Renault Twizy

unkel

I don't think we have a proper Twizy thread with some up to date info. The car was mentioned of course, even way before this forum was even started. Special credit goes to Mad_Lad for his original thread about insuring a Twizy from 2012 (!) here:

Linky

I'll kick this one off. I've always liked the Twizy. Grand little runabout city car you could use if the main family car is not available

But Twizy was only ever sold in this country or in the UK with a battery lease. I have zero interest in any EV with a battery lease

So how would one go about buying one and getting rid of the lease? Some stories about importing one from Norway (where they were originally sold without lease) - the car is a mid seat after all, so it doesn't matter if the original country was right hand drive or left hand drive.

Or convincing Renault to let you pay out the lease, or buying a car with the battery owned (most likely because the car was written off and bought back from the insurance company)

Or, sneaky sneaky, buy one (from abroad maybe) and either sign or not sign the lease, but just don't pay it. Ramifications?

Any ideas?

There's also lots of other stuff we can discuss in here. Like reprogramming the car to provide 90% more torque with the Twizy Powerbox. Or handing back the battery to Renault Finance and sticking in your own battery.

q85dw7osi4lebg

I had one for a week before and had a great laugh, but the m50 was absolutely terrifying (think it topped out around 80?)

Once got it from D16 to Drogheda on a single charge, had zero on the range as I pulled in.

A grand car for the countryside (running down to the shop for a pint of milk). Complete sausage magnet too.

Felt like it took too long to charge.

darragh o meara

unkel wrote: »

Or, sneaky sneaky, buy one (from abroad maybe) and either sign or not sign the lease, but just don't pay it. Ramifications?

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere recently that Renault can remotely deactivate the battery if you don't pay.

unkel

darragh o meara wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere recently that Renault can remotely deactivate the battery if you don't pay.

That's something we need to explore in depth in this thread.

beauf

Someone didn't chase up the paperwork to transfer the battery lease had it disabled. Zoe I think.

Twizy isn't it a bit old tech in terms of battery though.

adunis

Well people have pulled the sum card out of fluences ,Di that to a Zoë and it disables the car,wonder what the repercussions are in a twizzy.
I'd personally go the Norway route if I wanted one.

unkel

beauf wrote: »

Twizy isn't it a bit old tech in terms of battery though.

It's a small battery, that's all. Performance of the Twizy is inadequate, but can be grealy improved with a Powerbox

beauf wrote: »

Someone didn't chase up the paperwork to transfer the battery lease had it disabled. Zoe I think.

That was a Zoe. Not sure if it is even technically possible to disable a Twizy. Or if there are ways to prevent this from happening. Hope we will find out in this thread.

adunis wrote: »

I'd personally go the Norway route if I wanted one.

Battery owned Twizy can be found in other European countries too, although most would be battery lease

Another option for the more daring punter is to buy one without a battery and build the battery yourself :cool:

Only a 60V battery and all, so no risks from high voltage (although working with any batteries is always risky in terms of short circuits, explosions, etc.)

Lumen

What I'd really love is an electric 3 seater, like a Piaggio Ape Calessino (but electric).

There's the Uniti One but it doesn't exist yet.

Perfect for the school run and errands.

charlieIRL

I've only ever seen one of these on the road - was parked on the promenade in Salthill, Galway.

Mad you have to pay extra for doors!!!

unkel

If they had been €6k-€7k including the (tiny 6kWh) battery, they would have sold like hot cakes all over the world.

It is generally used as a rule of thumb these days that a lithium car battery costs about €200/kWh not just for the cells, but as the actual finished pack. So not much more than a grand for the Twizy pack.

monkeynuz

Lumen wrote: »

What I'd really love is an electric 3 seater, like a Piaggio Ape Calessino (but electric).

There's the Uniti One but it doesn't exist yet.

Perfect for the school run and errands.

Tukxi in the uk do an ape electric conversion.

unkel

The funny thing I noticed when I was in town last week is that all the rickshaws (also 3 seaters) I saw were converted to electric!

ELM327

You can buy one in Norway for the same price as here, get it shipped.
Norway Twizy is sold with no lease.

There's no issue with LHD/RHD as there's only one front seat.

I'd love one.

beauf

Would you park it on street...

ELM327

beauf wrote: »

Would you park it on street...

I'd carry it with me

beauf

Lol.

I've seen promotional ones parked at events. I've never seen a private one parked up.

Ush1

I asked my missus should I buy one but she said kids would throw stones at me.:pac:

unkel

The more I think about it, the more I want one

It would seriously suit me as I only need a second car 5% of the time (tops) and only for small trips. If I got one, I would sell my classic Mercedes and stick my Porsche in storage for a few years. I could charge it on my driveway from an external waterproof socket

I really, really, really do not want a battery lease. That said, for a max 2.5k km per year and a 3 year contract, you'd be looking at the minimum €30 per month lease from Renault Finance Ireland. I've booked a test drive online for tomorrow, but haven't got confirmation, so I'd say the booking system doesn't work. I doubt the Renault dealers are open tomorrow.

I'm a fan of and subscriber to Andy Kirby's YT channel. He's mostly about eBikes and batteries, but is into all sorts of things renewable and he owns a Twizy. I really like that the car (quadricycle) is highly customisable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI2L4XUtJVI

ELM327 wrote: »

You can buy one in Norway for the same price as here, get it shipped.
Norway Twizy is sold with no lease.

Any link to any ad?

Found an older one (2012) for sale in the UK, subject to battery lease. Asking GBP2,495. Would have to get it transported here as they don't fast charge, just 2kW (or so) 3-pin AC charging...

Zenith74

What’s tax and insurance like?

unkel

Tax I presume is €120 if it is classed as a car (EV) and less if it's classed as a motorcycle. Don't car either way. It's cheap!

