Is any manufacturer making money in Europe’s A segment? Surprisingly, some probably are. The key to success is either selling old cars at aggressive prices or collaboration in R&D and manufacturing. Renault chose the latter route for the Twingo.

A segment: Fiat leads

According to JATO Dynamics data, the Fiat 500 remains the European market’s number one small car, with 167,609 registrations between 1 January and 31 October, which was a year-on-year rise of 3.5 per cent. Hot on its heels was the Panda, which found 162,802 buyers and improved by 10 per cent. The downturn in the UK was clearly more than offset by gains in the Italian, French, German and Spanish markets, among others.

The Twingo continues to be popular, especially in France, its ten-month total being 32,219 cars, a surge of 39 per cent.

The up! is the only other A segment model to have made the European top 50 best sellers’ list over the ten month period. Deliveries of the tiny VW numbering 84,919 units, a gain on 13.3 per cent. It’s clearly anything but bad news for brands competing in this low margin end of the car market.

Although Renault doesn’t break out sales by model at a regional level, in France, the Twingo continues to be popular. Its  ten-month total was 32,219 cars, a surge of 39 per cent.

Architecture and production

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This little rear-engined model is now more than three years old, build having started in July 2014 and thus far, there have been no updates, only the addition of the GT variant. More on that shortly.

The third generation Twingo was the first car for the rear-wheel drive Edison platform. The smart forfour is built on the same production line at the Renault Revoz/Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia, whereas the smart fortwo, another Edison model, is manufactured at the smartville factory in France.

Revealed online in February 2014, the Twingo’s motor show premiere was at Geneva the following month. The car is 10cm shorter than the previous model but has a longer wheelbase. Renault decided not to offer this vehicle as an EV but Daimler chose to go ahead with electric versions of the forfour and fortwo.

One engine, three outputs

The Twingo was launched with the choice of normally aspirated or turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engines. These are the SCe 70 (70hp/91Nm) and the Energy TCe 90 (898cc 90hp/135Nm). The Twingo GT, which was announced to the media in June 2016, went on sale across Europe a year ago after a public premiere at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It is powered by a 110hp version of the 898cc TCe turbocharged engine.

Having attended the UK media preview of the SCe and TCe, it seemed like it was time to check out the most recently launched Twingo. Even though it has Renaultsport sub-branding, the GT isn’t refered to as an R.S. model. Why not? Well, to be frank, it’s brisk, but you would hesitate to accuse it of being fast.

The 110hp and 170Nm are delivered at 5,750 and 2,000rpm, and the little engine isn’t too keen on being wound out. It’s all too easy to run into an electronic limiter, which is a great shame. Nor can you turn off the ESP, which is a true tragedy as the chassis dynamics are benign, if not at the same high standard as the set up of the rival Abarth 595 Competizione. Compared to the 595, the Twingo’s steering is too light. Not sloppy, just in need of a more connected feel. 

Even with the engine mounted below the boot floor, space for luggage isn’t too meagre. Just don’t leave any frozen food shopping there.

Where the GT totally pips the Abarth is its standard five-door body and even with the engine mounted below the boot floor, space for gear isn’t too meagre.

If you’re a swimmer, by the time you get home, the trunks and towel in the bottom of your gym bag might be partly dry. Conversely, don’t park a supermarket freezer bag in the boot as your tubs of Ben & Jerry’s may be somewhat melty.

There’s a decent amount of room for two rear passengers although anyone who’s taller than 180cm wouldn’t be happy for long. Head room might be tight but leg room is fairly good as the wheelbase, at 2,492mm, isn’t as short as you’d think it would be. Minimal overhangs are why this car slots neatly into the A segment, even if at a glance it doesn’t look like a tiddler.

Setting the GT apart from lesser Twingos are 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, a lateral air intake on one side (the fuel flap is on the other one), a rear bumper diffuser which incorporates twin exhausts, as well as Renaultsport markings on the sides and at the back.

The extra power and torque were squeezed out of the 898cc engine via a modified turbocharger, an uprated fuel pump, revised engine mapping and a freer-flowing twin silencers for the exhaust system. A new water pump was also needed to cope with the increased thermal load.

Performance and economy

I said it wasn’t fast. Qualifying that, 0-62mph takes 9.6 seconds and the top speed is 113mph. C02 is 115g/km. Economy should be excellent, yet in common with a 1.0-litre Fiesta which I will soon be publishing thoughts on, as you have to work the engine hard if you don’t want to slow cars behind you, in reality it isn’t anything special. The NEDC Combined number is 54.3mpg yet I saw mid-40s, which perhaps isn’t that bad, upon reflection.

Once you get going, the GT will deliver much in the way of smiles. It’s just such a shame that there isn’t more power and that the back end is always held perfectly in line by an electronic guardian. How much fun would a tuned one of these be in rallying? You could even pretend it’s a 21st century Renault 8 Gordini.

After a week with the Twingo GT, a strange thing happened: I didn’t want it to go back to Renault. A combination of factors were at work. Starting it up, the muffled bark of the engine behind me was a novelty compared to most cars, the turning circle is astonishing (no engine up front) and the interior manages to be an attractive and good feeling mash up of old-school Renault bits and the latest tech.

The gearbox has only five ratios yet for a rear-mounted transmission, the changes are oh so smooth and precise – speaking as a former owner of a 928 who can also remember the Alfa GTV6 – so shifting is the very opposite of a chore.

At only GBP14,250, it seems like good value. The test car’s fetching Blaze Orange metallic paint is an additional GBP650. As much as I fell for the Abarth 595, its hard ride and lack of rear doors make it a more challenging ownership prospect than the Twingo GT.

Summary

For the enthusiast, the sportiest Twingo is a frustrating thing. It clearly longs for more guts but Renault probably hesitates to tune the engine any more highly and I doubt that something with a larger capacity would fit either. Which only makes me long for the car that it could be: a Z.E. with the emphasis on acceleration and a speaker in the exhaust to make it sound like a Megane RS.

Will the Twingo stay rear-engined?

A mid-life facelift is due next year, even though the car still looks fresh. That update should last until late 2020 or possibly into 2021, which is when the next generation model is expected to go on sale. Daimler and Groupe Renault are said to be keen to share the development costs of the future Twingo, smart fortwo and smart forfour, as was the case with the current models. By then, there might well be an appetite amongst Europeans for A segment SUVs and crossovers so such a vehicle might also be developed for each brand. And here’s hoping that the Twingo Z.E. might yet appear even if it has to be during the life cycle of the next generation model, when lighter batteries – possibly even solid state ones – should be available.