Ownership Verified: 2023 Renault Twizy, or: Calimero the amusing commuter egg

[lip]

Looked like one of those wierd project Garages that just take everything in to have a go at it with a spanner

 

[lip]

Took my dashcam (DJI Action 2) out of the Audi and plonked it into the Twizy. Btw, I haven't moved the S6 since 1 1/2 weeks, might as well sell it.

Here we go from a 50kmh (31mph) to a 60km/h (37mph) and then a bit after the roundabout into a 80kmh (50mph) zone. No problem to keep up, in the contrary as the car infront never went faster than 75km/h (46mph) at all. But that's not important, important is the freaking jet engine sound the Twizy makes (especially from 0:45 onwards when the chill pill infront finally wakes up). - That spooling-up noise is a hoot!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRC_cS638dc
Yeah, I'm still totally addicted, honeymoon phase and all that: Go for a drive, come home, charge, and off we go again! Inbetween I go to work a tad and be a gentlemen to the GF for a few minutes. Of course there are some showers and a bit of eating and sleeping too, but other than that, it's always TWIZY!-time!

Meanwhile I've already developed a eagle-eye for any outdoor socket. This one here wasn't even on the Chargemap-app, I've simply spotted it whilst driving by. - "Wohehey, hello, you look unused and free!" - I plugged the Twizy in for 20mins there while I munched a sandwich I've bought earlier and mocked about a bit on social media as you do nowadays, which brought the battery from 38% back up to 49%, plenty to loop about some more instead of heading home as the crow flies. Wanted it to get it to 50%, but the sandwich was gone at 49%, so 49% it was.

And for legal reasons, yes I freely admit that during those 20mins I stole that closed-for-sunday bike shop energy for 0.05 CHF (0.04 GBP)... sue me!

And yes, I'm aware of that phone-holder tank-tape hackjob, but who the heck has the time to thinker about in aestethic details when you can drive instead!?

 

[lip]

Well well, after just 13 days the first 1000km (621mi) are done. And there was me thinking I would use the Twizy only for commuting... pfft!

 

[Matt2000]

The amount of dust on the dash is very familiar, apparently a feature in a car with no windows.

 

[WDWBen]

The amount of dust on the dash is very familiar, apparently a feature in a car with no windows.

The former Miata owner agrees wholly.

 

[Perc]

Hmm. No front plate, you say?

I would drive past some speed cameras while flipping the bird proudly. While wearing a suitable helmet or something, of course.

 

[93Flareside]

Hmm. No front plate, you say?

I would drive past some speed cameras while flipping the bird proudly. While wearing a suitable helmet or something, of course.

This was a thing with @loose_unit when we passed every speed camera on the Balkan road trip.

 

[93Flareside]

Coming back from having Tacos in Freiburg with @thomas, we saw a Twizy and I already pointed out: „oh look, there’s a @lip.“

 

[lip]

Alright, a 1700km (1056mi) owners review:

Pro:

• It's total fun to drive, and very very addictive. - There hasn't been a day so far when I drove straight home in the evening after work, instead I always go for a big loop instead. - I've never had a motorbike but I assume it's the same feel.
• There is actually more storage space than you would think: You have the two glove boxes (the lockable one is very deep), and a sizable trunk space behind and below the passenger seat (also lockable).
• Since the rear mudguards are very short, in heavy rain your are trailing two quite impressive roostertails, which is amusing to see in the mirrors.
• It's even smaller than you think it is. And since it has a absolute tiny front overhang it's very easy to drive out of sidestreets even with high walls or hedges on both sides.
• You can overtake tractors or similiar slow vehicles in right hand corners because you can wave around in your lane and hence check both sides beforehand.
• You will get sick behind the wheel before you can bring this thing into a dangerous cornering situation: It's amazingly stable and the ultra-tight steering radius makes it incredibly zippy, here is me going downhill on a very curvy road:
  
  
  View: https://youtu.be/JpwN5twDico?t=1
  
• And suddenly former expensive parking is free:
  
  

Con:

• On a very steep uphill 80km/h main road you will fall back to 70km/h, it's the only situation where you can't keep up with traffic.
• Overtaking is doable but risky because of the 85km/h limiter. If you're behind somebody that does 70 in a flat 80 zone and you're going for it, and then the other one suddenly decides to speed up, you're screwed.
• In heavy rain going on full tilt on a older road with puddles, you can feel it starting to aquaplane.
• The rear "trunk" space is nice to have but the lid (which doubles as the passengers backrest) is quite fussy to lock back into place. - I keep a 5m extension cord and some additional clothing in there.
• Because the windscreen wiper area is quite small it's not easy to place a dashcam without it being conspicuous:
  
  

Neutral:

• I don't really get it why it has two doors. I only ever use the left one. I mean somebody could park next to you almost touching your left mirror and you could still get in and out on the left side. There is really no need for a second door. - Granted there is the can-be-sold-globally aspect, but still.
• Currently there are replacement batterys on the market that have twice the power (13kw) and give about 120km (75mi) of range with the same package size. - Granted, I will not thinker with the Twizy as long as it has warranty, but it's good to know that there are possible upgrades.
• And remember kids, there is always a smaller fish:
  
  

 

[Matt2000]

The downhill sections I did driving one was nowhere near as nice or as twisty as what you did there (quite jealous) but I remember it feeling really fast, does it feel the same to you? I suppose it wouldn't feel as fast to a biker or maybe it was because mine had no doors.

