Renault Twingo

"Wahey!", we thought - Gordini's back with the RenaultSport Twingo Gordini. "Boo!" we said, as we realised that this was a marketing push, not engineering, so the Twingo wasn't going to get any extra power or suspension tweaks, unlike classics like the Renault 8 Gordini.

Still, marketing has been generous. Apologies in advance, but there is a need for some financial details at this point. A ‘normal' RenaultSport Twingo is £12,850; the Gordini intially appears expensive at £14,500, but it's much better equipped. Even if you tick all the boxes on the ordinary Twingo, taking it to £14,095, you still can't get all the cow on the seats, steering wheel and gearknob, as well as Gordini badging everywhere. Plus, the Gordini is limited to 200 cars in the UK.

Renault has gone a bit ‘crazy' with the blue-and-white paintbrush, so most surfaces have been branded Gordini. The contrast between the blue, plush seats and grey, cheap door panels is particularly jarring - this is not a car for shy people.

The Twingo's chassis is fantastic - you'll never stop having fun in it - but this Gordini edition was a great opportunity to fix the Twingo RenaultSport's one problem - a slight lack of power. All it needed was an extra 10 or 15bhp. But because the Gordini is a marketing tweak, Renault's missed that chance. For the moment, the Gordini is little more than a thorough paint job.

Piers Ward

Price: £14,500
Performance: 0-62mph in 8.7secs, max speed 125mph, 42.2mpg
Tech: 1598cc, 4cyl, FWD, 131bhp, 118lb ft, 1049kg, 159g/km CO2