Sometimes it’s all about the drive. With the Wind it’s all about the looks and the way Renault have tackled the awkward problem of what to do with a folding roof.
So I’m driving down the N11 with the roof off and the wind massaging my scalp (I’d say wind in my hair, but I don’t have any). With the windows up you can hardly tell you’re in a roofless car, but keep the windows down and it gets blowy.
It feels good. Very refreshing. And for the first time in the best part of a week, nobody is looking at the car I’m driving.
But that’s only because it’s 1.30am on a Thursday and there’s no fecker around.
At any other time, people will stare. Occasionally they’ll walk into a lamppost. I was driving it through Ballymun to IKEA when I let two guys cross the road in front of me. They just stood there in the middle of the road looking all puzzled until the cars behind me started hitting their horns.
You see, this week I’m driving a Renault Wind. An odd name, and quite possibly the oddest car I’ve driven in many a year.
There are two versions – a 1.2 litre and, for people who want that little bit extra under the bonnet, a 1.6 litre. But that’s not important in the slightest as the Wind is all about two things that are inextricably linked: the look and the boot.
What Renault have done is taken a Twingo base and gone all weird and practical at the same time. Weird in the sense that… er… Just look at the pictures and you get the point. It’s a bit like two cars that have been bolted together – a cute little front half and… eh…
Just look at the pictures.
The reason the back looks as it does is all to do with storing the hard-top roof whenever you want to be open to the elements. By making it boxy at the back Renault have made it so that the decent-sized boot doesn’t turn shoe-box sized when the hard-top flips up and has to be stowed.
It results in the odd look of the car, but it makes it surprisingly practical for a two-seater. That the complex roof apparatus goes up and down in mere seconds is a bonus, given how changeable our weather is.
There are funny little grab handles on the doors and it there’s a fair bit of wind noise at speed even with the roof up and windows closed (living up to its name, I suppose).
The version I’m driving is the Renault Wind Gordini. People who know the history of Renault will know that Gordini Renaults in the 60s and 70s were the sporty, stylish looking end of the French manufacturer’s range. They were always blue with two white stripes making them instantly recognisable, and the new Renault Wind Gordini has inherited the spirit and styling of the original Gordinis.
After a week of driving it I have absolutely no idea if I like the Wind or not. Sorry. I’ve tried to decide but have utterly failed to make up my mind. At times I’ve felt a weird affinity to it and at others it’s felt like I’ve been driving around in the ugliest car on the road. Either way, at least it’s not dull and ordinary.
If you’re interested in a Wind it will cost you €24,990 for the Dynamique 1.2 litre 16 valve TCE (which is in Tax Band C with 145g/km emissions) or €26,990 for the Gordini version of the same with its 18″ blue alloys, black roof, rear spoiler and all the other distinctly blue trimmings.
Should you be in the market for a reasonably priced, two-seat hard-top convertible with decent boot space at all times, then give it a look. Just be prepared for the looks you’ll get.
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