Potential owner here!

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Twingo Forum

Help Support Twingo Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A

Aaronjoy

Well-known member
Joined
May 3, 2014
Messages
48
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone, i went with the fiance today to look at a Fiat 500 for her and while she was on the test drive, i thought i'd check out the Twingo 133 they had and i was really taken by it. Next thing i know i was out myself on a test drive and it handles and feels superb. I currently have a ford fiesta st150 and they offered me a decent trade in value, higher than i've been offered by private buyers in the past so i'm very tempted to go and seal the deal!

Anyone care to testify on how good the Twingo's are? Would be grateful if you could include what to look out for when buying one, possible common faults that can happen but mainly i want to hear how much you all love your cars!
 
Hi mate! I'll let the more knowledgeable guys tell you about what to look out for etc but I think they're pretty bulletproof in general - not as stereotypically French as you might expect!

We moved to the twingo from a cooper s. Obviously it was a step down in terms of outright speed but the handling is absolutely spot on in the twingo and it is the most fun we've ever had in a car. Couple the fun with some mods and you end up with a brilliant car.

Hope you decide to get it - you'll not regret it!
 
Leaky hood and split joints check out the faqs

Have you considered a GT :)
 
It's a tad slower than my current fiesta ST which also handles great but insurance, tax, fuel is cheaper and its not much slower then the ST, on the test drive i was very surprised about how well the twingo handles!

I haven't considered the GT, i'm a complete newbie to Renault, and the only reason i am considering a Twingo is that i saw a red 133 and fell in love all over again haha!
 
Lol I feel for my GT at first sight too, the GTs based on the 182 chassis 1.2 turbo 0-60 in 9.9 seconds or less 100 bhp standard 126 mapped with a few mods there's a 133 in blue near me for 6000 with 10,000 miles !
 
LC":1nfxv9d5 said:
Lol I feel for my GT at first sight too, the GTs based on the 182 chassis 1.2 turbo 0-60 in 9.9 seconds or less 100 bhp standard 126 mapped with a few mods there's a 133 in blue near me for 6000 with 10,000 miles !
Click to expand...

The GT isn't as hardcore as the 133 but it's very cheap to run but I must admit I want a 133 now !!!
 
the one i'm looking at is 8400 and has 9k on the clock, has all the add ons though which make it all the more appealing to me lol
 
shuttup luke skywalker! i will never allow you to go over to the dark side of twingoland ; use the force luke. use the force !

on another note though, the 133 is a cracking car. it's not got very much power, but with it's out of the factory handling it will not be left in corners by any car on the road. it's cliche to say, but it comes alive in the high revs. always seen it as the FWD version of the toyota gt86, cheap and cheerful but underpowered which makes it all the more fun to rev it into the redzone, always waiting for that gear change light to flash :D with the sorts of roads you have in the uk, these little pacey twingo's are just perfect regardless of wether it's a modified GT or a 133 or even a dynamique (spitfires little twingo is ridiculous!) it'll put a bigger smile on your face than any other cars in it's performance bracket :D:D

really cheap to run, good on fuel for cutting around town and engine wise there are really no issues to speak of. timing belt every 72,000 miles or 6 years w/e comes first, service every 12,000 miles. the lower balljoints on the twingo 133 are really bad for premature wear ....and really expensive to replace as you need to do the lower arm, then again ... theres recently been someone on here who's got ahold of the ball joints themselves so it's veeeeeery cheap. the scuttle pannel can develop a leak on occasions ..... but that's a case of resealing it, nothing major. there are no known other faults with the car other than the usual renault ''watch out for these just incase ....'' electrical based stuff, but i've not seen much of that in any renault models since 2005!
 
With the different front hubs and bespoke front wishbones, the 133 has suspension pickup points closely matched to the Mk2 Clio Cup racers, which were nodded from an already decent handling car. However the one off wishbones have given us grief with the ball joint rubbers splitting. Fortunately, the newer replacements, with - - A embossed next to the part number, seem to be fairing much better. You can see the ball joint from under the front and a phone can should be able to get a picture of the part numbers/markings on the under outboard end.

If they are split now, then get them sorted as part of the purchase. If you find them split in future, it could be a whole arm or, a guy from Germany has just got hold of the joints, so theres a possible cheater route now.



Standard is lacking a bit of power, but the sharp brakes and handling definitely make up for it through some twists and turns. On song, between 5-7k, you can have some fun. If your wanting the speed of your ST150, its certainly possible but won't be cheap and your going to get more character too :) noise, creaks and rattles.

Keep it well serviced, cambelt done by somebody competent when its due and let the engine get warmed up before a thrashing.
 
Thanks for the detailed responses. I'm not overly bothered about the power difference between the ST150 and the 133, it's better in fuel, tax and insurance so I'll be saving money and still own a hot hatch which is a lot of fun to drive! The car I'm looking at is a 62 plate, would this problem with the balljoints still be present on this car?
 
