The reborn Renault Twingo puts the joy back into driving

You’ve probably seen the social media trend where users ask what their parents looked like in the 1990s. It’s mostly a sea of big hair, big glasses and questionable wallpaper, but the underlying message is how your parents were probably cooler, wilder and more fun than you ever dared imagine.

The timing couldn’t be better for Renault to remind us all of its own 1990’s self. The Clio might be better known here in the UK, but in its home market, Renault’s Nineties was symbolised by the Twingo.

Basic, cheap and unapologetically simple, but with a smiling face, bags of character and a self-depricating nickname – La Grenoullie, or The Frog – the Twingo was the quintessential little runabout. The city shopper. The budget airport rental that creates holiday memories all on its own. The family car from a time when simplicity, not SUVs, reigned supreme. No wonder Renault shifted over four million of them across 25 countries.

And now it’s back. Revived as an electric A-segment four-seater, the new Renault Twingo E-Tech shares its platform with the similarly reborn Renault 5 E-Tech, but shrinks it down to just 3.8 metres long, slots in a 27.5 kWh battery, and covers it in clever, cute design. The frog-like face is unmistakably Twingo, while the rear too harks back to the first-gen car, the 18-inch wheels give it a sporty purpose, and the interior has enough style to help gloss over the scratchy plastics.

That battery might sound tiny – indeed, it’s smaller than that of some plug-in hybrids – but so is the car, and the result of that is a respectable 163 miles of range.

The Twingo weighs just 1,200 kg, which by today’s standards puts it among the lightest new cars you can buy. Yes, the doors clang closed with the rigidity of a biscuit tin, but once you’re inside none of that really matters. There’s still plenty of room up front, rear seats that are acceptable for adults when slid all the way back. Or, slide them forwards (independently, up to 17 cm) and the boot can easily swallow a couple of carry-on suitcases plus a few soft bags too. This takes away much of the rear leg space, but I reckon a family of four with two young kids could easily manage a week’s holiday with this as their own car.

Sending just 60 kW (80 horsepower) to its front wheels, the Twingo zips about nicely among slow traffic. But the claimed 0-62 mph time of 12.1 seconds is about on par with the Vauxhall Corsa I learnt to drive in 20 years ago. More helpful is the Twingo’s 175 Nm (130 ft-lb) of torque, which helps deliver that surge of low-speed acceleration that makes small EVs like this feel quicker than they really are. It’s also enough torque to spin the front wheels without you even trying, but the way the Twingo scrabbles for grip setting off from junctions made slick by overnight rain only adds to its character.

Top speed is 81 mph, so it’ll manage a flowing European motorway but above 65 mph or so, you’re bound to see the range plummet. The Twingo is happiest on smaller, twistier roads – no wonder Renault chose Ibiza for the launch drive. Here, during a fairly spirited lap of the island with two occupants and luggage, it returned a whopping 5.0 miles per kWh. That’s practically unheard of, and about a mile more than the equally new BMW iX3. The latter has a much larger battery, but Renault still proves an important point with the Twingo – that a small, light EV can be more efficient than far pricier alternatives.

The Twingo’s charging performance isn’t quite as impressive. It can only manage a charge rate of 50 kW, which in 2026 looks like a typo. But factor in the smaller battery and you’ll still see a 10% to 80% fill in 30 minutes.

Not that many Twingo drivers will be charging like that anyway. This is a car best charged overnight at home (for about £2.20, zero to 100 percent, on an EV tariff), then used for tackling local errands with a smile. At 1.72m wide, it feels properly tiny on the road – in fact, it’s 10mm narrower than the current generation of Mazda MX-5 – and the low weight makes it a joy to chunk into corners. It rides well enough, steers precisely, brakes well and serves as a constant reminder that less weight makes cars better in every way.

The cabin is nicely designed, with Renault having clearly spent a very small budget with a lot of care. Body-coloured details on the doors and dashboard help break up the black plastics. Physical dials for the temperature and fan speed look and feel better than the touchscreen alternatives of cars costing two or three times the price. All models of Twingo get the same 10-inch central touchscreen, which runs Android Automotive and is joined by a 7-inch driver display.

A native Google Maps app is ready to help you locate a charger or plan a route with battery percentage and charger locations factored in. There’s Google Assistant for now, but Renault says that’ll be upgraded to Gemini in the future, and the Play Store is available for accessing more apps, like Spotify for music streaming through the six-speaker system.

Speaking of which, Renault says the Twingo comes with a 2GB monthly data plan that’s free for three years and is the equivalent of about 40 hours of music per month. Or you can connect your phone and use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in the normal way.

Other tech includes up to 24 automated driver assistance systems (plus a button to easily turn off those you don’t want), a one-pedal drive mode, and even hands-free parking – a first among A-segment cars, Renault says. There’s also an alert that sounds if you open a door into approaching traffic.

I was given a couple of days to fully assess the new Twingo, but in reality, I was smitten after just a few miles. It’s one of those cars that makes you smile the moment you see it, and ensures the grin stays in place until long after you’ve parked up. It’s small, simple, and in some places, you can see where Renault has been aggressive with the budget. But it nails the basics in a way other A-segment EVs have failed to achieve, all while looking fantastic – and, best of all, it’ll cost under £20,000 ($26,800).

Renault hasn’t put an exact price on the Twingo just yet (and the first UK cars won’t arrive until early 2027), but the price will begin with a one. Or for those on finance or a lease deal, I can imagine the Twingo landing just under £200 a month. That’s only my estimate for now, but if Renault can stick the landing, the Twingo will be a no-brainer for a lot of drivers.