) and I can say, I’ve completely fallen in love with this car. If only we’d gotten them over here as well! Lovely video as always Steph! ❤️
Beautiful pantograph wiper action!
I own a later model still MK1 but with air conditioning, central locking, electric mirrors, airbags front/seat and a 75hp 1.2 16v engine. It is still simple enough to repair most stuff yourself and so far in 3 years and 30,000kms of driving nothing has gone wrong and all it's required is oil and filter changes. It does 55mpg on average and is good fun to drive. For some context my previous Renault was a Clio Trophy and I think overall the Twingo is the better car! Maybe not on track though :D. Regarding long journeys I've driven from northern Europe to Portugal and back over 5000km and it was nice and comfortable.
Steph, you did really well with the gear change. The last time I drove a manual lhd car I tried to move from 3rd to 4th with the window winder 😅
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
😂😂😂
@sietse9920
8 ай бұрын
The last time i drove a rhd car, i kept on looking at the doorframe, in search of a rear-view mirror….
Back in 1995 I went on a school trip to France, and Twingos were everywhere.
A younger couple in my family bought one from new. What a wonderful little car. However children came with a breathtaking pace, so they outgrew it fast.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
One of the many downsides of adding to the household 😂😂
We drove a Twingo from Paris to the New Forest this year. We were four adults plus luggage. It was a bit underpowered but not uncomfortable.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Wow! I hope you enjoyed the new forest and got to see Beaulieu.
@williamwade641
8 ай бұрын
@@idriveaclassic Thanks for posting the video. There are still plenty of inexpensive Twingo mark ones for sale in France. We loved the New Forest and were there just a few days for my niece’s wedding. Unfortunately there was no time to visit the museum. I had worked at the Beaulieu Autojumble in the 1980s. It was great fun.
I never had one of these but I really like them. Alone in my short street there are a few of them parked outside. Once I said to my brother: «Oh look, another Twingo!» He said, he doesn't care about this crap. I said to him: «Yes, just like back in the days when we've been talking like this about Renault 4 and 5 and Citroën 2CVs and so on. When they nearly all disappear, we're happy to see one». I think, this is the Renault 4 of our time. Practical, quirky, sweet. And this example is in extraordinary shape. Great! Thanks Steph for presenting this Twingo... (Because I don't have the money for a real classic but I want to drive a simple, reliable and repair friendly car, I did choose a «non spec» 2009 Citroën C1 for 1650 Euro 4 years ago. I'm happy with her 🇫🇷♥🇯🇵)
I hired one of these back in the 90's in Sitges, Spain..., was so disappointed I couldnt get one in the UK...loved it !!
Cool Little lovely city car, such a clever, practical design. One of the finest in its class to this day.
Seeing you in this Twingo, I suddenly realise you should also test a mk1 Panda one day. Also a very iconic little car that changed motoring…..
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Yes I must!
@miskatonic6210
4 ай бұрын
Most of them rusted away.
Best designed car I have ever driven! And it looks modern, even today.
You still see some of these in our roads in Italy. Maybe not the very first model years but the restyling absolutely. One thing I noticed seeing Twingos around is that they are one of the very few few cars in the modern era (especially small cars) to have the rear view mirrors attached to the pillar and not to the door.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Yes! Such good news to hear they’re popular in Italy too
So at ease in front of the camera! And such a great diction! Professionalism at its best, much better than tv. You are star Steph, and a shining joy in our lives
Stunning design. Why it was never available in the UK is a mystery. I'm not a big fan of small cars but this one is great. What Austin Rover's Mini replacement should have been like
@bongolian3101
8 ай бұрын
As for why it was never sold in the UK: When you look at how compact the engine compartment and all the stuff in there has been arranged, I'd guess they would have had to basically flip everything horizontally to be able to make the car right hand drive.
Those seats make me smile indeed!
I still really like these and think they remain a fresh looking design,From a time when small was light
Favorite car from France. The design is so adorable.
