Renault Twingo hatchback (2007-2011)

There's much to like about the Renault Twingo. It’s spacious and there’s a grown-up feel to the city car’s design that is missing from rivals such as the Ford Ka. It’s practical too, with a usable boot. There’s more room inside than you'd find in the likes of a Toyota Aygo or Citroen C1. The Renaultsport hot hatch version is quick and great fun to drive.

The most efficient Twingo is the 1.2 16v Dynamique, which will average 55.4mpg and has emissions of 119g/km, which means a low annual Road Tax bill of £30. The Twingo is no ecomomy champion, however. Many rival superminis – including the Toyota iQ and Volkswagen Polo - are cheaper to run and offer a greater variety of engines.

With its light steering and compact dimensions, the Renault Twingo is well suited to navigating city streets and squeezing into tight parking spaces. The 1.2-litre petrol engines – 60bhp and 75bhp units, plus a 100bhp turbocharged version - need to be worked hard to get the Twingo going, and they feel quite short on power, especially on motorways. It's a different story with the Renaultsport Twingo, which is engaging to drive and has a revvy 133bhp 1.6-litre engine.

The cabin is spacious for a city car, the ride is comfortable and the Twingo absorbs bumps and undulations in the road well. Wind and road noise are quite pronounced, so it's not particularly quiet at speed. The fact that the small 1.2-litre engines have to be worked hard to get any kind of pace out of the car also adds to the noise inside the cabin.

The Twingo's three-door layout spoils practicality and makes the two rear seats difficult to access. However, the Renault makes up for this with rear seats that slide back and forth, so boot space varies from 165-285 litres, which is impressive for such a small car. Fold the seats down and there's 959 litres available, which is also good. There are also plenty of storage spaces throughout the cabin, so the Twingo more than compensates for its lack of rear doors in this respect.

Renault's reliability history has been patchy in the past, and electrical problems have been known to occur on many of its cars. The Twingo's build quality is quite poor - it feels as if it has been built to a price and the cabin materials are cheap. However, it is much more basic than most models in Renault's range, which means there's less to go wrong with it, so electrical niggles are less likely.

Entry-level Expression models are keenly priced, so it's hardly fair to call the Twingo expensive. However cars offer a very basic specification, so don't expect much for your money.