Today is

By: Ikedi Ani-okoye

Author: Matthew carter

Twingo, Renault

For reasons best known to itself, Renault never bothered to import the original Twingo to the UK. Strange decision, given how it is the perfect city car... everv other car in Paris is a (usually battered)'Twingo. It would have gone down a storm in London. The problem was that the originalTwingo launched way back in 1993 - wasn't engineered for right hand drive. Fortunately that's not an issue with the latest Twingo, as underneath the skin it's little more than previous generation Clio.

Mind you, the specification is a great deal more interesting. The ten grandTwingo GT is powered by a lightly turbocharged 1149cc engine delivering a cool 100hp. And while supercar performance is out of the question, the combination of one hundred horses in a car weighing next to nothing means the littleTwingo is a Jekyll and Hyde character: cute city car one minute, hot hatch hooligan the next.

Actually, acute' is probably the wrong word here. While its predecessor was undeniably different ashen it first appeared and still manages to look distinctive 15 years later, the styling of the latestTwingo is, frankly, forgettable. Take away the badges and it could be almost anything. A Kia, perhaps. Or maybe a Hyundai.

Renault, it would seem, agrees and has done its best to giye the GT Version a little more visual punch to go smith its 'GRRRR' poster adverts. There's a deeper air dam with integrated driving lights at the front and a neat rear spoiler that sits proud of the roof. The spoiler, driving lamp surrounds and door mirrors are finished in silver, vvhich contrasts well with the blue of the test car.

If only they'd left it at that. Someone in his or her wisdom has looked at other sporting cars and has decided that go-faster body stripes would help lift theTwingo's drab exterior. Thus the test car also came adorned with twin silver lines running from the bonnet over the roof to the tail. Rather than lift the car's lines, all the stripes do is send out the wrong message to other road users, officer. The story is rather better inside. This is only a four seater and the rear of the cabin is a little cramped (and the boot is tiny) but the dashboard is suitably different.

A large tachometer faces the driver - it's bolted onto the steering column with a digital speedo housed in a special binnacle in the centre of the dashboard. Plastics look a little cheap. but then what do you expect in the car that costs under £10,000? Better is the fact that the stereo system has no fewer than three connection ports for MP3 players: that's something yon still don't find in many cars costing much more. But perhaps the best nesvs of all lies in the way theTwingo drives.The engine is a new.

design and svill no doubt feature in forthcoming Renaults and probably some Nissans, too. It's lively, if a little thrashy above 3,000 rpm, and gives the Twingo a fair torn of speed. Mind you, the figures of 117mph and 9.8 seconds from O-60mph don't really help the Twingo justify that GT badge: car keeps up syith its rivals rather than leads the way. Economy is good, though, Twingo returning almost 48mpg over the government Jombined cycle.

A C02 Figure of lzh0g/km isn't so bad either: she Twingo should be cheap to run. Thing is, it feels livelier thanks to the car's lack of avoirdupois. Like the featherweight neb Mazda2, Renault has built a car that doesn't waste precious power - or equalled precious fuel - dragging itself along. lt feels agile, nimble and fun. Show it a twisty country road and it's perfectly at home. The electric power steering is commeidahay accurate and quick to respond.

There's a little more body roll than you might expect from something wearing a GT badge, but that does at least mean ride comfort is a cut above the roller-skate trip offered by most hot hatchbacks. It's quite at home in the city, too. The compact dimensions too.

The compact dimensions make paroling easy, whale there's enough pep from under the bonnet to keep well ahead of any pollution pumping Fast Black . Had the new Twingo arrived on these shores a year or so ago, it would have had only one true rival, she Miri One.Today, though, things are trickier. There's the forthcoming Fiat 500, the Mazda2 and the oddball Mitsubishi i to consider as well. Shame Renault hasn't, made it more distinctive.