Renault Twingo road tests and consumer car reviews

Renault Twingo 2002

My husband hired a small car for our holiday in Crete, in 2002. This turned out to be a Renault Twingo, a car which I had not previously heard of. My opinion of it was, that it was a horrible little car. All right, it was brand new, had a hatchback, air-conditioning (necessary in Crete) and a "trendy" silly-colour (ours was mustardy yellow), and it was cheap to run. It ran up the narrow, steep and winding mountain roads well enough. But, with two men in the front seats, I was sitting as the only passenger in the back seat, and even I, as a small woman felt cramped. It was horribly uncomfortable getting in and out of the back seat. The two front doors were small (it’s a small car), and they, the low roof and the front seats, even when tipped fully forward, didn’t give you much room to squeeze out. I had to twist my body uncomfortably and awkwardly just to slide out slowly, sideways. Awful! I’d no control over window ventilation in the back seat, and I felt as if I were travelling in a tightly-closed bubble. I would never buy one or any other like it. I don’t know who this car was designed for, but it certainly isn’t a passenger’s car. Maybe it’s mainly for solitary urban drivers, who might sometimes have a passenger on a short journey, or might occasionally have very mini-children (or a dog) in the back; but it’s certainly not a family car. Far too many car reviews are written only from the driver’s point-of-view. They never seem to review from the passenger’s position. If they did, 2/3 doors arrangements on small cars with rear passenger seats, would have died a well-deserved death a long time ago.