What is it?
We’re no stranger to the Renault Twizy electric quadracycle (as it’s officially known); we drove the Twizy in £7400 ‘Technic’ guise in March along the comparatively silky tarmac of Spain. This time around we’ve swapped sun and shades for the best of British in our first UK drive of the Twizy, which is on sale now.
‘Weirdly thrilling to drive’ were our words in Spain and in the UK it’s certainly no different. Being positioned centrally in a vehicle far narrower than the average person’s arm span (it’s just 1.4 metres wide and 2.33m long) takes some getting used to, but if you’ve ever piloted a moped, you’ll feel quite at ease.
Of course the main crux of our UK drive centres around how the Twizy rides and handles on our notoriously scarred roads.
What's it like?
Unfortunately, the news isn’t good. While you can literally see the suspension components on the Twizy, you will think that they’ve all but disappeared when on the move. Even the smallest bumps, usually glossed over in your average hatchback, are felt right to the core.
On the plus side, however, you’ll relish being able to navigate around potholes thanks to its small dimensions. Sharp steering inputs return direct steering responses and body roll is non-existent, giving the Twizy excellent stability at speed.
Decent traction in the dry is another plus, despite its narrow, low rolling resistance rubber; the Twizy’s Conti.eContact tyres (145/80 R13) have been specially designed for electric vehicles and seem to be a good pairing.
Push harder through a corner, however, and the Twizy’s firm suspension will wash the EV’s front-end wide. While softer spring rates would alleviate understeer, the risk of rolling the high-sided EV would probably be dramatically increased. Let’s also not forget, that Renault plans to introduce a 28mph-capped Twizy in 2013 for fearless 16-year-olds with no driving licence.
You’ll be pleased with the way the Twizy keeps up with city traffic, though. Acceleration to 30mph is surprisingly swift (around 6.0sec) and more than adequate for town commutes. The Twizy’s unservoed brakes are strong, too, (thanks to discs all round) and don’t require a particularly heavy foot to operate.
But back to Britain; our weather at the best of times is on the miserable side of fair, which is where the Twizy really loses its appeal. No doors (just ‘side blades’, which come as a £545 option) make progress in rain and wind particularly unpleasant. Add the fact that cold weather depletes battery life and the Twizy’s impracticality becomes even more apparent.
Should I buy one?
Yes you should, but only if you can answer the following pre-requisites with a resounding yes; firstly, you’ll need a private driveway for trouble-free charging, a thick skin to keep out the cold, and the desire to get noticed the whole time.
Otherwise the Renault Twizy’s impracticalities – including limited storage, no windows, door locks, heaters or radio – and rock-solid ride, plus the initial cost and monthly battery leasing (from £40 per month) will leave you feeling short changed.
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You have to drive one
I have been driving my company one for the last 2 days around Newcastle. I think everyone should book a test drive in one of these before they make judgement, they are so much fun to drive.
You get a lot of looks from people and I am suprised I haven't seen more PR companies using these for advertising.
The drive is firm and you need to slow right down for speed bumps.
Suprisingly you can get 2 6ft people in this and it still has enough headroom and legroom.
I understand what people are saying about the English weather and having no windows is a worry, but I drove ours in the rain and you don't really get that wet. The driving position is central and the wind deflectors on the side keep most of the rain away from you. The inside of the door panels get wet but you don't.
Once you get used to it and driving using the re-charge (taking your foot off the accelerator when not needed or approaching a red light) you get a lot more miles that the estimated 38 from a full charge. I did a 30 trip and the gauge only went down by 12 miles.
I would encourage everyone to go to their local Renault EV garage and test drive 1 of these, this really does bring the fun back into driving.
It seems a noisy brute
Spent a night in a Devon Pub recently and, hearing an unusual racket from the road outside, looked out of my bedroom window. It was a Twizy, the first I have seen and it made as much noise in the quiet surroundings as an average petrol car or a good diesel one. It was a high pitched noise, a bit like a coarser version of the straight cut gears of a vintage car. Whatever the Twizy may be, refined it ain't!
WHAT THE **** ??
Is Renault - a firm that has ditched sales of the Laguna, Modus, Espace, Kangoo and the rather cool Wind due to "poor sales" in Britain - SERIOUSLY expecting this, this THING to sell??
WHO in their right mind, in this country, is going to pay well north of £7K (PLUS £45 a month for the battery) for what looks like a souped-up mobility scooter with ZERO ride comfort and ZERO weather protection, when you can get a decent car and spend the £45 towards fuel ...