Here we have a micro brougham, the luxuriously tiny Twingo, heir to the R5 Baccara.
Those are wood inserts on the dashboard. You can argue that such a treatment goes against the spirit of the Twingo in which case you can always buy a base model.
Here is the entire car. Black paint demands the best steel pressings, hence the higher asking.
Indeed I would argue that. But I would also argue that I’d still like it if it didn’t go against the spirit in such a half-hearted way, with those tiny timber slivers and the same grey dashboard. If it had been really lavish inside, I’d like it very much, much more that an Aston Martin Cygnet, for example.
A question I don’t know the answer to is how much more are people willing to spend on an interior, if the exterior remains completely unchanged? For myself, since the interior is what I experience, it would be quite a lot, maybe 25% or more on a car like this if it was a really nice place to sit. But I think, generally, customers expect the World to know what they’ve spent their money on.
If you really like wood in a small car there is a new kid in town – the Fiat 500 Riva:
https://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_slider/public/article_images/fiat_500_riva_11.jpg?itok=iRxGCwYg
Au contraire to the Twingo Initiale, I really admired the seats of the R5 Baccara, but, after having seen some of them in french used cars, i am not convinced of their ability to last.
Seeing that 500 interior gives me some hope for FCA. Far classier than anything MINI do.
I have an aversion for upmarket versions of very cheap cars – I suspect the manufacturers are preying on the old and gullible. The Ka ‘Collection’ seemed plain wrong, likewise overstuffed Up!/Citigo/MEHs, or these little Toyocitgeots. Just checked and for £13.5K you can get an Aygo with something called “Allure leather”.
Just say no. The only satisfaction to be had from these little buckets is thrashing them, in the way a French person would, and quite rightly.
I’ll always have a soft spot for the Goodwood-finished Minis they did a few years ago.
Now that’s a proper plank of wood. The apologetic little piece stuck onto the top of the Twingo’s dash is awful. It practically invites you to slide a sharp object underneath it and ping it off.
Markus: good comparison and an appropriate reference. Fiat are evidently pushing fancy 500s in place of Lancia Ypsilons.