It's not a hot hatch it's lukewarm to slight scalding hatch.

It's the chassis (on the Cup) that makes it.

Don't get me wrong it's a good car glad I've got one it's saved me money but keeps me having fun on track.
 
Yours will be the face-lift model then. As everyone has said ball joints leakin scuttle panels and coil packs. They are a good car I had mine for 2 years look after it and it will be fine
 
Aaron I had a black 2006 Fiesta ST150 from new. And my buddy still has one today.

I can only speak about the 133 with Cup chassis but the handling and level of fun is in a different league to the Fiesta. I've had my 133 coming up to 2 years now and I've never loved a car so much. Normally I get bored after a year or two and want something different but with the Twingo I just want to keep making it better and have sworn never to sell it.

From standard i agree it was quite weedy against the ST's torque and extra HP but after a quick rolling road session and being mapped to super unleaded it came to life. I had the ST remapped too but the gains with the 133 were much more substantial and obvious.

To me the 133's feel so much more special too. Maybe in part due to their rarity. You'll see ten Fiesta ST's for every 133.

And despite being a sporty little car they are a cheap little car to run. I just finished driving really carefully on a tank of fuel and got 340 miles from it. For less than £50 I'm really happy. The Fiesta felt much more thirsty.

Mine is a 61 plate and the balljoints needed replacing after 18months and about 12k miles. So Renault likely never improved this part even in the late models (just seen what singlespeed said so maybe there is hope). Luckily mine was still within warranty so Renault replaced the joints and arms no problem. If they go again outside warranty I'll just buy the repair kit so it's not an overly expensive thing to repair every now and then.

Oh and whilst my 133 is a touch lighter than standard it is almost exactly the same speed as my friends standard ST150 in a straight line. Even at higher speeds with the extra torque of the fiesta I can't tell you which is quicker as they are so closely matched.
 
Great responses, extremely helpful and after sleeping on it and reading all comments over and over i went ahead and bought the Twingo :), i pick it up on either wednesday or friday and could not be happier!
It's under warranty for 3 months so anything that can go wrong in that amount of time, it'll be sorted by them, service and MOT's are free for the next 2 years (obviously not parts if needed) but i'm really happy! The brake pedal squeaks a little bit but i'm sure it's nothing a bit of use and WD40 won't fix.

The performance comparison between the ST and the Twingo was helpful stunty, it gave me an idea of what to expect when i get a chance to properly drive the Twingo this week. I'm not overly bothered about 0-60 or top speeds, to me it's more about how responsive and how fun the overall experience is.
I'm the same when it comes to cars, i passed 4 years ago and i've had 6 cars since then, the fiesta kept me most entertained and only decided to change when i saw the 133! I'll be sure to look after it and give it the attention it deserves.

I won't be modifying it for the first year as i need to concentrate on other things and of course, enjoying the car in it's standard form!

So thanks again for everyone's replies i appreciate it, pictures will be added when i receive the car later on in the week :)
 
great choice aaron, you won't regret it. although i'm sure everyone will +1 me when i say that you have not got a hope in hell going a whole year without modifying it. better men have tried and failed lol, it's not really a case of performance modifications though. just about putting your own little stamp or two onto it you know?

twingo's have quite the charachter, of which i've never found in any other car :D certainly they'll look back on this car in 10-15 years time as a future classic in the same vein the clio williams is looked upon right now
 
oscar":38se9965 said:
although i'm sure everyone will +1 me when i say that you have not got a hope in hell going a whole year without modifying it.
Click to expand...
Never a truer word spoken: I think just about everyone on here started out saying that. Hopefully you'll see the error of your ways soon ;)

Good choice though buying the Twingo - hope you enjoy it :D
 
Twins go":2markw56 said:
oscar":2markw56 said:
although i'm sure everyone will +1 me when i say that you have not got a hope in hell going a whole year without modifying it.
Click to expand...
Never a truer word spoken: I think just about everyone on here started out saying that. Hopefully you'll see the error of your ways soon ;)

Good choice though buying the Twingo - hope you enjoy it :D
Click to expand...
I had stuff ordered before I picked mine up :lol:
 
neil, how in the hell did you end up with a renault twingo? you had an audi before didn't you? i actually always wondered :D

get comfy and wait for an epic narration from neil lol
 
Audi A3 1.9tdi 130 sport with just a few mods :lol: pretty quick and handled well for a heavy smog monster. Although the side affect of it handling well was a very firm ride. It was a bit dull to live with and wasn't brill on the bumpy back roads.

Fancied a change and an Alpina D3 and the Twingo were short listed. D3 wasnt a revelation but the 133 made me grin :) you can guess the rest
 
Top