The council is having a giggle with those speed bumps, perfect place to review a Citroen DS.
Definitely a 90s classic. I met chris in a twingo club meeting in Sao Paulo back in 2022, great guy
@twingotalk
8 ай бұрын
Thank you! It was a pleasure meeting the Brazilian Twingo owners' club; a very special memory. /Chris
First time I saw one of these was in Gran Canaria back in the 90s
It even matches the seats
One other thought about how will this be a "classic"? I agree with what you said, but you missed an important factor. CHARACTER! This little car has a cheeky "face". Looked at from the front, it has a happy little smile. A quirkiness about it that clearly differentiates it from all the "euroboxes" of the time.
It's always fun to see Anglo-Saxon reactions about our old cars 👍😄
Hi Steph. Haven't watched this yet but I just want to say I appreciate how much effort you go to with your outfits...you always look totally fab.
What another good video Steph. The first time I saw one of these cars was in Germany if my memory serves me correctly in Luebeck where I used to go very frequently. I also saw them in Asia. O cannot for the life of me understand why they were not offered or didn't take off here, I thought and still think they are practical and very cute cars. I love the interior.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Expensive to flip into RHD sadly! Makes me so cross we didn’t get them, would’ve absolutely smashed rover metros out the water in terms of market share imo
Sliding rear seats were seen in the 1987 Mazda 121 hatchback. :)
I love these.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Me too 🥹🥹
All the videos I have watched you have a continuous stream of input and information that makes it a pleasure to follow along 😊
That interior fabric should come with a warning for epileptics 🤣. Cool review as always 😊😊👌
Im from Australia, but travelled to France at least once a year and I really luv them. I thought it was the best car in the world for city driving. I always get shivers when I see one
What a great little car. If something new released like this, no frills, not having everything controlled by a stuck on iPad, and dare I say it, a petrol engine, and cost sub £11,000 it would sell like mad!
You mention at 16.15 sales in Japan. Surprised that an LHD city car sold in any numbers in Japan.
I love "Youngtimers"! ❤ The word "youngtimer" is a german pseudo-anglicism and is the counterpart to the pseudo-anglicism "oldtimer" that stands for vintage car (older than 30 years). Youngtimers are cars aged from 20 to 30 years old. Sometimes all cars from 1980 on count as yountimers.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
I discovered it on a trip to Rétromobile 😍
@frisco-2.0
8 ай бұрын
@@idriveaclassic I do find interesting how such words influence other languages. There are even more "english" words in the german language that have nothing to do with the real meaning. A "Handy" in german is a mobile phone. 😉😂
I love simple small car's. I own a Mirage which is about as simple as you can get in the US. But I would happily do without the PW, PS and all the other stuff. And I really like that cheerful interior!
Great video, enjoyed very much
Brilliant video. Love the Twingo - especially its Fisher Price switches. On my bucket list.
AWWW GEEES, love that car.and i love the fact that there is nothing behind the steering wheel. looks bloody marvelous. thanks Steph, ur a bloody champion as always. lots of love, Auckland, New Zealand
Perfect rival for the Mini, obviously.
Way to go Steph, another fantastic review
I often see one of these on my drive to work in Shropshire. The superb blog Driven To Write has been featuring the story of the Twingo’s design, as told by its designer, Patrick Le Quement.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
That’s a really good blog imo xx
@paulqueripel3493
8 ай бұрын
I think the YT channel Bigcar has an interview with him as well in his video on the Twingo. I know he interviewed him on one of them.
@simonhodgetts6530
8 ай бұрын
@@paulqueripel3493it does - and it’s excellent!