Insurance as always, YMMV. I'll check the next working day with my broker.

beauf

I'd love one. Hard to justify its very niche.

unkel

It would be very easy to justify for me. I need a second car (beside the family Ioniq EV) some of the time. And almost always just for local trips (that can't really be done by bike / walking / bus)

It's cheap to buy, costs nothing to maintain and almost nothing in fuel and minimum in tax / insurance with very little depreciation, so a very cheap car to own (provided there is no battery lease)

0lddog

Euro NCAP reckon its not a car but a quadricycle ( who would have thunk it ? )

In 2014 they gave it **

I see one around here a lot

Whats the deal with quadricycles on motorways ?

beauf

https://youtu.be/y0QGSKUtAQ4

Main issue on motorways seems to be driving at max speed which drastically reduces range and generally motorways mean longer journeys.

Seems like it hits the minimum legal speed. I dunno what the Irish laws that apply to it.

unkel

There is no minimum speed on Irish motorways afaik, but cars must be capable of doing >50km/h to be able to drive on motorways. Anything well under 80km/h (the supposed speed limit for trucks) is very dangerous imho. Twizy has a top speed of 80km/h. So not great on motorways. Just about alright on the slow M50.

0lddog wrote: »

Euro NCAP reckon its not a car but a quadricycle ( who would have thunk it ? )

It is officially a quadricycle. The exposed wheels are a giveaway, this would not be allowed in a car. You are allowed in the EU to drive / ride a quadricycle with a normal B car driving license

BTW I just looked up the annual motor tax for an electric motorcycle and it is €35

0lddog

unkel wrote: »

... BTW I just looked up the annual motor tax for an electric motorcycle and it is €35

Do yourself a favour - get one of these for each of your ladies

unkel

Meh, I have several electric bikes and scooters already

I must have a roofed electric quadricycle :pac:

80sDiesel

When I was in Dungarees Waterford recently I spotted a Twizy. He/she made good use of tight parking in the square and spotted it once parked in the pedestrian area.
Always wanted one myself but think an i3 is a better alternative.

unkel

i3 is a proper car. They are holding their value very well on the low end though. A couple of years ago you'd have one for GBP9-10k, now it seems GBP12k+ and that's far too rich for me.

A GBP2-3k Twizy makes a lot more sense for a second car that is barely used

loopymum

They look great. I see there is room for a passenger as well. Very cool. In years to ching it would be a great second vehicle for us. I'm going to keep it in mind for when my eldest is old enough to drive one if it's not too expensive to insure. He's 15 soon.

I had a look to see how much insurance works cost with aviva and the twizzy comes up with no match.

I'll be very interested to see what the story will be with insurance

beauf

I think the main issue will be security. Its going to attract more attention than a motorbike no?

unkel

What would you be afraid of? I would just leave it open and would leave no valuables in it. Are you afraid they'd steal the Twizy? Surely, it's insured. I wouldn't worry about that at all.

listermint

Drove one about three years ago. It the cold of November.

It was a bit surreal but also terrifying. It was cold. It came with side doors but no windows. The speed was non existent very disappointing. And I felt very exposed in terms of my safety.

Would I buy one ? No. I'm a motorcyclist and very used to road position and safety I felt a bit out of control on this hadn't the speed to get me out of danger and hadn't got the safety for me to keep out of problems.

Fiesta

Tax is €120 / year.

beauf

unkel wrote: »

What would you be afraid of? I would just leave it open and would leave no valuables in it. Are you afraid they'd steal the Twizy? Surely, it's insured. I wouldn't worry about that at all.

More it would constantly be damaged. Simply because it was different.

Markcheese

Always wished they had 2 seats in the back .
any of them I've seen on done deal have been 5 to 6.5 grand ( asking ) ...
Nifty little things ,I suppose they're the same style battery packs as a Zoe ,so should be easy enough to pick up replacement going forward (possibly even a range boost ,)
Never even thought of things like no heater or radio ,

beauf

How do they compare to running an early (cheapest) battery lease Zoe? Costs wise. If you were to import one, as you would a twitzy.

unkel

Bumping my own old thread rather than starting a new one!

Does the Twizy qualify for the €600 grant for home charge points (I know it can only charge from a 3 pin socket)? Does it qualify for the EV toll discount?

JohnC.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159235#Comment_119159235

SEAI don't list the Twizzy in either the grant section or EV comparison section.

Isn't it officially considered a quadricycle rather than a car?

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159309#Comment_119159309

I thought the same actually 🤔

unkel

I thought so too, but:

1.It is taxed as a car (EV - €120 motor tax)

2.You can drive it with a car license (B), I don't even know if you can drive it with a motor cycle license

3.You can insure it as a car

4.It has 4 wheels, a roof and doors (optional) - a "cage" as the bikers call such a thing 😂

For all intents and purposes, it seems to be a car, rather than a motor cycle

unkel

Also if the list price of an EV is under €14k, there is no SEAI grant for it. That might explain that one...

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159416#Comment_119159416

Have to say I'd love one , probably not very practical in Ireland but i do very little mileage. I'd have to guess insurance would be difficult to get on them. I just don't know enough about them to know if they'd be classed as a car or Tricycle from an insurance point of view 🤔

I'd say the NCT centre's would be scratching their heads if one arrived 😁, would they even have to have an NCT 🤔

unkel

Pretty sure from an NCT point of view they are a quadricycle alright, so no need for any NCT. I checked before and insurance for me was similar to what it would be on a Leaf / Fluence Z.E. / iMiev / any lower price EV

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119159496#Comment_119159496

Not so bad re insurance in fairness, I just thought insurance companies here would be nervous of them. Good to know re NCT 😏