A cold damp February day hardly sees the best time to road test an electric car with no windows or heater – we’re brave souls at Sust-it! See our latest two minute EV video road test here:
The Twizy is designed as an urban commuter vehicle, that’s incredibly cheap to run and fun to drive. It offers you a better weather protection and practicality than a scooter or motorbike, and handles pretty well considering narrow track and skinny tyres. Driving it is incredibly easy – as are most electric cars and bikes, as you’ve no gears to worry about.
Twizy’s are powered by 17hp electric motors, with smooth one-speed automatic transmission and lightweight lithium-ion battery pack. Regenerative braking is used for energy recovery, stretching out the range to around 60/50 miles. It’s almost silent in operation apart from the reassuring buzzing of the electric motor. The combination of power and Twizy’s lightweight construction allows it to accelerate to a limited top speed of about 50 mph.
A word of warning… the Twizy performed very poorly in Euro NCAP crash test and showed serious risks of life threatening injuries – be careful!
Renault have come up with a interesting purchasing scheme where you buy the Twizy (prices from £6.5k) and you hire the batteries from them for £45 to £57 per month, dependent on your mileage. If the batteries fail during the hire period Renault will replace them.
Twizy’s equipment includes:-
- 3m charging cable (standard three pin plug)
- Battery econometer and gauge
- Range indicator and journey eco-score display
- Regenerative braking system
- Drivers airbag
- Disc brakes front and rear
- Electronic engine immobiliser
- Lockable steering column and handbrake
- 4-point front seatbelt and 3-point rear seatbelt
- Anti-submarining front seat
- Integrated front and rear headrests
- Adjustable front seat
- Lateral front wind deflector
- 31-litre lockable storage behind rear seat
- Two gloveboxes (one lockable)
- Drive and speed display
