Renault

When Renault revealed the fantastic Twingo concept in 2023, it promised the coming fourth-generation production model’s styling would be very close to the concept, which itself is a totally retro take on the beloved original 1992 Twingo. I’ve been eagerly anticipating it ever since, especially as the new Renault 4 and Renault 5 are super-successful retro designs that lost almost nothing from concept to production. But still — was there a chance Renault could somehow mess it up?

Nope. Here is the new Twingo E-Tech, and it looks extraordinarily close to the concept; honestly, some of the production car’s details are even better. This is easily the chicest city car in a long time. Renault also held to its promise that it will start at under €20,000 (excluding subsidies!), which is about $23,000 at current exchange rates, and even the top-end ones will have “an attractive price.”

The A-segment makes up less than 5% of the European market, and Renault says that isn’t because of low demand, but the quality and amount of offerings in the segment, especially as Chinese EVs dominate the marketplace and more legacy OEMs exit the segment. Renault says it sees this as a major growth opportunity, describing the Twingo as a game-changer both internally at the company and in the automotive market. “It meets the expectations of customers across Europe in full, while also bringing an optimistic vibe to the city,” says Renault. And what’s better than a city with an optimistic vibe?

It’s like a cute ’lil gremlin

Renault

God. Just look at it! How can you not be grinning from ear to ear when you see one of these? While an obvious rehash of the original Twingo’s design, this new one feels totally fresh. Renault says it has “a cheerful, mischievous feel, symbolising its sunny character,” and it does immediately seem like the car has a personality, like a cute little gremlin. There are pill shapes everywhere, like the black bumperettes, the lower door sculpting, and the slim “grille” between the headlights. The half-moon light shapes in the headlights and taillights remain on at all times, as the actual light elements are in the lower horizontal sections.

Its overall shape and proportions are like the original’s as well; I especially love the upright greenhouse, with the C-pillar and rear window shape creating pronounced rear hips, and there are no visible window seals. The Twingo has more quirky bits at the rear, like the black surround for the window and the little fins at the tops of the taillights, both of which aid in aerodynamics. Both the headlights and taillights sit prominently off the bodywork, which helps exaggerate the car’s expression. Another one of my favorite details is the new Twingo logo, which is used as a motif inside (and in the above photo’s background, too), and the shape of the charging port on the front fender.

Smaller than a new Mini

Renault

As standard the Twingo E-Tech comes with 16-inch wheels with a choice of cool aero covers, but you can also get 18s with either a three- or four-spoke design. In a nod to the original only four colors are available — Absolute Red, Absolute Green, Mango Yellow, and Starry Black — but the first-gen Twingo’s fourth color was blue, not black. I’m sure Renault will be coming out with plenty of special editions in other colors over the years, just as it did with the original car.

The Twingo is 149.1 inches long and 58.7 inches tall, making it 3.5 inches shorter in length but 2.3 inches taller in height than a new Mini, and its 98.1-inch wheelbase is nearly identical to the Mini. Its overhangs are super short, especially at the rear. The original Twingo was just a two-door, but like the third-gen model, this new car has four. That’s probably a smart move. And Renault gave it real door handles, which is also a smart move.

The interior is cheerful, too

Renault

Renault retained the Twingo’s spirit inside, too — there’s even a “welcome jingle” developed with Jean-Michel Jarre when you get in, “inviting you into a bubble of optimism.” Those pill shapes are everywhere, most notably in the shape of the upper dashboard and air vents, and the door card designs. A 7-inch digital gauge cluster is standard, as is a 10-inch central touchscreen, and both have an infotainment system with unique graphics inspired by the Twingo’s design and that wonderful font. But there are lots of physical controls, from the steering wheel to the trio of climate knobs under the screen. Best of all is the bright red hazard light button, a throwback to the original Twingo, now with a transparent casing.

Sadly Renault is only offering the Twingo’s upholstery in black for now, but upper trims do at least get a heathered fabric with red stitching, and there are other pops of color everywhere. Trim pieces on the doors and dash are color-keyed to the exterior — actually, the ones in the front doors aren’t a separate trim piece at all, but part of the bodywork that’s painted at the same time. Renault will offer lots of colorful accessories too, like floor mats with the Twingo letters, column shifter covers, cushioned armrests with storage, charging cable organizers, and other clever 3D-printed storage solutions.

Space for easter eggs

Renault

Renault says the Twingo has interior dimensions more similar to cars a size above it, and while you only get two seats in the back, they are separate units that can slide independently, a feature innovated by the first-gen Twingo. They can slide by almost seven inches, and you can move them from the back seat or the cargo area. The back seats also have three different recline settings, and they fold flat along with the front passenger seat and its armrest so you can fit items longer than six feet. There’s almost 2 cubic feet of underfloor storage with a reinforced mat covering it, and the Twingo has 12.7 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats up, or more than 35 with them folded. Passengers have nearly a whole cubic foot’s worth of storage cubbies, as well.

Renault

There’s some more easter eggs inside, too. The straps used to slide the seats have the Twingo’s original slogan on them: A vous d’inventer la vie qui va avec, or “it’s up to you to invent the lift to go with it.” The inside of the tailgate says ouvert d’espirit (“open-minded”), and the roof lining has the letters of the Twingo alphabet printed on it.

Not a lot of range, and that’s good

Renault

I’ve done everything but talk about the Twingo’s powertrain at this point, and that’s because it doesn’t really matter. It rides on the same AmpR Small platform as the 4 and 5 (with the same front axle as those, but a flexible rear axle from the Captur), and like those two Renaults it has a single electric motor powering the front wheels. That motor makes just 82 horsepower and 129 pound-feet of torque. But the Twingo weighs as little as 2,646 pounds, which is less than 1,000 pounds more the even-smaller original Twingo. Renault says it’ll hit 62 mph in 12.1 seconds, but more importantly for city driving it can reach 31 mph in less than four seconds, and it has one-pedal driving with adjustable regen. Plus who knows, maybe Alpine will make a sporty one...

Its LFP battery pack has only 27.5 kWh of usable capacity, and Renault says the Twingo has a range of up to 163 miles. That’s great. This is the sort of EV the world needs more of, especially in cities. Paris is already heavily embracing EVs, as are many other European cities. People don’t need — or want — big, powerful EVs with lots of range. They want something small and fun that will make them smile, while offering more than enough range for daily driving. The Twingo will do that. It comes standard with 6.6-kW AC charging, but 11-kW AC charging and 50-kW DC fast-charging are optional, the latter able to take the car from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes. On the more powerful AC charger, it’ll take just over two and a half hours to go from 10% to 100%. It’ll offer both vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-grid capability, too.

City-focused driver-assist systems

Renault

In addition to all sorts of apps and tech features brought on by its Google built-in infotainment system, the Twingo will offer up to 24 driver-assistance systems, all of which have been considered for urban use. That list includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, 12 parking sensors and automated parking, safe-exit alert, and rear cross-traffic alert with pedestrian and cyclist detection. A button to the left of the steering wheel lets drivers select five different ADAS features to quickly activate or deactivate together. Only two trim levels will be offered, with the nicer one adding things like automatic climate control, a digital rear-view mirror camera, and a six-speaker Arkamys sound system.

The Twingo E-Tech was developed in just two years, a first in the company’s history, and it was designed from the outset with low costs and a low carbon footprint in mind (the latter 60% smaller than an ICE city car). It will be built in Slovenia, the same plant that produced the old Smart-based Twingo EV, with Renault saying European production guarantees quality and reliability. Renault says the new Twingo will reach dealers ion early 2026. I might have to move to Europe just so I can have one.