New Renault Twingo revealed: fully electric city car to offer 163 miles
The new Renault Twingo will arrive next year with 163 miles and a likely starting price of less than £20k...
On sale 2027 | Price from £19,000 (est)
What do the films Blade Runner 2049, Mary Poppins Returns and Top Gun Maverick have in common? Well, they’re all legacy sequels: a film that succeeds another by many years, often building (and cashing in) on the original’s popularity and nostalgia. Now, the Renault Twingo may have never been a major motion picture – rather a small car that first launched back in 1993 – but it’s getting its own kind of legacy sequel in 2027.
And while the original Twingo never really stood out much against its rivals, expectations for the upcoming sequel will be high. That's because it follows in the footsteps of Renault's other fantastic electric models, including our reigning Car of the Year, the Renault 5 (R5).
Despite sharing lots of mechanical underpinnings with its larger sibling, the Twingo will look quite different to the R5. Indeed, it retains the same bubbly shape and semi-circular LED lights seen on the very first Twingo, which inspired the Twingo concept. It's slightly longer than a Fiat 500 Electric and bigger than the original car, but its dinky proportions place it firmly in city car territory.
As such, it'll get a small battery with a capacity of just 27.5kWh. That unit is officially good for 163 miles without stopping to charge, but of course you're unlikely to achieve that figure in real-world driving. It's further than the 115 miles of the entry-level Fiat 500 Electric and the 140 miles of the Dacia Spring, though, and even though it's not a spectacular figure, it should suit the Twingo's urban habitat just fine.
Its maximum charging speed of 50kW isn't fast either, but since the battery is so small, it should take 30 minutes for a 10-80% top-up. The Twingo will also be capable of vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging. The former allows you to power external devices with the car's battery, while the latter feeds excess electricity back into the grid during peak periods of demand.
Every version of the Twingo will receive an 80bhp electric motor driving the front wheels. That juice will allow it to complete a 0-62mph sprint in a rather pedestrian 12.1sec. But in the urban environments the Twingo will mostly find itself, an ability to be nippy — which almost all electric cars are — is more important than a talent for accelerating to national speed limits.
Inside, the Twingo gets a 7.0in digital instrument cluster behind the wheel alongside a 10in central infotainment touchscreen, which has shortcut buttons for easy access to the most important functions. There's also a host of physical buttons and dials for the air conditioning and hazard warning lights. When we briefly tested the system, it was responsive and had a simple layout. Since we find the system in the R5 so good, we'd expect the Twingo to follow suit. Higher trim levels benefit from a Google-based infotainment system.
In terms of roominess, the Twingo is a small car designed for the city, and so you won't be shocked to hear that rear seat space isn't spectacular. There are only two seats back there, and anyone approaching six-foot will find head room very restricted. However, leg room is surprisingly generous. With the rear seats slid all the way back even long-legged passengers will have room between their knees and the front seats – so it's certainly better in the back than the Fiat 500 Electric.
Like the old Twingo, there's space for four inside. The sliding rear bench folds into two 50/50 sections, which allows you to prioritise leg room or boot space depending on your needs – a rare feature in this class of car and price range.
Speaking of boot space, there's up to 360 litres available, which is more than what the bigger R5 offers – but that's with the seats slid all the way forwards.
There's also a number of interior storage spaces, with a 3.6-litre space inside the centre console, and a flat shelf stretching the width of the car for smaller objects.
Two trim levels will be available: Evolution and Techno. Entry-level Evolution trim comes with 16in wheels, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, cruise control, automatic emergency braking (AEB), manual climate control and rear parking sensors.
Stepping up to Techno trim will get you the Google-based infotainment system, adaptive cruise control, automatic climate control, power-folding door mirrors, a digital rear-view camera and automatic windscreen wipers.
Entry-level versions of the Twingo will be priced at less than £20,000 when it hits UK cinemas, so to speak, in 2027. At that price point, the Twingo would significantly undercut many potential rivals, including the Fiat 500 Electric and Vauxhall Corsa Electric.
Twingo superfans are to sign up for an early access programme that allows them to 'skip the queue' when ordering their new car. Dubbed the Twingo R Pass, it offers special access for members before orders open for the general public.
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