17/09/10

• Price£14,500
  
• We like...Looks; ability
• We don't...Gordini package is purely cosmetic

Gordini. A great name from Renault’s racing past, revived and re-used for a new line-up of quick cars. What we have here is the baby of the pack, the Twingo Gordini.

Back in the day, Amedee Gordini earned fame as a gifted tuner and fettler of racing Renaults, nicknamed ‘The Sorcerer’ for his abilities. Eventually he sold to Renault, who used his name on 1980s models but then shelved it. Now it’s back.

Under the blue paint and twin racing stripes (both Gordini ‘hallmarks’) what you get is essentially the Renaultsport Twingo 133. So it’s a city-size car, a four-seater, that’s tweaked and tuned to make a junior-size hot hatch.

It may be small but it deserves its ‘sport’ and ‘Gordini’ badges. Ours had the optional ‘cup’ package which stiffens the already taut suspension a stage further, plus optional 17in Gordini allow wheels, which team with the car’s blue body colour and look terrific. It rides harshly, though. That’s no surprise, if only because of its shortness front-to-back. But there’s still enough squish in the dampers to stave off headaches for the driver. And, coupled with direct, feel-some steering it does make it a proper performance car. The engine, a 1.6-litre turbo petrol, is a beaut, revving easily and setting off a chuckle-cum-gurgle from its exhaust as it goes.

This is a little belter of a car, noisy on a long motorway run but huge fun for shooting along a twisty lane. And, despite is tint proportions (it’s just 3.6m long) it’ll seat four, still leaving enough boot space for family shopping or a weekend’s luggage for two in soft bags.

Inside, the Gordini treatment continues: blue/grey leather seats, blue inserts in the door trims, a ‘Gordini’ gear shift knob and a blue and grey leather wrap on the steering, complete with competition-style ‘dead-ahead’ marker on the rim. There’s also a numbered plate beside the gear-shift (in the UK, there’s a limited run of 200) Meanwhile, there’s piano-black finish on the centre instrument console. It looks great fun, although the quality finish of the Gordini add-ons sits uneasily beside the cheap look of some of the standard Twingo bits. Ours also developed a rattle from a rear seat and a graunch from the gears when picking fifth. Neither reassured us over long-term quality.

Thing is, though that this model is mechanically the same as the Twingo 133 Cup, which costs thousands of pounds less. The Cup is stripped out : it does without air conditioning and has a simple rear bench instead of the Gordini’s Individual rear sliding chairs. And, of course, you’ll be sitting on cloth, not leather.

For us the ‘standard’ 133 Cup is first choice because it’s a bargain and we’d rather have performance than looks. We’re also mindful that the Gordini’s price brings it level with a Mini Cooper which, though not as rapid, is as much fun and arguably a better all-round buy.

Should you buy a Gordini? If you fall in love with its looks and relish its exclusivity, then definitely. But if you seek a bargain, the 133 Cup’s the one to have.

• Engines1.6 petrol Turbo
• Power133bhp
• 0-60 mph8.7secs
• Economy42.2mpg
• CO2g/km159
• Insurance groups21E
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats4

Motors.co.uk value verdict: