It's Twingo time: The world's coolest car has made a comeback
An icon of summer holiday's past, the new Twingo carries on Renault's recent run of designing fabulous 'retro' cars.
What have we here?
This is the new all-electric Renault Twingo. Cute, isn’t it? I reckon this is the coolest car of 2026, and here’s why: It’s a chic, cheerful and thoroughly modern small hatchback (what they call ‘A-segment’ in the biz), which takes design inspiration from the original Twingo that came out in 1992, but which doesn’t look retro in any way. Perhaps it’s fitting that we drove it on the island of Ibiza, because this fourth-generation car is like a Club Mix; it samples the frog-faced forerunner, ramps up the BPM via its digital juice (to the tune of 82bhp, via its 27.5 kWh battery), adds some EQ (as in, emotion) and mid-range (officially it’ll do 163 miles between charges), and looks like it wants to wave glow sticks and party till sunrise. Also, it’s surprisingly spacious on the inside (up to 360 litres of boot space), and it’s as cheap as chips. Or patatas bravas.
How much is ‘cheap as chips?’
Renault haven’t revealed UK prices yet, but they promise it’ll start at under £20,000 before government grants. In Europe it’ll be €19,490. Renault isn’t sure yet it if it’ll get the full £3,750 grant. The car’s built in Slovenia where the electricity grid is quite carbon-intensive, and Ed Miliband takes these things into account.
Are seats and a steering wheel optional extras?
No, they’re included. The cheapest trim level is called Evolution, which comes with a 10in multimedia screen and 24 driver assistance systems, including cruise control, lane-keeping, cross-traffic and blind-spot assistance and automatic emergency braking system. The price will rise roughly £1,500 for the Techno spec, which comes with Renault’s more advanced OpenR Link multimedia system, adaptive cruise control, one-pedal driving and a digital rear view mirror. Eighteen-inch wheels are an option, while 16in are standard.
You’re right, it’s very cute. How deep does the design inspiration go?
It looks every bit as friendly as the mk1 Twingo. It has the same smiling frontal inlet and frog-eye headlights, now with semi-circular white LED strips rather than old-school lamps, and the horizontal indicator lights are still underneath. The bonnet and windscreen share almost the same angle up to the roof. Proportionally, it’s evocative of what’s gone before, even though the wheels have been pushed out to the edges more – which makes it look very purposeful and fun. The new car is wider and taller too, with four doors rather than two, but it retains the same compact proportions as its ancestor. It’s a very sophisticated reinterpretation.
What’s it like inside?
It’s comfortable, airy and jolly without being childish. There’s a good balance of physical switches alongside the touch screen, and it’s a system that’s much easier to use than some (I’m talking to you, Chinese car makers). Press a button beside the steering wheel twice to deactivate all the annoying so-called driver aids. Oblong motifs found on the exterior can be found inside too, including the shape of the air vents and the storage trays. There are body-coloured accents that bring some of the personality of the outside in. De-bossed Twingo logos and graphics adorn the car’s ceiling, so there’s no doubt you’re driving a Twingo and not, say, a Fiat 500. In the back there are slidable rear seats which move 17cm back and forth to create more boot room, and a six-footer will be comfortable.
How does it drive?
It’ll win every award going for design. It probably won’t for performance. Zero to 62mph takes 12.1 seconds, so you can forget about overtaking anything. Top speed is limited to 81mph so as not to drain the battery in an instant. However, it handles well and has refined ride. It only weights 1,200kg, with the battery contributing just 212kg, so it’s enjoyably chuckable. Regeneration paddles help to keep braking efficient. Overall, it feels more expensive than it is.
On the road: Renault Twingo E-Tech
Price: TBA (under £20,000)
Top Speed: 81mph (limited)
0-62mph: 12.1 seconds
Power: 82bhp
Range: 163 miles
Any downsides?
Only the 163 mile-range, which in the real world is going to be sub-130. That means a drive from London to Glasgow will require at least four half-hour stops — or longer, as its charging peaks at only 50kW. Having just four seats rather than five will mean it won’t work for bigger families. You may wish to consider the Citroën ë-C3 instead, which accommodates five and has a WLTP range of 200 miles. It costs £21,990 before any grants or discounts. But it’s not cool.
What colours are available?
You’ve got Absolute Red and Mango Yellow, which sounds like they might be the constituent parts of a sex-on-the-beach cocktail, and Absolute Green if you’d like the Twingo to live up to its nickname: La Grenouille. These all look fantastic in the sun. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence red, yellow and green are also Rastafari colours. Subliminal advertising for exotic cigarettes? The Twingo will also be available in black, white and grey, presumably for miserable Parisians.
Didn’t they used to paint Twingos in raspberry sorbet?
Wasn’t that just sun-bleaching? That’s very much a feature of the first-gen car, if you can find one. And I think the colour you’re referring to is Rouge Corail – coral red. There aren’t many mk1 Twingos in the UK because it was never sold in right-hand-drive. We had to wait for the second-gen in 2007 to receive LHD Twingos on our shores, and the mk2 and mk3 were not design masterpieces.
However, anyone who’s spent time in France, or indeed Spain, Italy and Greece, will recognise the mk1 Twingo as the holiday rental by which all others are judged. Once the Absolute Red paint turns to the aforementioned raspberry, the Mango Yellow takes on the hue of a banana split, and holiday makers who’ve had an extra carafe of rosé at lunch add scuffs to the bumpers and new angles to the bodywork, it’ll have all the authenticity of the original.
When can we get our hands on one?
That is the downside. While Renault dealers will take your deposit now, you’ll have to wait until early 2027 before Twingos arrive at British ports. Think of it as a four-wheeled baby. They take nine months to come out too.
So you like this car? You would say it’s a good car? You would not laugh or cry if your friends were about to buy one?
I like it very much. The design is brilliant, it drives well, it has more tech than a £20k car rightfully should, and is that very rare thing among EVs; it has character. It is joyful. I would be tempted to pay six grand more and get the 150bhp longer-range Renault 5, for which the stylists in Guyancourt had another root around in their archives and pulled an 80s-inspired blinder.
But for a holiday in Brittany, Bergerac or the Balearics, the Twingo would be my first choice. If a friend buys one I will seek to borrow it, along with their gîte.
