In a nutshell, the Twizy is a durable steel frame with four wheels placed outside. Two people can sit in a tandem position. Placed below the driver’s seat is the lithium-ion battery that powers the rear wheels via an electric motor. You have a proper steering too. It’s so easy that even granny can drive it. Of course, give her the lower-powered Twizy 45 version, which has its top speed limited to 45 kmph. Else she will scare herself silly in the regular Twizy that can go all the way up to 80 kph.

Seriously, hand on my heart, it’s a fun thing to drive. And you know why? Because Renault Sport Technologies has worked extensively on the development of this vehicle. Yes, the same folks who tinker around with Formula 1 stuff (KERS!) and engineer completely nutty RenaultSport cars, worked on the chassis, the performance tuning and reliability aspects of the Twizy. That left the rest of the team to dig into the parts bin and source the Laguna steering wheel and the Logan key. I am just being irreverent here; I appreciate the fact that a major carmaker needs guts and conviction to engineer and bring such concepts to reality. Being French or Japanese also helps.

Proof of le pudding is in the driving. There are no external door handles. Simply reach inside, unlatch it and the door rises skywards. The seat is adjustable for reach and in front of you is a regular steering wheel. Turn the key and the digital instrument panel comes to life with an audible beep. That’s the cue for you to press the D button on the left and take off. There’s the R button below it and press the centre of the two buttons and you get neutral. Simple.

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