Twinkle, twinkle little Twingo

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It has certainly made the hit parade in Europe, where it has been available since 1993, but only as a left-hand drive.

A pity that the croissant-lovers took so long to figure out how to put the steering-wheel in the right position, because the Twingo is a very appealing package with funky cute looks, lots of fancy kit and frugal fun juice habits.

Only two Twingo derivatives will initially be available locally - a 1.2 Dynamique at R124,500 and the fancier Dynamique Plus at R133,500, both powered by the same coffee-grinder 1.2-litre engine which kicks out 56kW and 107Nm.

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It's not the sort of performance that will make you want to spend weekends at a race track, but it's peppy enough for the city and with a top speed of about 170km/h it won't be embarrassed in the company of contenders such as the Kia Picanto, Toyota Yaris T1, Hyundai i10 and Citroen C2.

Its bikini boot is not designed for weekend campers, although the individual back seats can slide forward to create a little more space.

Clambering in to get to the back seats is a bit of a squeeze, but once you are there it's not too cramped, providing you are not a Stormers prop forward.

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The Twingo handles fairly well, although the engine is a tad sluggish and the steering is a little “dead”. It sits nicely on the road and it doesn't panic if you push it a little bit in the corners.

Driven in gentle fashion it should sip as little as 5,7 litres per 100 kilometers.

The cabin lay-out is really cool, with the instrument panel placed in a hood in the centre console, and the rev counter stuck prominently right in front of the driver on the steering column.

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There are lots of little storage nooks in the cabin, even including a rack in which one can place an optional “grass mat” for things such as pens, cell phones and other small items.

To go with its quirky exterior features such as a bee-sting aerial, aluminium roof spoiler, tinted windows and 15 inch mags (steel 14-inchers on the lower specced version), the Twingo brags with four airbags, ABS brakes with emergency brake assist, central locking, front fog-lights, electric windows, aircon, audio controls on the height-adjustable steering-wheel, radio/CD/MP3 player and custom graphics for the exterior.

It's a nifty package and besides the fact that it has oodles of youthful appeal it also feels fairly solid and well-built.

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Owners who care for the planet will also sleep peacefully at night, knowing that their little Twingo will only ooze out a gentle 135grams per kilometer of CO₂ into the atmosphere as it tiptoes along.

Nightmares will also be scared away by the three-year/45,000km service plan that is included in the Twingo's price.

PS: Guys, if you are tempted by the Twingo, hang around for awhile yet, because the word is that a sporty Twingo RS with a turbo-charged 1.6-litre engine might be here before the end of the year... and it is a real little hell-raiser, says the lucky few who have driven it overseas.