Renault’s retro revolution should have Citroen, VW and Vauxhall worried
Deputy editor, Richard Ingram, thinks that Renault’s rivals really need to up their game if they want to beat the French manufacturer in the car sales charts
It’s quite incredible to think how Renault has gone from functional mainstream maker to desirable small-car supremo in little more than 12 months. This time last year we were driving the new Renault 5 for the first time, declaring it a “successful homage to its historic predecessor”.
Then came the Renault 4, a slightly less stylised but more practical version of the 5 that won our hearts and romped to a road-test victory against the Ford Puma in the summer. Not wanting to place all its eggs in its plug-in pannier, the maker revealed the divisive petrol Clio at the Munich Motor Show in September – a car we’re immensely excited to be driving for the first time next month.
Which brings me to the all-new Renault Twingo. We never got the original in the UK, yet there seems to be real appetite for the modern model’s dinky dimensions, cutesy looks and retro design. One glance at the ‘just-right’ battery and powertrain specs and it’s pretty certain to soar up the sales charts when it arrives here in due course.
I can only imagine the pressure Volkswagen Group’s top brass in Germany are feeling right now. The conservative-looking ID.Polo needs to be nothing short of sensational if it’s to steal sales from the R5, while Cupra will be hoping the razor-sharp Raval can continue the brand’s upward trajectory into next year and beyond. SEAT will continue to tread water, at least until mild-hybrid tech attempts to transform its Ibiza and Arona ranges in 2027.
There are questions to be asked of Stellantis, as well. Can the multi-brand powerhouse regain momentum following a series of sloppy launches and false starts, and give the Citroen C3 and Fiat Grande Panda the marketing money they deserve? The next-generation Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Corsa superminis will have plenty of heavy lifting to do, too.
So credit where it’s due: Renault deserves its moment in the spotlight. All it needs to do now is apply its Midas touch to its revenue-generating mid-size SUVs; the underwhelming Austral and slow-selling Rafale could be transformed by some of that R5 gold dust.
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