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Twingo, the clever box? Clever & smart? The latest generation of Renault's small car has a German twin brother. The cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and Renault brings out two siblings whose common parts strategy should nevertheless have its own taste in each group. So how do the smart forfour and Renault Twingo differ? In the first part of the double test, we try to understand the Renault Twingo.
Test: Renault Twingo
The smart colleague for the city
Double test by Renault Twingo and smart forfour | Part 1
Cute box with short overhangs. Yes, the new Twingo is visually extremely successful. And we agree, the Frenchman wins the optics rating. The front has the typical Renault brand face. A small radiator grille slot, funny headlight shapes and small, offset, round LED daytime running lights. We'll come to the design of the smart in the second part of the “double test”. The Twingo has clearly become the prettier of the twins. And although it is the Twingo that has now turned everything on its head from generation 2 to generation 3 and put the engine at the back, it seems like the logical further development of the Twingo idea. A practical, a smart, a friendly city car. And that when the Twingo inherited so many things from “Hambach”.
That's how you drive in France
As is well known, driving pleasure is not just defined by engine performance. Driving pleasure is a feeling mixed with the flavors of steering feel, feedback, subtle joy and the smiles of others at the traffic lights. Rednecks who can create envy and hatred, who can sing a song. Or not. When does a car seem handy? What does it tell you about the street? Do you feel comfortable there? Can you find your way around the vehicle straight away? Many small points beyond the tired “0 to 100” question are crucial for the “driving experience”. For the driving experience. And it really makes sense to put the engine at the back. smart's idea of designing a rear-wheel drive city car is still correct. The engine between the rear wheels leaves more space for the front axle and, without drive shafts to the front wheels, they can be turned further. This ensures a phenomenal turning circle. At 8.6 meters, the Twingo can be turned from side of the road to the side of the road in the city without having to back up. And in parking garages you drive slalom between your colleagues. At the same time, there is more weight on the rear axle, which brings back the “beetle feeling”. The front axle steers, the rear axle pushes. That's how it should be.
It can be 90 HP!
Our test Twingo has 90 hp thanks to the turbocharger and looks like a properly motorized city car. And because the Twingo comes with five doors for the first time, for the first time with a rear engine and for the first time with a turbo engine, this Twingo in the Luxe version is also a real car for the first time. No more second or third car. No pickle for novice drivers and no city can for pizza services. When switched manually, the 90 hp of the only 0.9 liter small turbo three-cylinder is really fun. It hisses softly from behind, it sounds farther away than the 2.30 meter interior length would suggest. The sound of the small turbo remains concise in the ear, if you suddenly take off the gas, you hear the small three-cylinder exhale with a splutter.
The lap on the motorway is not completely meaningless in the Twingo TCe 90, but it is not really fun on the long route. Above all, the limitation to 165 km / h was only managed extremely unusually at Renault. First the little one runs against an imaginary wall, then the engine chokes and if you stop on the gas because you think the electronic limiter will fix it, you will soon find yourself nodding your head at a speed of 165 - the engine chokes, struggles , chokes. At least that's what it feels like.
The wide series tires with mixed sizes (!) 165 / 65-15 at the front and 185 / 60-15 at the rear ensure a straight line. You can't complain about that. But the now quite tall dwarf finds crosswind just as stupid as the V-Max search.
The Twingo is at home in the city, as if we couldn't have guessed it. 135 Nm from the engine, the narrow design and the absurdly small turning circle look for daily fun in “parking” (that’s what the Swiss say about parking), and the smart – the twin of the Twingo – well, it “actually” has its roots in Switzerland. That's why the Twingo is now parked)! Quickly leave the traffic lights and turn right into the next side street. No Twingo has ever offered so much driving fun before. Now no “market companion” in this segment!
Tiny giant
It sounds absurd, but the rear engine provides more space in the Twingo. So the Twingo was a whopping 10 centimeters shorter than its predecessor, but has a wheelbase that is 13 centimeters longer. You can feel that very clearly in the interior. For the first time, five doors are worthwhile in the Twingo. For the first time, the rear seats are really usable.