I took a long test drive in one while visiting my sister in Hooffddorp, NL back in the early 90s. I'm 6'4" and it was very comfortable, very easy to drive. I would have bought one and shipped it home to the USA, but the dealer wouldn't let me do it... I've never seen one here, but there probably are a few that have sneaked in one way or another. It is past the 25 year restriction, so it shouldn't be impossible! (It is one of my favorite "modern" small car designs.) Oh, and I just recently subscribed - loving your video reviews, Steph! I've been into odd old cars for many years, have a 1959 BMW 600 microcar.
Great video! I love the Twingo, you can still see some of them around the streets in Brazil, where it sold very well at the time.
Thanks Steph, for a great review of a fantastic car. I travelled to France for the first time this year, and fell in love with the Twingo. I saw them everywhere. It was my daily game to count how many Twingos I saw as we travelled around. I seriously wish I could get one here in Australia.
Very sweet car
Thank you 😊
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
Mint condition!
Fantastic car , best city car ever made
Always a delight to spot Mk1 Twingos going about their daily business when visiting France. Every town centre will have a few parked up..
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Yeah I love spotting them on my annual French holiday
@nigelmchugh5541
8 ай бұрын
@@idriveaclassic Le Bon Coin is a dangerous website!
I always wanted one!
Great footage Steph! love the origional twingo.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Thank you x
I hope HubNut enjoyed your wiper footage...😆🤣❤
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
Hahaha I might WhatsApp it to Ian later 😂😂
Had one as a hire car in Menorca - Great little car!
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
I’ve always wanted to drive one. Felt so lucky!
Je suis un particulier collectionneur de Twingo 1 , j'en possède 11 ! ce sont des voitures de collection !
Really enjoyed this one.
Fab little car, fab review. I'm not sold ont the interior green colour. Thank you Steph!
A cool, *smart* city car from the 90s! Thank you.
Always loved the twingo and remember them being everywhere in France when new I wish they had imported them to the UK as it would have been a logical replacement for the Renault 5 campus which I had back then I did look at importing one but it was prohibitive but would still love one now definitely will be a classic in the future! Great video as ever Steph well done
Big Car have made a video on the History of the Twingo where it's about Twingo and he also interviews Patrick LeClement who designed the first Twingo
Yay matching outfit.
Cool little car!
What a fantastic, quirky little car
its fabulous tbf, I mean its cute, fun and frugal, if you offered me a hundred grand range rover or this I would take this hand down, well i would take the range rover sell it, buy this and bank the change,
Scrapped one last week
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
😫😫😫
I'm stumped by the bigger boot comment as the Twingo used a monobox shape, like the Espace to maximize the space inside. You can easily fit four 6ft adults in a Twingo in plenty of comfort. What's more the back seat is on a slider so you can push it forward to increase the boot space and still fit four people in the car., or it folds up completely and you've got a decent sized mini van. I cannot think of a small car in the same footprint that offers anywhere near the same sort of interior space. They drive really well on the open road too, I did a 1,000 mile trip to Metz in South East France for the Twingo 30 event, mine has over 180 thousand miles on the original engine, it never missed a beat and it was such a comfortable car to be in.
