Used Renault Twizy 2012-present review
The Renault Twizy is great fun, but the ride is bumpy and its safety is very poor
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What's the used Renault Twizy like?
Ownership cost
Our recommendations
Alternatives
Reliability
Stuart Milne
Updated: 3 October 2018
How we test cars
What's the used Renault Twizy like?
When is a car not a car? When it’s a quadricyle. Think of the Twizy as somewhere between a car and a motorcycle, or a milk float and a Zoe, maybe. It’s tiny, for one, about a foot shorter than a Smart ForTwo, and looks like no other car you’ve ever seen. It seats two in tandem-style, one behind the other, and is propelled by a 17bhp electric motor that drives the rear wheels. It is a zero emissions vehicle, so bang on-trend. It has doors, after a fashion, but they’re an option. Ditto the windows, which, like the doors, don’t do much to keep out inclement weather anyway.
Hop in, through the scissor doors (if fitted) that rise up and out of your way like a supercar’s, and you’ll be surprised to find a quite conventional driving position, with a normal steering wheel and even some familiar instruments. The seat can slide back a little, but that’s about the limit of adjustability. There’s a lot of hard plastics, which, as it might get quite wet in there, is probably advisable.
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Overview
The Renault Twizy is great fun, but the ride is bumpy and its safety is very poor
Pros
- Brilliant manoeuverability
- Cheap to buy
- Low running costs
Cons
- Dreadful ride
- Poor crash-test score
- Weather protection
Used cars available now
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Renault Twizy
Dynamique Auto
£5,995
Renault Twizy
Cargo Auto Battery Lease
£7,500
See all available cars
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Driving the Twizy is a doddle: hit the button marked D, release the handbrake and you’re off. Acceleration feels initially brisk, as in most electric cars, but soon tails off. Top speed is a mere 50mph. The range is quoted as 43 miles on a full charge. The steering responds well, and the Twizy feels agile, pert even. Its levels of grip on its skinny tyres is fairly limited, but you’re unlikely to run into great difficulties with it, and it handles reasonably safely, ploughing straight on in corners taken at far too much speed.
Alas what lets it down dynamically on the road is the quality of its ride, which is close to abysmal. Hit minor irregularities and you’ll see and hear them and feel them; hit a large pothole or a speed hump and it’ll feel like the whole suspension is made of concrete, so stiff and unpleasant is it.
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It has the further added benefit of being cheap to buy, and cheap to run. However, you need to consider that once you’ve bought your Twizy you will also have to lease the battery, which will be an additional monthly cost. You should also bear in mind the car’s two-star Euro NCAP safety rating.
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Tips & Advice
Make sure you’re insured for the test drive
Short-term car insurance – also called test-drive insurance – will ensure you’re legal when you’re shopping for your next car
Ownership cost
Used Renault Twizy 2012-present
What used Renault Twizy will I get for my budget?
Twizy prices start at around £4500 for one of the early 2012 models. Twizys rarely attract great mileages, so most will have modest amounts on the clock. Spend between £5000 and £6000 for a 2013/2014 car, a little more for a 2015/2016 one.
How much does cost to run a Renault Twizy?
It should cost very little to run your Twizy, except for one thing: the monthly fee you’ll have to pay for leasing the battery. This works out at an average of about £45 a month at present. Insurance costs are lower than average, and road tax costs will be zero. Surprisingly, perhaps, it will need servicing, but costs of this are fairly cheap, and plans are available for spreading the cost.
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Protect your investment
GAP insurance allows you to get the full price for your car if it’s stolen or written off, but only a quarter of Brits buy it
Reduce your car finance bills
Refinancing your car effectively means taking out one loan to pay off another, which could help reduce your monthly payments, or reduce your finance term
What is hire purchase?
Hire purchase allows you to make monthly payments to buy your next car – although these will be higher than with a PCP
What is PCP finance?
Low monthly payments are key to the appeal of Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) agreements. But are there downsides?
Our recommendations
Used Renault Twizy 2012-present
Which used Renault Twizy should I buy?
Perhaps unusually, there are two trim options with the Twizy. Expression is the basic trim, while Dynamique adds alloys and metallic paint. You’ll have to pay extra for doors and windows and Bluetooth, though.
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Our favourite Renault Twizy: Expression
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Alternatives
Used Renault Twizy 2012-present
What alternatives should I consider to a used Renault Twizy?
As such, the Twizy is without rivals. Small electric cars include the wonderful Hyundai Ioniq, which is quick off the line, economical, refined, well equipped and spacious inside. Consider also the Renault Zoe, the Twizy’s larger, more comfortable and more conventional sibling, or the Volkswagen e-Up, which is great to drive and well equipped and has all the goodness of its petrol-powered brothers.
How reliable is the Renault Twizy ?
Renault Twizy
Read reliability
Used cars available now
In partnership with
Renault Twizy
Dynamique Auto
£5,995
Renault Twizy
Cargo Auto Battery Lease
£7,500
See all available cars
About the writer
Name: Stuart Milne
Title: Digital editor
Follow Stuart Milne on
Stuart has been a motoring journalist for more than 25 years, writing and editing for a wide range of consumer titles. Today, Stuart is responsible for the smooth running of whatcar.com and all of its related social and digital channels. And he’s the man responsible for making sure you're able to find What Car?’s industry-leading content whenever you search for it.
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