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So the friendly guys at McCarthy Callacar are dropping off a brand spanking new Renault at my work tomorrow! V excited. I’m getting to drive it for a week (they say you can only really get to appreciate and understand a car after a few days) and although I’ll miss my faithful ten year old Golf, Smarty Pants, I’m looking forward to driving around in something so ultra zippy!
So let’s see what I learn in this week…
Tuesday:
Car just got dropped off! Hurray! ‘Tis a beauty. Struggled to find parking (our offices are in Green Point) but finally managed to find micro piece of unused pavement. Did masterful piece of parallel parking. The Renault is small and cheeky and dit draai op ‘n tiekie!
Waltzed into office telling all the girls how pretty the new set of wheels is.
“What type of car is it?” asked Deirdre, our boss.
“A Renault,” I smirked knowledgeably.
“Yes but what model?”
“Uhm… A black one?”
Ah, you see friends – we’ve a long road ahead of us…
Wednesday
Okay – it’s a Renault Twingo! Don’t worry, I’ve never heard of it before either. But keep your eyes peeled for these babies, ladies, especially if you’re driving around town. This is the perfect little city car. At just 3.60 meters long it’s really zippy – I’m using zippy a lot aren’t I? But you would too if you could see the little Twingo shaking its little ass (or should I say derriere?) in the traffic.
And it’s pretty. With all those modern French curves – ooh la laa. You must see the boys checking us out in traffic!
Noticed the backseat consists of two single slide seats! Looks cute, but it means the car can only seat four. Still, surprising amount of legroom for such a tiny car. Oh, and the roof is high which is nice if you’re tall like me. While on the subject, don’t know if my torso is just freakishly long, or whether it has something to do with the Twingo’s short nose but it does feel as if I’m sitting very high. High and mighty and looking down on the road.
Should the windscreen be bigger?
Still struggling a little with all the buttons and gadgets (saw the radio has some kind of MP3 function?) but will keep you posted!
Thursday
Am complete idiot. Buttons and stuff simple enough for five year old to figure out. I’ve managed to figure it out after three days. Mental eye roll.
The lovely lot at McCarthy came to swap the Twingo today. Still driving a Twingo (a beautiful electric blue one) but this one is a slighter less swanky version because it doesn’t have the sticker details and the fancy mags. Wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t pointed out to me.
Have yet to meet a woman who gets excited by mags.
Went grocery shopping in peak traffic. Thankfully the aircon is effective. Being in Cape Town at the moment is like living in a convection oven. Boot easily took six full bags of groceries. Good for my needs but definitely not a family car.
Okay, some specs:
So, overall a very pleasant driving experience. Now for the expert’s take. Let’s hear what Wilmer Muller, Editor of Wheels24 has to say…
"Although the Renault Twingo is very nice city wheels and features all the necessary bells and whistles it is a bit pricey. For the entry-level Twingo’s price of R124 500 you can get a swanky Suzuki Swift, which offers a bit more space and a bigger engine.
And for the price of the high-spec Dynamique+ model, which is almost R133 000, you can even start looking at cars such as the very capable Mazda2 or the highly-acclaimed new Ford Fiesta. In my opinion Renault over-priced the Twingo and it should at least be R10 000 cheaper. But if you do settle for a Twingo, you will get a car with good fuel consumption, excellent safety credentials and a funky look."
Have you driven the Twingo? If not, will you? Share your thoughts in the box below.