• I don't really get it why it has two doors. I only ever use the left one. I mean somebody could park next to you almost touching your left mirror and you could still get in and out on the left side. There is really no need for a second door. - Granted there is the can-be-sold-globally aspect, but still.

Not sure I follow you on this, would you rather it be a solid panel on that side? With a window? What if it fell over in an accident and trapped you in an egg bubble of fiery lithium smoky death? If you didn't have a fixed window, what's the difference? I'm curious.

I think you should definitely get the doors off in the summer. I can't find anything about taking them off but that's got to be possible, right? Surely.

Glad to hear you're enjoying it anyway.

Edit: I found this and it's equal parts hilarious and genius. You could also probably fit a small generator in there.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQ7UM0CtY4

 

[lip]

^ Ok, that is actually well done! - But schlepping that more weight around? I mean this is the european continent, not the Gobi desert, there are millions of plugs around in case you need some go-home range. For example every restaurant I've been so far since I have the Twizy was fine with providing me with access to a plug. Having the extention cord with me helps a lot in such a case. - Whilst charching (up to 80% then it charges slower), you gain abouth 400 meters (0.25mi) per minute. So 10min are 4km (2.5mi), 20min are 8km (5mi) and so on. - Really not a problem. - Also in my limited experience so far bike shops are the best, as they always have accessible outside plugs for E-bikes, so even in the middle of the night you can get juice. Same goes for bike stands in schools or at train stations, always atleast one plug.

Yeah about the doors, you're right about a topple- or rollover accident: Being trapped in a 400kg plastic egg resting on its only door whilst the battery has just decided to get rid of it's energy (and me) in one big final fiery Wohoo isn't really helping my lamentation. So I take that back.

There are theoretical solutions for tight sealing doors with windows for the Twizy, but then you would need a heater, ventilation, filters and so on. Making the thing heavier, in need of more power with larger batteries, and then it would swiftly fall out of the lax quad regulations into the much stricter car regulations, and it's game over. - Or you would have to limit it at 45km/h were you end up in the regions of a Citroen Ami, and with that you may be cute but you're in everybodys way, and it's no fun anymore. 45km/h may be fine for fridges and bathtubs, but not for a Twizy.

I too have really no idea if the doors can be taken off. Have to research this as I like the idea.

And in case of the speed feel, it's more the fact that the thing is so confident in corners that you can carry some speed into them, provided you know the road, which I did not in the video, it just looked curvy on Google Maps. But there wasn't even any tire scream and only a tiny bit of understeer, so it could be done faster. Have to attack that road again. Btw, there are plenty of roads like that in my region (the foothills of the Appenzeller Alps). And with my region I mean my real life Twizy sandbox.

 

[Matt2000]

It's possible to take the doors off but it isn't exactly practical. This guy does it with a mixture of Italian and English:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMdu5672vr4
The hinges are still on here but the might come off. Of course you lose the mirrors too.

YouTube served me up some other Twizy content, I like this idea. Rally mudflaps on yours too, maybe?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA6dI1UhL_Q

 

[lip]

Turns out, while you will run into the limiter at 85km/h when your foot is planted on the gas eh electricity pedal, if downhill and on recuperation it will let you loose up to 90km/h.

 

[CraigB]

90? You speed demon!

 

[Matt2000]

Everything you've said so far suggests that Twizy time trials on bobsleigh runs would be the ultimate motorsport for them.

90 must feel so bloody fast when you're sitting in a plastic egg owl.

 

[lip]

^ Found another nice downhill stretch that's still inside a 1-charge loop radius from my home. - You may notice that the cornering looks really jerky, but that's because the Twizy simply can gocart corner a lot sharper than I have the courage for, I still brake way too early. - Also near the end at 4:25 you can hear my audible amusement.

View: https://youtu.be/_3Dpiq6NlEI?t=1
I bought this as a simple from-and-to work commuter, it does that too, but turns out it's even better as a after-work fun valve.

Btw, turns out the best dashcam isn't the DJI, but my phone. I swapped the phone holder around, so the phone stays vertical, prepped against the whindshield. It's then fixed in place by a small piece of double-sided tape at the right upper corner. This is rock solid, and still allows me to take the phone in and out easy, as the small piece remains stuck to the glass. - I can also use the phones integrated pen as a remote control:

 

[CraigB]

That turn signal sound is kinda annoying.

 

[93Flareside]

Oh wow, that looks quite brisk! But yeah that turn signal noise…. It’s up there with noises from cars I can’t stand. Like the Zoe moaning sound, and the ford warning tone that goes „doo dah doo.“

 

[lip]

^ Yeah, but I got used to the silly blipblup by now. Actually missed it when I used the S6 this week, and I audibly made the sound.

Hmm. No front plate, you say?

I would drive past some speed cameras while flipping the bird proudly. While wearing a suitable helmet or something, of course.

In Switzerland almost all cameras take front- and rear pics...

 

[lip]

Also, road tax is 1/7th of what I pay for the Audi.

That I wrote in my first post and it was just a guess. - And today I got the real number. - And I was wrong. Very wrong:

Road tax for the Audi per year: 672 SFR

Road tax for the Twizy per year: 30 SFR

That's not 7x less, that's 22.4x less.