Does the Renault Twingo RS have what it takes to play with the big boys or is it a bench warmer?
‘The Renault Twingo is a car for city girls,’ said Calvin Fisher in the March issue of Topcar. Well guess what? That city girl has been spending time at the gym, and we’re talking Sports Science Institute type of training here. The result is the Twingo RS. And if you want a reference point, forget Carrie Bradshaw and her Gucci-clutching character from Sex and the City, we’re talking Anna Kournikova rampaging on court in her sneakers.
Gone are those those soft, demure curves. In their place you have wider fenders, new bumpers with a nose job to fit fog lights, deeper sills and a signature hot hatch spoiler. Those heels? Replaced by more fitting 16 inch alloys on sticky 195/45 rubber. The ride height is 10mm lower than standard, the track 60mm wider, with recalibrating power steering, uprated dampers and thicker anti-roll bars. The Renault Sport Technologies (RST) team worked their magic, and you can feel it instantly. As luck would have it, or not, while courting the Twingo RS, I was struck by a urinary tract infection, and when your bladder hurts that much you don’t want to be driving a car with sports suspension. Stiff suspension it certainly has.
Happily its bite matches the bark. The fettled 1.6 DOHC engine claims 98kW at 6750rpm and 160Nm at 4400, largely due to revised cams, a new throttle valve unit and a higher, 11:1 compression ratio. And that’s a proper bark, thanks to a four-into-one exhaust that encourages one to play with the loud pedal a little more than is necessary. A close-ratio JR5 five-speed manual with its quick and precise action also helps you get the most from that pert engine.
You’d expect some trick gear inside too, and Renault delivers sports seats adorned with the RS logo, orange seatbelts, a thick leather-trimmed steering wheel, aluminium pedals and a Renault Sport rev counter with a shift light where you’d expect the instrument binnacle to be. But true to Twingo, with two individual rear seats that can be independently adjusted you are left with two choices: either boot space or rear legroom, not both. Look closer and you’ll see the ‘girl’s car’ genes have not been radically modified – for one, the mirror behind the sun visor is on the driver’s side, not the passenger side. Diagnostic? Perhaps. On the plus side, Renault is doing its bit to dampen road rage occurrences by cleverly placing the hooter on the indicator stalk. I can’t imagine slamming the hooter in anger with your index finger.
The Twingo RS has no real rivals in the sub-R200 000 warm hatch category, and that may add to the appeal. It’s a great performer, lots of fun, handles well and basically does what it says on the tin. A plus is that every RS buyer is offered a free advanced driving course at the newly established Renault Driver Academy in addition to the three-year/45 000km service plan. But is it worth R195 000? You could pick up a second-hand Mk5 Golf GTI for less, but hey, that’s just my opinion.
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Twingo RS
As a proud Clio RS driver, all I can say is that the Twingo RS is a great little car. If you cant afford a R250k vehicle, this definately is the car for you. Polo in my opinion is highly over priced, too many turbo problems and said in previous comments, every a$$ has one. If you want to be diffirent and stand out from the crowd buy a Renault.
As for Opel... no comment as it has all been said before, it should be compared to quad bikes seeing it spends more time OFF the road.
In closing all i want to mention is this... which one of these 3 car manufacturers actually have WON an F1 title????
If you want a car that benefits from this heritage, that has all the bells and whistles for a lot less, stands out in a sea of polo drivers, sounds great and actually feels like little hot hatch when you drive, seeing the seats hug you that much better, then join the French family!
not to be forgotten
The Twingo RS is not the first of the "warm" hatches.
In fact i think the author may have forgotten about the Citroen C2 VTS.
It costs a little less (around R169k) and is virtually the same in every aspect as this vehicle, except for the peak power (94kw vs 98kw).
It could probably also be looked as a girl's car, but personally as an owner of one i don't really care to be honest, it puts a smile on my dial. Especially around corners where even though that BMW/Merc may have pulled away from me, I can catch up and easily pass while they still stamping on their brakes.
As for a Polo 1.9TDi, as said mentioned already, good power and torque, but i did drop one of those as well.
Shame
Its time to face the facts.Renault (for the past 3 years) is making the best hot hatches on the market.If you have any clue whats going on in the motor trade you will see they even sell a lot better and you dont get any less for you Reno than a opel or ford.Its just like Audi,look how they have turned around their product.At last the new Focus will get the same power plant.Corsa OPC not a bad car but compares with the Clio not the Twingo and in every test world wide the Clio beats its rivals(In fact compares with cars not in its own class).Polo 1.9tdi vs Twingo in straight line will MABY be in front but I bet if you take them to Zwartkops the Twingo will beat it by at least 2 seconds a lap.Wait for the new Megane 250 then this new Golf 5 and a half will even be left futher behind!Cant mension the Astra OPC,cuase we only talk about road cars and since its always off the road with its under,over and torque steer we have no choise but to compare it with quads :-)
@Never
Actually you don't get more car. You pay a lot more, you get less car as well as a heavier car which even 12 extra kilowatts won't help, not to mention a standard chassis & suspension setup. Even worse is the MANY turbo problems encountered with the 1.9tdi. And just one last thing: a polo is like an [filtered word], everybody's got one, lemming
Never
Im sorry but sugar coat the car as much as you like talking about revised grills, better cams etc but its still a renault. My mind is definately not being changed by wider wheel arches and 16 inch alloy wheels... Ill stick to my 110kw 340nm polo 19.tdi. which costs a little more, but you get a WHOLE lotta more car!
OPC - rubbish
If I had R250K I'd get the new Clio RS. So much better than an OPC. I guarantee you that the Twingo RS (1.6 naturally aspirated 98KW) may not beat your OPC junk in a straight line but unfortunately for you, roads and tracks have corners which is why you'll come second. Does your OPC come with ABS, EBD, ESP (with traction control), cruise control, speed limiter, climate control, 4 airbags, auto lights, auto wipers as STANDARD? I think not. Only Renault know how to make true hot hatches with proper chassis & performance unlike VW & (haha) OPC plastic. Ford ST? why do they need an extra 500cc to compete with the Megane RS? F-irst O-n R-ubbish D-ump. O-pel P-lastic C-rap.
OPC
Corsa OPC will break that fool of a car.
Twingo RS
Why Do People Always Compare Prices & Value To The Peoples WAGON!
I Say If You Can Afford 200-000 Rand, Then Why Not Save 30 Thousand More And Buy The Real Hot Hatch... The OPC Corsa???
hot hatch
Because a 'real' hot hatch Corsa OPC is R250k, which is R50k more. So then, why not save ANOTHER R50k and buy an ever realER hot hatch, the Focus ST which is R300k. Notice a trend?
still a chick's car. A fast
still a chick's car. A fast chick's car
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