Renault has officially uncovered its reborn Twingo city car, remade as a “game changer” for the electric era.
The original A-segment A-lister radically transformed the city car segment in the 1990s with its bold design and affordable approach, and the icon returns to transform the e-mobility sector.
Based on the same AmpR Small platform as the R5 and R4, the Twingo E-Tech four-seater is focused on making e-mobility affordable and more sustainable – central to which is an entry-level price of less than £20,000, excluding subsidies. Renault says that even the top-spec versions will “sell for an attractive price”.
The revamped icon also carries over the cheeky styling of its forebear, “taking the DNA of the original and giving it a unique, contemporary feel”.
Renault has designed the new-gen Twingo with a “cheerful, friendly personality with a subtle ‘smile’ and expressive lighting signatures” and it’s an approach that’s clearly worked, judging initial reactions. Nods to the design of the original Twingo include the shape of the headlamps and grille, the air vents top left of the bonnet and the hazard warning light button.
Colour is another key component of the Twingo’s personality and the new EV city car will launch in a variety of colours, including three new shades: Absolute Red, Absolute Green, and Mango Yellow.
Despite its tiny 3.79m length – and a turning circle of just 9.87m – it’s designed for a spacious and modular approach, with five doors and two independent sliding rear seats standard on all versions, inherited from the first-generation Twingo. Renault also promises the dimensions of a car from the next segment up, particularly at the rear, and boot capacity of up to 360 litres. The Twingo also gets a 50-litre underfloor storage space – ideal for storing the charging cable.
The interior also includes other nods to the spirit of Twingo, including the cylindrical design of the colourful dashboard and the colour-coordinated design. Renault has also revived the original Twingo slogan ‘A vous d’inventer la vie qui va avec’ (it’s up to you to invent the life to go with it), featured on the straps used to slide the rear seats, accessible from the boot, as well as the straps used to fold the rear seats from the passenger compartment.
Two trims – Evolution and Techno – will be available. Contemporary features include a dual horizontal screen with a seven-inch digital instrument panel and a 10-inch central multimedia screen. The Twingo is available with the OpenR Link multimedia system with Google built-in – a first in this segment – and all versions are compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wired or wireless. More than 100 apps are available for drivers too.
The Twingo’s powertrain aligns with its dinky proportions and will be available in just one version. The “ideally sized” battery has a usable battery capacity of 27.5kWh with a range of up to 163 miles based on the WLTP standard. Renault says this makes it ideally suited to its potential customer base, who travel 22 miles per day on average. The battery uses LFP (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry. Although this has a lower energy density than NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) technology, it offers an ideal cost/range ratio for a city car, according to the French brand. Meanwhile, cell-to-pack technology optimises energy density in relation to the size and weight of the battery, ensuring efficiency and also reducing battery costs by 20%.
It’s combined with a “lively, lightweight” 82hp motor and, on Techno versions, features One Pedal functionality with steering wheel paddles, first introduced a few months ago on Renault 4 E-Tech electric and currently being deployed to the other models in the range. Techno versions also get the Reno ‘EV avatar’ able to help with questions about electric driving and charging.
All versions come with a 6.6kW AC charger as standard, able to charge the battery from 10% to 100% in four hours 15 minutes from a wallbox. Customers can also opt for 11kW AC charging power that also includes a 50kW DC charging capability. In this case, AC charging from 10% to 100% takes two hours 35 minutes. At a DC fast-charging station, the battery charges from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes. The Twingo will also support bidirectional charging, allowing compatibility with vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-load functions. And it also comes with a programmable interior preheating system for cold weather that’s also accessible via the new My Renault app.
Up to 24 driver assistance systems (ADAS) will be available, depending on the trim.
The Twingo E-Tech electric is the first vehicle in the ‘Leap 100’ programme (‘100’ for one hundred weeks), whose purpose is to transform the entire vehicle development cycle.
Designed and built in just one hundred weeks – twice as fast as previous electric models – the Twingo E-Tech electric was developed faster than any other model in Renault’s history.
The Renault Twingo goes on sale in the UK in late 2026 and will start first deliveries in 2027. It will join a growing list of electric city and small cars, such as the Hyundai Inster and the upcoming Smart Fortwo.
