Climb inside the new Twingo GT and you’ll discover lots of good things and one or two major disappointments, but the overall feeling is positive. Let’s get the bad bits out of the way first, such as the steering wheel, which looks and feels cheap and nasty in the hands. As does the gear lever.
Worse still is the lack of support on offer from the front seats. In the basic model this would be less of a flaw, but in the GT, it’s much more of an issue. Inevitably you end up clinging to the wheel for support.
We’re also not fans of the hard grey plastics, even though the dash design itself is quite appealing and features a rev counter pod slightly to the left of your line of sight. A central digital speedometer is housed in the main instrument cluster above the centre air vents.
Where the Twingo really scores inside is with its packaging. The rear seats are split and can be moved backwards and forwards individually to increase the size of the boot where necessary. The passenger seat folds away to become a picnic table with a tray-like shape moulded into the seat back or you can turn your Twingo GT into the world’s smallest van by removing the rear seats.
Yet what Renault is most proud of is the breadth of music connectivity. Three different ports enable you to connect your MP3 player and it can be controlled via the steering column. There’s even the option of Bluetooth hands-free telephone connection, which is unusual in a sub-£10k car.
Bottom line: the Twingo is not going to cost the earth. Once you have negotiated a discount from the dealer, the sort of running costs you’re looking at are as small as they get this side of a Prius. Combined fuel consumption is 38-45mpg and the insurance group rating is five, and so long as Renault UK doesn’t overdo the supply chain your Twingo GT will be resistant to depreciation. To cap it all, it puts out just 140g/km of CO2, so you can drive around with a clear conscience and your pockets full.
