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RENAULT Twizy EV Review

OUR TEST CAR: RENAULT Twizy Urban 80 2012

 
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RENAULT Twizy EV - Page - 3
In this car, it's just you and the city, since you've got no assistance systems whatsoever. There's no power steering and you don't even get ABS. But what you do get is a set of mechanical genes that could make the driver of the hatchback sitting next to you at the traffic lights jealous. The 2,340x1,240 mm (92.1x48.8 inches)  of the Twizy formed a playground for the people that created the fastest front-wheel drive car on the Nurburgring, Renault Sport. Aside from that, you get all-round brake discs (like we said, non-assisted) and four MacPherson-like struts for the suspension.

All the aforementioned characteristics result in assets that would make a roller skater envy you, such as the 3.4 m (133.9 inches) turning circle. And if the aforementioned driver sits behind the wheel of a hot hatch, you tell him that the electric drive technology has a connection to Renault Sport's F1 KERS (kinetic energy recovery system), so while you brakes are unassisted, they do offer a regeneration function. Try to use "engine braking" to reduce speed instead of the brake pedal and you'll bring some electricity back into that battery.

You don't even need to worry when you're talking to a sports car driver. Your 17 hp, Nm (42 lb-ft) asynchronous electric induction motor is centrally-mounted, sitting under the rear passenger. You, the driver, haven't been neglected, as you are sitting on a 6.1kWh lithium-ion battery pack. This accounts for 100 kg (220.5 lbs) of the Twizy's total 450 kg (992 lbs). These bits and pieces can be regarded as a steel structure with a plastic apparel.

The aforementioned setup offers you a range of between 55 and 115 km (40 and 70 miles), depending on the depths to which you take the throttle pedal. When you want to recharge the battery, you can use the 3.5 meter (137.5 inch) cable hidden in the car's nose, plugging it into a 220V household outlet. Then just go and order lunch at a busy restaurant and, 3.5 hours later, you will have fully replenished the battery. If you do show the waiter the intention to leave a generous tip, you can return in 2.5 hours and thus you'll get an 80 percent charge.

It is now time to spend all that energy and the first thing you notice is that you can enjoy the silence. The Twizy doesn't make any actual sound, although it has learned two notes. One is activated using a rotary control located close to the horn - a sound generator for making pedestrians aware of your presence and, apparently, for bringing a smile on their faces.

The second is a whining noise from the gearbox, which may or may not be pleasant, depending on your taste in cars. The transmission uses a direct drive, with a reducer and is working with a forward/reverse inverter so that you can have the three familiar "D" "N" "R" buttons on the dashboard.

The visibility is an absolute thrill. You can see your front wheels, so you'll be able to maneuver the thing with precision that shames everything with four wheels and a roof. As for the rear visibility, the angle and positioning of the exterior mirrors, the only ones available, offer you a full field of view behind the car. However, reversing does become a little bit tricky when you get very close to potential obstacles behind the car and this is why we recommend going for the optional rear parking sensors.

The unassisted steering is not too heavy, not even during parking maneuvers, but, as you know, Santa Claus doesn't exist in the engineering world, so the downside to this is that it's rather slow.

You'll find the Twizy closer to scooters than to cars in terms of using the throttle, as you'll be pushing the pedal further than in a normal car. However, unlike in a scooter, the electric engine offers instant torque, so you start accelerating on the spot.

The official performance figures, namely an 80 km/h (49.7 mph) top speed and the 6.1 seconds you need to hit 41 km/h (28 mph) didn't tell us very much. Nevertheless, we were happy to find out that you can easily keep up with traffic and that the throttle pedal is also directly connected to the facial muscles that control the smile.

The Twizy is the ideal morning coffee, as driving it in a normal way makes you think you're going fast. The open cabin, the direct steering, the involving handling, it all adds up to a playful driving experience, but without having to take the car past any legal limit in order to feel this.

The EV is born at the Valladolid plant in Spain, but it seems that when they put together the suspension, they created thick antiroll bars and then ran out of steel, thus giving it a set of short springs.

Renault Sport made the car a pleasure to drive, but they didn't give it the suspension versatility of the Megane or the Clio RS, so the ride is bumpy, real bumpy. Thus, the car is exposing you to the elements underneath it, with the only consolation being that the journeys you can use the Twizzy for are relatively short, so your body doesn't have too much time to start complaining. However, you'd better watch out for speed bumps, if you hit carrying too much... enthusiasm, it will all feel like a small accident. The rear passenger, who is treated with a decent (but nothing more) experience during normal driving, will be profoundly disturbed by such a maneuver.

Those of you who are more technical are probably wondering how a rear-wheel drive car with no electronic assistance at all and tires skinnier than a model's jeans copes when presented with too much speed while going into a corner.

There is no need to worry gentlemen, when you son or daughter will enter a bend carrying too much speed, the Twizy will understeer, causing the hormones that led to this action to be replaced by those who send the foot to the brake pedal. So, yes, it's a safe car to drive.

The car, with its 125/80 R13 and 145/80 R13 tires that can be wrapped around steel or alloy wheels, will also understeer when you're driving on surfaces with less grip, but the 16-year-olds with no license that dream of driving the 17 hp version instead of the 5 hp one, certainly know the right moves to make it oversteer and if they do use them on the aforementioned surfaces, the Twizzy (no typo here) will reply with a slow motion powerslide that's fairly easy to control, whether you want to end or maintain it.

If you talk to a doctor and find a cure for the range anxiety, you can also take the Twizzy outside the city. You'll find that the ratio between the height and the width, 1,450  / 1,240 mm or 57.1 / 48.8 inches , respectively) is more than deceiving - the car is stable thanks to the low center of gravity and, more importantly, you'll be able to enjoy lots and lots of fresh air in the cabin. In the end, the Twizy delivers on the promise of its designation, being both Twin and Easy.
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56user rating 87 votes
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RENAULT Twizy RENAULT Twizy turningRENAULT Twizy in urban environmentRENAULT Twizy charger coverRENAULT Twizy MacPherson suspensionRENAULT Twizy scissor doorsRENAULT Twizy cabinRENAULT Twizy seatsRENAULT Twizy interiorRENAULT Twizy seat backrestsRENAULT Twizy front seat headrestRENAULT Twizy dashboardRENAULT Twizy dashboard displayRENAULT Twizy dashboard buttonsRENAULT Twizy gearbox controlRENAULT Twizy wiper controlRENAULT Twizy handbrakeRENAULT Twizy with doors openRENAULT Twizy wheelRENAULT Twizy charger in carRENAULT Twizy turn signalsRENAULT Twizy seatsRENAULT Twizy steering wheelRENAULT Twizy rear detailsRENAULT Twizy EVRENAULT Twizy profile detailsRENAULT Twizy frontRENAULT Twizy parkingRENAULT Twizy rear wiew mirrorRENAULT Twizy profileRENAULT Twizy on narrow roadRENAULT Twizy RENAULT Twizy urban drivingRENAULT Twizy vs bikesRENAULT Twizy with doorsRENAULT Twizy EVRENAULT Twizy speedingRENAULT Twizy beautyRENAULT Twizy pedestrian visual impactRENAULT Twizy on crowded streetRENAULT Twizy profileRENAULT Twizy rearRENAULT Twizy in cityRENAULT Twizy city drivingRENAULT Twizy parking