The fact that the engine is housed under the trunk floor can also be seen from the loading sill and the loading floor that begins almost at the same height behind it. But it doesn't bother. If you set the backrests of the rear seats steeply - there are two fixings for the backrests - you have 219 liters of cargo space. The rear seat bench can be folded down in a 50 to 50 ratio and the passenger seat also tilts for the next Billy shelf. Objects up to 2.30 meters long can be packed in the just 3.59 meters long Twingo.
There is no separate luggage compartment left under the front hood. And if you want to take a look under the service hatch, you'll have to come up with an emergency solution. Renault says eliminating a hinge for the “front hood” saved 3 kilograms. However, the hood can now be released forward just a few centimeters and you run the risk of damaging the edges of the hood and fenders with scratches. Two tension straps hold the hood in place when pulled forward. This could turn into an annoying game in winter, because the container for the windshield washer fluid is underneath. Man Renault. With an empty weight of 3 kilograms, these 1.018 kilograms would not have made the cabbage any more fat.
The fact that the “actually” clever box can be plugged in and unplugged between the driver and front passenger - thanks to the lid, the box is also ideal as a large rubbish bin - may have made sense in the advertising brochure. In everyday life, the driver kicks the box into the passenger footwell with great regularity.
One had hoped for “smart” cleverness with the switch arrangements, but unfortunately the Renault is, a Renault, a Renault and you can feel it in the cockpit. The controls appear as if they were diced and distributed by blind designers without a driving license. The R-Link multimedia system doesn't help with the frustration when you have to look for the cruise control in the footwell.
Hinged windows in a row? Not bother anyone. Who wants to open the windows in the back? For what? Just.
The consumption
[tabgroup] [tab title=”Everyday driver”]The downsizing concept doesn’t work or the engines aren’t well tuned. 6-7 liters in everyday life are more normal than the exception.[/tab] [tab title=”Eco Expert”]Getting consumption below 6.0 requires Buddhist serenity..[/tab] [tab title=”Without Consideration”]10 liters cheer through the nozzles? Makeable. [/tab] [/tabgroup]
The conclusion remains:
This Twingo is smart and clever!
Engines and transmissions? Renault technology. Multimedia? Renault technology. Processing? Renault. And that's how the Twingo looks round. Really French. Not cheap, not bad, but also more of a “great box and practical” than a “premium city vehicle”. For our Part II in comparison with the new smart forfour, these are “bad omens”. What should the smart be able to do better? Despite an additional charge?
The new Twingo is unusual, a little extravagant, practical and always concerned about it in everyday life. also deliver the necessary portion of fun. This makes the new Twingo an ingenious, coherent vehicle in itself and we are now waiting for the smart forfour!
[tabgroup] [tab title=”Technical data:"]
Renault Twingo ENERGY TCe 90
| For sale: | he follows |
| Base Price: | 11.990 € |
| Engine performance: | 898 ccm³ |
| Drive and transmission: | manual 5 gearbox |
| Acceleration: | 10,8 seconds from 0-100 km / h |
| Fuel consumption: | 4,3 liters on 100 km |
| maximum speed: | 165 km/h |
| Length, width, height, wheelbase | 3.595, 1.647, 1.557, 2.492 mm |
What would the blogger order ??
I would order the basic petrol engine with start-stop, pay in the middle Dynamique equipment for 10.990 € (list !!) and order the only extra manual air conditioning for 790 €. Order the Twingo in white and look forward to a clever city car!
[/tab] [tab title=”Good to know"]Three-cylinder with and without turbo
The constructive commonality of the units in the Twingo are the aluminum construction, the overhead hollow-bored camshafts and 4 valve cylinder heads. Intra-engine friction is reduced by graphite-coated piston shafts, a friction-optimized timing chain and cams with diamond-like carbon coating.
Compact design ensures high practicality
Due to the engine block with 49 degree of inclination, the Twingo engines are 15 centimeters lower than with a conventional engine layout. In this way, Renault can realize the rear engine concept of the Twingo without sacrificing everyday usability.
Both engines transmit their power over a modern one
5-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels. Presumably from autumn 2015 the Twingo is also available with the 6 dual-clutch transmission EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch).
How the others experienced the new Renault Twingo:
Galleries:
- Renault Twingo, large gallery with many details (including the mobile phone holder on the base radio, the engine compartment and photos to the open front hatch!)
- Manufacturer photos
Photos in the article: Bjoern Habegger / Cover Picture: Bjoern Habegger