You can have a lot of fun for not very much money in a Twingo Renaultsport
There's an expectation that French hot hatches are rather fragile, unreliable and troublesome, but in reality that isn’t always the case. It certainly looks like an unfair assumption about the Renault Twingo 133. David Kirk, owner of Renault specialist K-Tec Racing, says: “We see very few Twingos in, and there’s little in the way of common problems.”
With prices starting from as low as £5500, that means this little Renault could just be a serious performance bargain. Consider the fact that it’s based on the firm’s smallest city car (ignoring the electric quadracycle that is the Twizy) and it also promises to be cheap to run and maintain. Renault offers fixed-price servicing, but it’s worth noting that the Renaultsport models are excluded from the offer. So regular servicing, completed every 12,000 miles, is about £220 for the first two and roughly £300 for the third from a Renault dealer. Go to K-Tec Racing and the prices drop to £140 and £225.
The cambelt change should be completed after five years or 72,000 miles but is often done well before that mileage. Combined with the large service, a Renault dealer will charge about £1400, although they also offer ‘value’ Motrio parts, which will drop the cost to about £1200. Visit K-Tec Racing and the cambelt change is about £420 and the large service £375 ― a saving of at least £400.
One thing to remember, says Kirk, is that the Twingo 133 has become popular with younger drivers because of its relatively low insurance grouping (20 on the current one to 50 system). So it’s not uncommon for the cars to have been driven hard or even be lightly modified in the quest for extra performance. Although the hard use could be something of a worry, light mods are no reason to ignore a particular car, according to Kirk.
The firm even has its own demonstrator fitted with plenty of K-Tec Racing upgrade parts. Remapping will add about 8-10bhp and the same in torque throughout the rev range ― and the £230 price includes before and after dyno runs. A more expensive option is the exhaust system, which incorporates a sports catalyst and a better-flowing manifold. This costs about £1000 and increases power by 14bhp.
Despite the clientele that usually run these cars, Kirk has yet to see any Twingo 133s with significant accident damage, although it’s worth running an HPI data check on any prospective purchase before you complete the deal. In fact, the biggest area for damage is the wheels, because the original 195-section tyres offer very little kerbing protection.
Many replace the original rubber with larger 205/40 R17s because a pair of Continental ContiSportContact 3s (original fitment) in 195/40 R17 cost the best part of £250 and the larger rubber offers much greater choice and lower costs. There’s no noticeable difference to the speedo reading, but it’s worth noting that all four should be changed at the same time to avoid any imbalance in the handling and grip.
Sharing its chassis with the previous Clio means that there’s little to look out for here, although there have been some reports of bushes in the ball joints perishing, so listen for a knocking on the test drive. Kirk says the cars are generally too new for him to have seen suspension failure, but K-Tec Racing can replace all four for £75 plus the cost of the dampers, with stock items costing somewhere between £60 and £70. Shorter springs, dropping the car by 25-30mm, are another popular upgrade and cost approximately £230 fitted.
What to look out for:
Check that your prospective purchase comes with a full service history, either from a dealer or a Renault specialist, and that the cambelt has been done if the mileage has passed 70,000.
The relatively low insurance means that these cars are often in the hands of young drivers, so K-Tec recommends watching out for a slipping clutch on the test drive ― a sure sign of abuse.
Listen for any knocking under hard acceleration. If you hear anything, it’s likely to be the engine mounts. Replacements will set you back around £215 for the pair, fitted.
It’s not unknown for the exhausts to corrode when out of warranty, so K-Tec recommends that you check this thoroughly for leaks. Most owners fit aftermarket replacements, and these start at about £300.
The tailgate can rattle over uneven surfaces. The cause is an out-of-alignment boot striker, which will require adjustment.
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