Hi, it’s Alistair

This week on The Next Drive we have a review of the all-new Renault Twingo. I headed to Ibiza for the global launch of Renault’s new city car, and returned massively impressed. It’s a joyous little thing, from the fun, retro design to the way it drives and the way it makes you feel. It’s the sort of car that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face – and would be the perfect airport rental on your next trip to somewhere like Ibiza, where there aren’t many motorways to pick holes in the Twingo’s performance.

With the revived 5, 4 and now the new Twingo, Renault is on a roll at the moment – and with video appearing this week of its bonkers 5 Turbo 3E being tested at the Nurburgring, there’s still plenty more to come.

In other small EV news, I was delighted this week to finally see the new all-electric Volkswagen Polo. Based on the ID. 2all concept from 2023, the ID. Polo is exactly the sort of car VW should be making. Slightly larger than the Renault 5, but with a more grownup cabin, more boot space, quicker charging and more range (depending on spec), the Polo ticks a lot of boxes.

It also rights the many ergonomic wrongs committed by the ID.3, as Volkswagen finally sees sense and swaps touch-sensitive haptics for proper buttons on the steering wheel and dashboard. With prices expected to start at around £22,000, the electric Polo is sure to be a hit when it arrives later this year. I can’t wait to drive it.

In other news…

This week also saw Ferrari add some extra spice to its Purosangue by way of the new Handling Speciale pack. Recalibrated suspension increases tautness and reduced body roll, Ferrari says, while the paddle-shift gearbox has been given a bit more character, and the soundtrack of the Purosangue’s V12 engine now flows more freely into the cabin when you press the loud pedal.

Spec Ferrari’s family car with the Handling Speciale pack and you’ll be looking at £407,000 plus the inevitable optional extras.

We don’t just want to talk at you in this newsletter, we want you to be a part of it too! Each week we’ll be featuring a readers’ vehicle with a bit of background info and why it matters to them. It could be your reliable daily drive that gets you from A to B without any fuss, a project you’re working on or a pile of rust you have sitting in your garage.

If you’d like to be featured, get in touch at [email protected]! Let us know a bit about your vehicle and why you want to show it off.

Last week, we showed you the rather exciting-looking Morgan Supersport 400. There’s a slight notching down in the coolness category this week with Volkswagen’s latest EV offering which, as mentioned above, will go toe-to-toe with the Renault Twingo. This new polo is the latest in a long line from manufacturers who are returning to classic names to give their EVs a bit more personality. Citroen also announced their intention to bring the 2CV back in EV from. My question is, which would you buy?

I first read these numbers and thought that can’t be right. 12 million recalls in just three months?! But it’s true. Ford is the main culprit with a few million recalls across their truck and SUV lines, but the likes of Kia and Genesis also chipped in. Most of these recalls are thanks to digital malfunctions, a sign that a car’s durability is no longer determined by how well-built its engine is, but instead how reliable its software is.

For fans of Pierce Brosnan-era Bond films (and let’s be honest, that’s most people), you may recognise the Z8 as the uniquely late-90s, early-00s bond car. But as this classified explains, that is potentially the least interesting thing about this car. It was the first delivered new in Rome in 2000, has only done 35,000 miles and has been reworked/recommissioned a few times to keep it tip top. Take a look, it’s a beaut!

The first ever Land Rover officially launched at the Amsterdam motor show. At the time, it was one of the only 4×4 cars in production for the UK market and was incredibly robustly made for the time. The first prototype was cobbled together by Brothers Maurice and Spencer Wilks from aluminium, steel and some parts from their own Rovers.

As mentioned at the start of this newsletter, the Twingo is mightily impressive and well-worth a look if you’ve got a cheaper EV on your shopping list. Catch my full review now!

Thanks for reading The Next Drive. Catch you here next Thursday!

Until then,

Alistair