Renault Twizy Cargo has no room for cargo

Despite its Twizy Cargo name, this boldly-designed city machine can only manage 75kg of cargo in an area that measures 180 litres.

To put that in perspective, a Toyota Corolla sedan has 450 litres of bootspace.

Indeed, if Renault sent out the release announcing the Twizy Cargo on April 1, it would be dismissed as a joke. However, it is very real. The Twizy is a unique two-seater electric vehicle, with the one seat in behind the driver’s seat. In the case of the Twizy Cargo, that rear seat is removed and converted into a cargo area. A hinged rear-door that opens 90 degrees has been added.

Renault argues the Twizy Cargo can be used as a van, despite its limited capability, suggesting is just right for jobs that require inner city journeys with limited loads.

It describes it as the “perfect solution for companies offering call-out or support services, like IT support, with the boot taking a set of tools safely and securely.” Renault also suggests the load space could be used to house a pile of pizzas for delivery.

The real world range of the Twizy and its Cargo derivative maxes out at around 100km, so it is very much designed to work in and around a metro area. Drivers will have to make do without much performance, as the Twizy Cargo’s power rating is a modest 13kW, although it benefits from weighing just 474kg. It is capable of hitting a top speed of 90km/h.

The Twizy Cargo is actually cheaper than the regular Twizy, costing the equivalent of $10,700 in the UK, thanks to a tax cut because it is a ‘commercial vehicle’. If that sounds too good to be true, remember there is an ongoing battery hire fee of $62.