Change of plan: the twingo will be electric

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The Renault Twingo is now also available with a pure electric drive. However, the E-Twingo is not a direct copy of the Smart EQ ForFour: the little Frenchman has more battery capacity than the Smart and weighs less.

Change of plan: The Twingo will be electric

The Twingo will be Renault’s seventh electric car – although it wasn’t planned that way.

Well then: The Renault Twingo also comes with a pure electric drive. And that although Renault didn’t want to know anything about a Stromer in Twingo format when the small city car was presented in 2014. But in order to meet the strict CO2 requirements, the French have to electrify wherever possible: The Twingo is now the seventh purely electrically powered car that the French have developed.

However, the E-Twingo is not a direct copy of the Smart EQ ForFour, even if one might initially suspect it based on the cooperation between Daimler and Renault in the manufacture of the two cars: the little Frenchman not only has more battery capacity than the Smart (21 instead of 17 .6 kWh), with an empty weight of 1112 kg it also weighs 164 kg less. It has a range of 180 km in the WLTP cycle and thus drives almost 40 km further than the Smart. The Twingo Z.E. well equipped as a city car, with a maximum speed of 135 km/h, motorway stages are just about possible.

When it comes to technology, Renault draws on its own expertise in the electrical sector: the entire drive train – i.e. engine, transmission and even the charger – of the Twingo comes from the larger Zoe, and the battery is also water-cooled for better efficiency. The electric motor delivers 82 hp and thus manages the inner-city sprint from 0 to 50 km/h in less than 5 seconds.

Useful skills for the city

The small Stromer has a few useful abilities for city traffic: Wheels positioned far to the outside ensure a turning circle of just 8.6 m. In “B mode”, the driver can adjust the regenerative braking effect over three levels and thus Use engine braking and charge the battery at the same time – the brake pedal remains unused. You can also pre-program charging times via the on-board computer, for example to charge at night at lower rates. An app can be used to check the condition of the battery while charging or to control the air conditioning and heating remotely. With the “E.V. Route planner” can be used to simulate longer journeys in advance in order to plan for the charging station required along the way. A useful feature that saves the driver a lot of headaches.

With the Zoe, Renault is currently offering the best-selling e-car in Switzerland. The Twingo Z.E. seems promising: With a longer range than the comparable Smart, tried-and-tested technology from the Zoe and clever solutions for charging and maneuvering in tight inner cities, it should also be successful in its segment. Especially since the base price will most likely be below that of the Smart EQ ForFour, which currently starts at 30,100 francs. The Twingo Z.E. but probably not until the end of 2020, while the Smart EQ Forfour is already available.

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