I'm from Germany and I used to own a 1996 model. It's a great car! It has about the same interior space as a 190 Mercedes of that time, only with the bonnet and the boot cut off :D - And those lovely dashboard shelves behind the steering wheel and also on the passenger side, where you could put all your stuff like wallet, cigarettes, lighter and mobile phone if you had one. So convenient! Mine had the electric package (windows, mirrors and remote central locking), dual front airbags and aircon. The first gen had the 1.3l ohv engine with 54 hp (the gen 1 facelift got the 60hp 1.2l ohc) and you could actually feel it losing 10% when the aircon compressor kicked in. I sure didn't mind sacrificing a bit of power for being comfortably cool in summer. It was fast enough anyway and would go 155 km/h maximum cruising speed (just under 100 mph). My Twingo also had the "easy" semi-automatic transmission. That's basically a normal 5 speed that had no clutch pedal, but a slightly loose gear shifter knob with a pressure sensor and a computer operated clutch. So it would register when you started to pull on the gear stick and then open the clutch when you let off the accelerator pedal. Then you'd change gears. You could do that extremely fast, too. not like in today's automaticised manuals with the shifting delays. As you mentioned, the seats were very versatile, too. you could move the rear bench forward by about 6 inches to get a bit more boot space, or you could fold the rear seat backs forward onto the seat for larger cargo, and then you could even fold the rear bench (with folded seat backs) forward as a whole to get maximum cargo space that would actually fit a washing machine. On the other hand, you could remove the front head rests, fold the front seatbacks to the rear into a horizontal position so the yould come to lie on the sill area in front of the rear bench, flip the parcel shelf up into vertical against the back window (it's mounted on the hatch, as opposed to the usual mounting behind the rear seats), then lower the backs of the rear seats into the boot space to leave just enough for your travelling bag underneath and you'd get a rather comfortable 2-person bed (1 person diagonally if you're 6"6' like me). So much better that a tent - totally rain proof and also much safer because it's got lockable metal doors. I went camping in my Twingo a few times. I did think about getting a used one now just for fun, but the prices are actually going up. These cars were excellent quality and there are still a lot of them around today, more than 25 years later. I did do a lot of road trip holidays in the Twingo and even took it to the southern UK in 1997 amd 1998. I remember how the people that ran the b&b I stayed at were fascinated by the car and wished it would have been sold in the UK as well. Thank you Steph for doing a video on the Twingo - lots of good memories :)
And now it's a rear engine four door that is related to the Smart Four Four
Awesome Steph. I have a 2005 Renault Kangoo and love it.
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
I love a French motor tbh
@mancavehobbies6213
8 ай бұрын
@@idriveaclassic You can come and review it .
As Ian would say "pantograph wiper moment"
👏👏👏👏❤ I love the twingo! I own 2: 98 and 2001.
Loved these when they launched and still do. Was gutted they m ver made them right hand drive or imported them to Ireland. Still a looker and a worthy classic. Great video
Basically the better version of BMW Isetta I miss the 1990s and early 2000's some of the best years ever
rented one of these for a week on holiday in Menorca 26 years ago. I absolutely fell in love with it. really liked the shrunken Espace design, it was nippy, handled like it was on rails and ran on fresh air. shame they didn't make a RHD version and import them into the UK, it would have been a real hit. the 2nd and 3rd generation Twingos are a complete departure from the original.
Hi Steph! If you are looking for another modern classic car, you can have a go in our Renault Wind! Only made for 2 years...
I commend you on your efforts to match dress and upholstery!
Hello Steph, never driven or rieden one of these "super-mini" sars, but looks really fun on a shoe-string! Enjoyed the video. Best wishes from Lincolnshire
I think your right Steph, Renault should have sold the Twingo in the UK, it's just got that something they are great.
nice one steph
When I heard your opening about budget and as cheap as possible, I was thinking really basic and tinny. I am so glad that this car was nothing like as I expected. I really like the interior, it seems to have that NAFF (the jackets) and rubics cube vibes, very French and very stylish. I was hoping for electric windows, knowing the likelihood was that they would be winders. However, the color coding really makes these a feature rather than a chore. If only Tata and City Rover could have taken a leaf out of this book.
Sooo many of these still in France. The people’s car 🇫🇷
The Steph fashion collection strikes again. You gotta love it. (Then again, back when men wore ties I had like 50-60, all selected for specific shirts and actually enjoyed planning the next day's combination - now of course it's a rugby at home and damn the zoom calls too). Love the interior spec on this, what a delighful ittle car for its purpose.
its a great city car . great as well as first city car for kids living in the city . also due to its low top speed , low acceleration speed its somewhat save for kids to be driving around a city .
@idriveaclassic
8 ай бұрын
It’s just a good all rounder for built up area travel x
I recommend the Jay Foreman song Twingo.
That car is exactly what the 90s looked like - I reckon prices will go up.