So came home from work on monday to find the new 59 plate capsi red with cup chassis and bluetooth twingo 133 parked up outside the house, right behind my 59 plate racing blue clio 200 with recaros and cup chassis. I was looking forward to this day to take the twingo out for a drive as i had only heard good things about the car.
Had some dinner and decided to take it for a drive. the car only had 7 miles on the clock so i knew it wouldnt be fantastic on day one. First opinions were the car looked better in the flesh than in the pictures by miles. for being so small the interior is quite spacious and can easily fit four reasonably sized adults in it. I must say that the build quality was a huge let down for me. the wiper/lights stalk is stolen from a peugeot as is the handbrake/gear knob and the controls for the electric windows. I now assume these are based on some sort of peuegot? The door cards are so thin it reminded me of the mrs nissan micra which lets face it can never be a good thing. The seats which are similar if not the same as the 172 are murder to get comfy in but are certainly good enough once you get it set up right. I was thinking to myself I hope this drives much better than it is inside it.
I then started to set my seat to my driving position and realised that the driving position in the car is not very good, and over my right shoulder I was looking out the back window of the car. I am only 5ft 10 but I do need to remember that the car is small compared to my clio. the dashboard is very strangly laid out but everything except the Traction control button is where you would expect it to be. car set up and off I go.
I set off and immediately notice the road/wind noise in the car is pretty bad which was a let down right away. I only had the car out for roughly 20 miles and came home feeling disappointed in the car and that it was just simply not worth the money.
Over the course of the night I watched the top gear episode and read a few reviews on the car but most were good and at this point i could not figure out why. so I came up with a plan - i had a good idea to drive some country roads in the twingo go home pick up the 200 and drive the same roads to do this comparison.
So set off with a friend in the twingo on the country road blast, once i got the seat lowered, and into my driving position i realised the driving position was not just as bad as i thought even though i was still looking over my shoulder and out the back window. the road noise was as bad as i remembered as was the wind noise in the cabin.
Got it onto the twisty stuff and it all started to make sense, it was actually so much fun to throw the car around the bends but something was not quite right. The steering is very light, steering wheel is slightly too large and there is not much feedback through the wheel. I also noticed their was not much feedback from the back of the car either until it twitched to remind you of how hard you were pushing. there is still an element of bodyroll on the clio which once you learn to get over you can start to appreciate the level of grip the car has. after another 60 miles i took the car home and grabbed the keys to the 200.
Jumped in the 200 and the build quality between the 2 cars is unreal, the door on the 200 shuts like a german car it feels all round inside it a better car including the quality of the recaros. I started her up and set off for the same set of roads the twingo was on.
Immediately you could tell how much heavier the car was, the clutch is heavier, steering is much heavier but quicker brake pedal feels heavier and the gearbox aswell. but this all leads to a feeling of being much more in control of the car. The noise of the 200 and the power from the car is so impressive and actually feels fast when you put your foot down.
Onto the back roads and you immediately notice how much flatter the clio is though the corners than the twingo, It fills you with mch more confidence that you can start to push the car harder. the back end feels part of the car and you can tell exactly what the back of the car is doing and you feel much more involved in the driving of the car. the brakes are really sharp and you have no fade with them at all.
After a spirited drive in the 200 it was time to go to my bed i was knackiered.
My conclusion is that the twingo is a fun cheap car to run but does not seem to be value for money.its not very well built and has too many reminders of a peugeot. However it has its niggles like most cars but once you get over them it is fun but as above the price tag doesnt match that.
The 200 is a completely different machine to drive its more of a drivers car than the twingo and you feel much more involved with the car but i will say that the front end gets so light at high speeds it seems as though it doesnt want to turn into a corner without a fight but it will be intresting to see others reviews on this. The front of the 200 is marmite for some but as a car to drive i absolutely love it.
personal preference is the 200 not because it has more power but purely for the driving experience but the twingo is still a fun little car.
apologies for the long rant
welcome any comments all in my own opinion of course.:rasp::rasp:
Had some dinner and decided to take it for a drive. the car only had 7 miles on the clock so i knew it wouldnt be fantastic on day one. First opinions were the car looked better in the flesh than in the pictures by miles. for being so small the interior is quite spacious and can easily fit four reasonably sized adults in it. I must say that the build quality was a huge let down for me. the wiper/lights stalk is stolen from a peugeot as is the handbrake/gear knob and the controls for the electric windows. I now assume these are based on some sort of peuegot? The door cards are so thin it reminded me of the mrs nissan micra which lets face it can never be a good thing. The seats which are similar if not the same as the 172 are murder to get comfy in but are certainly good enough once you get it set up right. I was thinking to myself I hope this drives much better than it is inside it.
I then started to set my seat to my driving position and realised that the driving position in the car is not very good, and over my right shoulder I was looking out the back window of the car. I am only 5ft 10 but I do need to remember that the car is small compared to my clio. the dashboard is very strangly laid out but everything except the Traction control button is where you would expect it to be. car set up and off I go.
I set off and immediately notice the road/wind noise in the car is pretty bad which was a let down right away. I only had the car out for roughly 20 miles and came home feeling disappointed in the car and that it was just simply not worth the money.
Over the course of the night I watched the top gear episode and read a few reviews on the car but most were good and at this point i could not figure out why. so I came up with a plan - i had a good idea to drive some country roads in the twingo go home pick up the 200 and drive the same roads to do this comparison.
So set off with a friend in the twingo on the country road blast, once i got the seat lowered, and into my driving position i realised the driving position was not just as bad as i thought even though i was still looking over my shoulder and out the back window. the road noise was as bad as i remembered as was the wind noise in the cabin.
Got it onto the twisty stuff and it all started to make sense, it was actually so much fun to throw the car around the bends but something was not quite right. The steering is very light, steering wheel is slightly too large and there is not much feedback through the wheel. I also noticed their was not much feedback from the back of the car either until it twitched to remind you of how hard you were pushing. there is still an element of bodyroll on the clio which once you learn to get over you can start to appreciate the level of grip the car has. after another 60 miles i took the car home and grabbed the keys to the 200.
Jumped in the 200 and the build quality between the 2 cars is unreal, the door on the 200 shuts like a german car it feels all round inside it a better car including the quality of the recaros. I started her up and set off for the same set of roads the twingo was on.
Immediately you could tell how much heavier the car was, the clutch is heavier, steering is much heavier but quicker brake pedal feels heavier and the gearbox aswell. but this all leads to a feeling of being much more in control of the car. The noise of the 200 and the power from the car is so impressive and actually feels fast when you put your foot down.
Onto the back roads and you immediately notice how much flatter the clio is though the corners than the twingo, It fills you with mch more confidence that you can start to push the car harder. the back end feels part of the car and you can tell exactly what the back of the car is doing and you feel much more involved in the driving of the car. the brakes are really sharp and you have no fade with them at all.
After a spirited drive in the 200 it was time to go to my bed i was knackiered.
My conclusion is that the twingo is a fun cheap car to run but does not seem to be value for money.its not very well built and has too many reminders of a peugeot. However it has its niggles like most cars but once you get over them it is fun but as above the price tag doesnt match that.
The 200 is a completely different machine to drive its more of a drivers car than the twingo and you feel much more involved with the car but i will say that the front end gets so light at high speeds it seems as though it doesnt want to turn into a corner without a fight but it will be intresting to see others reviews on this. The front of the 200 is marmite for some but as a car to drive i absolutely love it.
personal preference is the 200 not because it has more power but purely for the driving experience but the twingo is still a fun little car.
apologies for the long rant
welcome any comments all in my own opinion of course.:rasp::rasp:
