After nearly two years in our care, it's time to move the beloved Twingo on. Here's the overview...
Model: Renault Twingo 1.2
Year: April 1998
Mileage: 113,213 miles / 182,200 km
MOT: April 2017
Location: Huntingdon PE28, just a few minutes from the A1 and A14
A little more detail...
The Twingo is a cracking little car, but the Mk1 was never sold in the UK as Renault feared it would decimate the profitable Clio sales. As such, it's left-hand drive, so don't bother going any further if you're worried about changing gear with the wrong hand or veering uncomfortably towards oncoming traffic.
If you're looking, you probably already know what it's all about. It's a masterpiece of design, being one of the greatest urban cars ever put in to production. I've been lucky enough to steal the keys from my wife for the last couple of weeks while she drives my Xantia, and it's a genuine hoot to bimble around town with the roof back and the sun shining. Granted, it's not quite so good on a freezing winter night...
This particular Twingo lived in Spain initially and bears some of the scars of the Iberian lifestyle, but it's not that bad. We've looked after it for the last couple of years, and it's now better than when we got it, and there's a long MOT with no advisories! You can see the vehicle history and MOT status at totalcarcheck.co.uk/FreeCheck?vdm=r795mtv for no charge.
What's Good
Everything works. There's not much of 'everything' but what is there works as it should; electric windows, heater, fan, digital speedo, all the lights, etc.
It's got a genuine Twingo radio/CD player installed. No aftermarket stuff here.
The roof is watertight and slides back and forth without issue.
New-ish tyres all round still have huge amounts of tread on them.
MOT went through with no advisories and remains valid until 17 April 2017.
Lots of glass makes the fact it's a left-hand drive car almost irrelevant as visibility is incredibly good.
Very frugal - 45mpg average around town, and well over 50mpg if making any kind of effort.
Rear seat slides back and forth to choose between a big boot or acres of legroom.
What's Bad
There's some rust devolping that will need treating at some point. It required a very small patch of welding to get through the MOT.
Speedo reads in km/h. Not a problem for me, but some maths might be required.
It's not at home on the motorway. It will do 70+ without an issue, but it's most comfortable at 65 or below when the engine, tyre and wind noise dies down nicely. This is not a long distance commuter car.
Fuel flap hinge is slightly wonky, so sometimes it takes a couple of goes to get the flap in place properly.
Minor scratches and a bit of a ripple around the boywork. It lived in Spain, what can I say?
Contact
Email me at phil.huff@frontseatdriver.co.uk for the best chance of contacting me. I travel a lot - journalism, innit - so am often away from my phone, but if you want to speak to me then leave a contact number and I'll call you back as soon a I can.
Pictures
Taken yesterday as I stopped to 'work' at the local riverside pub, so no nice lighting or a wash moments before the photo...
Taken last week...
Model: Renault Twingo 1.2
Year: April 1998
Mileage: 113,213 miles / 182,200 km
MOT: April 2017
Location: Huntingdon PE28, just a few minutes from the A1 and A14
A little more detail...
The Twingo is a cracking little car, but the Mk1 was never sold in the UK as Renault feared it would decimate the profitable Clio sales. As such, it's left-hand drive, so don't bother going any further if you're worried about changing gear with the wrong hand or veering uncomfortably towards oncoming traffic.
If you're looking, you probably already know what it's all about. It's a masterpiece of design, being one of the greatest urban cars ever put in to production. I've been lucky enough to steal the keys from my wife for the last couple of weeks while she drives my Xantia, and it's a genuine hoot to bimble around town with the roof back and the sun shining. Granted, it's not quite so good on a freezing winter night...
This particular Twingo lived in Spain initially and bears some of the scars of the Iberian lifestyle, but it's not that bad. We've looked after it for the last couple of years, and it's now better than when we got it, and there's a long MOT with no advisories! You can see the vehicle history and MOT status at totalcarcheck.co.uk/FreeCheck?vdm=r795mtv for no charge.
What's Good
Everything works. There's not much of 'everything' but what is there works as it should; electric windows, heater, fan, digital speedo, all the lights, etc.
It's got a genuine Twingo radio/CD player installed. No aftermarket stuff here.
The roof is watertight and slides back and forth without issue.
New-ish tyres all round still have huge amounts of tread on them.
MOT went through with no advisories and remains valid until 17 April 2017.
Lots of glass makes the fact it's a left-hand drive car almost irrelevant as visibility is incredibly good.
Very frugal - 45mpg average around town, and well over 50mpg if making any kind of effort.
Rear seat slides back and forth to choose between a big boot or acres of legroom.
What's Bad
There's some rust devolping that will need treating at some point. It required a very small patch of welding to get through the MOT.
Speedo reads in km/h. Not a problem for me, but some maths might be required.
It's not at home on the motorway. It will do 70+ without an issue, but it's most comfortable at 65 or below when the engine, tyre and wind noise dies down nicely. This is not a long distance commuter car.
Fuel flap hinge is slightly wonky, so sometimes it takes a couple of goes to get the flap in place properly.
Minor scratches and a bit of a ripple around the boywork. It lived in Spain, what can I say?
Contact
Email me at phil.huff@frontseatdriver.co.uk for the best chance of contacting me. I travel a lot - journalism, innit - so am often away from my phone, but if you want to speak to me then leave a contact number and I'll call you back as soon a I can.
Pictures
Taken yesterday as I stopped to 'work' at the local riverside pub, so no nice lighting or a wash moments before the photo...
Taken last week...
