17bhp, the option of no doors, and a chassis tuned by RenaultSport – is the Twizy a sensible or foolish used buy?
Despite not being on sale for a few years now, the Renault Twizy, an electric quadricycle (important to note that it’s not an electric car) with two seats arranged in tandem, continues to fascinate and delight those who glimpse one.Yes, it’s a bit chilly in winter, but otherwise the Twizy has much to recommend it. Such as? Well, it doesn’t take long to charge via a domestic socket, early examples are inexpensive (prices start at around £4000) and driving one will put a smile on your face.A cynic might point out that the charging time is so short – around three and a half hours – because the battery is tiny (6.1kWh), it’s cheap because new ones weren’t exactly expensive (from £7000 in 2012) and when you’re smiling it’s only with relief that it hasn’t run out of power (its range is around 40 miles) and your back is still in one piece (the stiff suspension makes for entertaining handling at the expense of comfort).A scooter would be cheaper and better suited to urban travel, they may also say. But in a Twizy you’re riding more safely on four wheels attached to a chassis tuned by – get this – RenaultSport.Not only that, but you’re also protected by a steel frame and crumple zones front and rear, there’s an airbag in the steering wheel and you’re secured to your seat by a four-point seatbelt. You sit quite high in the Twizy, so all-round visibility is good.The dashboard is simple but attractive and includes two gloveboxes, one of them lockable. A comprehensive trip computer keeps you abreast of range and the instrument display of battery capacity.The cabin is hard-wearing and easy to clean but there’s no cabin heater, so be sure to buy a Twizy with the optional zip-in windows.One with doors, too. They were also an option, but only at the point of the car’s production: you can’t buy and fit aftermarket ones. The battery lies below the floor, from where it sends current to the rear-mounted electric motor.This produces 17bhp and 42lb ft of torque, sufficient to propel this little EV to 50mph. Acceleration from 0-30mph is strong and you will keep up with traffic in town, but any faster and the Twizy soon runs out of puff. However, you’re so exposed and it’s so close to the road that it always feels enjoyably rapid.From launch until 2021, the battery had to be leased from Renault at a cost of around £45 per month.With older cars, it’s now possible to buy the lease out for a small sum; with newer cars, you might have to pay up to £800 for the battery. From 2021, the battery was bundled in with the car, raising the Twizy’s list price to around £12,000.All cars have a three-metre charging cable so you need to have a three-pin socket close by.Early trims were Urban (with steel wheels) and Technic (alloys). Later on, they were replaced by Expression, offering 13in wheels, a lockable glovebox and a heated windscreen, and Dynamique with alloys and a choice of 14 body colours. All versions have front disc brakes and regenerative braking.Everyone we spoke to in research for this guide said a Twizy was the most fun they’d had on four wheels. Try one: you might like it.
