Renault's latest vehicle is radically different form anything we have seen so far. As personal transport for city dwellers I think they may be onto something especially at that price.
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/road-tests/renault-twizy--road-test-7639565.html
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Do you pronounce the "i" as in "miser", or as in "dizzy"?
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Glorified mobility scooter.
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Great for whizzing around cities/towns/short commutes but ... the monthly battery lease cost will be £40 including VAT for a 36 month/4,500 miles per year agreement takes the shine off it somewhat.
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With a tube ticket costing over £4 minimum that might seem cheap.
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Well, shows just how 'out of touch' I am then :)
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But how about the cost of parking it - can't use motor cycle bays, and with no windows probably be used as a litter bin, or will be filled with water on a rainy day. Can't see it helping Renault out of its problems; they probably should have put the development time and money into their conventional cars.
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These look fantastic and I could well see myself owning one. The lack of windows is to help it with vehicle classification, isn't it? (it's not legally a car). I'm sure some enterprising bod will come up with an aftermarket solution. The lack of a heater might be more tricky ...
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Saw my first Twizy today, Southampton Row towards Kingsway. Odd looking thing with wheels reminiscent of a beech buggy but with egg shaped body perched on top.
Lack of evident weather protection looked like a big downer though I suppose motor cycles get by. Seats looked to be of PVC (front) or rigid injection moulded plastic (rear).
Was off like a scalded cat when the lights changed.
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Yeah, as I said when I tried the leaf, the "step off the mark" performance of modern leccy vehicles is highly entertaining in the urban environment.
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Saw one on the M3 on Friday evening where its 50 mph top speed was proving to be ample. People say these are no use for motorways, but the M3 (and many other motorways) in rush hour yield very similar traffic speeds to an urban environment.
Lovely looking car. Just the slight worry of owning an entire car powered by electricity from a manufacturer that can't reliably power little things like windows and steering by electricity ;-)
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That reminds me - we actually hired one for half a day in Epernay earlier in the year. Some deal between the local dealer or Renault and the tourist information centre. IIRC it was €50 for half a day, with a bottle (or maybe half?) of champagne thrown in.
'Ours' was a Twizy 45, which was limited to, um, 45kmh. Not sure if that's a model available in the UK, but in any event it proved possible to get it up to 48kmh on a downhill stretch! Round town it was perfectly capable of keeping up with traffic, and as mentioned initial acceleration is surprisingly strong. It had the optional doors fitted, which open upwards, and seats two reasonably comfortably. Access to the rear is tricky, and luggage space somewhat lacking, but on the whole
The open road was a different matter; whilst it felt perfectly stable, and you could chuck it round like a go-kart, 45kmh is just too slow. A faster one would definitely make the car more useful. Its clearly designed not to be impacted by water ingress, and in fact it did rain when we had it. We didn't get wet at alll, but it was light drizzle rather than a downpour with cross winds!! The single wiper cleared the screen efficiently, and it had a heated front screen as well. There is no rear screen - you have to use your wing mirrors, which might be a problem in the UK...
Range wise, in true French style it was handed over only half 'full', but a morning's running around, including thrashing it out of town, of around 25km didn't use a quarter of a battery
All in all a great concept, execution a bit ropey in areas and I think its quite expensive for what it is, but I can definitely see a use for it. If It'd existed when we lived in Tokyo/Yokohama for example it'd have been great!
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I can imagine what state you could expect to find it on a Saturday morning after pub chucking out time. Full of cans, bottles, vomit. That's assuming its not been tipped on its side overnight.
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Yes, but you can just turn the hose on it and be on your way. Imagine Iffy doing that with his CC-wotsit.
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Renault - The Twizy - L'escargot
