Renault might just have made the smartest move in its history after releasing the price and spec details of its new third generation Twingo city car. Its not really the price that is of interest but the all new setup. Gone is the monotonous front-engine, front wheel drive of the past two generations and in is a new rear-engine, rear-wheel drive for the third generation. What does this mean for you the consumer? It means fun, absolute fun because anything with a rear wheel drive setup means fun, but there is a small price to pay. Rear wheel drive cars are more expensive to manufacture meaning that cost is past onto you. However £9k for the entry level model is pretty much on the money for a city car these days. The Twingo is a co-development project with Daimler (owner of Mercedes Benz) and its Smart Car division. The two companies have joined forces to share costs and therefore keep the price at affordable levels. The Twingo will be available either as a three or five door model and will be powered by a choice of two engines, the new 1.0-litre 70 hp SCe three-cylinder normally aspirated version and the 0.9-litre 90 hp three-cylinder turbocharged unit. The Twingo will be offered in three versions Expression, Play and Dynamique. Dynamique models have stop/start function as standard. All Twingos will have Renault’s smartphone- operated R&GO system as standard which mirrors the operability of your smartphone and adds basic on board functions. Dynamique models offer the option of the R-Link multimedia system with a seven-inch touch-screen, voice control, TomTom^®navigation and 3D sound by Arkamys. DAB radio, Bluetooth^®connectivity and USB sockets are standard on every version. Sadly the Twingo comes with stability control or in other words, traction control which will limit the rear-drive fun to a certain extent. Renault will offer the Twingo with personalistion options, top of the pick will be Sports Pack available only on the Dynamique TCe 90, this adds 16-inch alloys, part leather seats and a host of interior glitz and glam. The Twingo is available to order now in the UK with first deliveries starting from late September. RANGE PRICING

Model	Price (On The Road)
Expression SCe 70	£9,495
Play SCe 70	£9,995
Dynamique SCe 70 S&S	£10,995
Dynamique ENERGY TCe 90 S&S	£11,695