Au revoir, Renault Twizy – the successor is already in the starting blocks

Have you ever driven a Renault Twizy? No? Then you are like most. Since its launch twelve years ago, only 33,000 of these unusual runabouts have been registered worldwide. Renault is now heralding the end of the electric two-seater, which nevertheless used it in its own way to acquire cult status. Because whatever you thought of him, he was extraordinary.

The design of the Twizy was exceptional, as was the seating concept: the driver and front passenger sit in two rows, the front passenger must sit behind the driver. When the Twizy starts to roll, it hums and rumbles like you’re driving around in a toy car. Some delivery services in busy city centers appreciated the qualities of the small vehicle, with which you can quickly find a parking space and a spacious bin for pizza boxes at the rear.

Not a real car, but an airbag

From a purely legal point of view, the Twizy with its top speed of 45 or 80 km/h (depending on the variant) is not a car at all, but a light electric vehicle. Four wheels and a roof – that’s probably the only thing it has in common with a car. In the beginning, the doors, for which there was a surcharge, didn’t even have real windows – you had to add them afterwards. Heating? Also non-existent. The narrow-gauge vehicle is more of an alternative to the scooter than to the small car. After all, there was an airbag. And in some countries a youth driver’s license if they have opted for the slower version.

Vehicles of this type are still struggling in this country – probably also due to the weather. And the mediocre crash test results could also play a role in the fact that many do not trust these mobile phones. In France and Italy, on the other hand, light vehicles such as the small Frenchman are popular as agile and cheap city companions, as car-sharing vehicles, as in Paris, for example.

Role model for other manufacturers

How groundbreaking the Twizy ultimately was is shown by other light vehicles: the electric Isetta clone Microlino works on the same concept, just like the Stellantis trio Citroën Ami, Opel e-Rocks and Fiat Topolino. Certainly not a car for the masses, but an opportunity to use the traffic space in cities differently than before.

And the Twizy itself will also get a successor: At the end of the year, Mobilize, Renault’s mobility service, wants to do that duo put a new Micromobil on the road for city traffic. The new one must offer more comfort than the Twizy and be mainly used for short-term rental. A van version called Bento is also planned.

(t online)