When it comes to loading multiple occupants and lots of luggage, the small size of these cars becomes apparent. That said, the Twingo is a far more practical car.

In the Fiat you get tight rear legroom, scant headroom and a mini boot. Though the Renault is not the most spacious car on the planet, it is far more versatile and it at least allows you to choose what kind of compromise you want to make.

In the back seat

Luckily the Twingo stole another feature from the Scenic ? its back seats are really cool. They slide back and forth by 22cm and basically allow you to choose between having a decent-sized boot or generous rear legroom.

Slide them as far back as possible and you have vast rear legroom and a small boot that?ll still swallow a bit of shopping. Recline the rear seatbacks and your passengers are really in seventh heaven, although there are only two back seats.

And if you need a large and flat load space, the rear seats tumble forward to create a 959-litre storage area.

Modest performance

Performance from both cars is on the modest side. While they both weigh well under a tonne, their 1.2-litre engines could hardly hold a candle to your mom?s sewing machine and they both need to be worked hard to extract anything resembling brisk performance, even in town conditions. Hitting the open road will be a lesson in patience.

It?s a pity because these two cars actually handle the corners brilliantly and their chassis could put up with a lot more power. Well, that is why the 500 can be had as a 1.4 and there is a 1.6-litre RS Twingo in the pipeline.

The Fiat will still be the most fun through a mountain pass, as the variably-assisted steering hardens up nicely at speed while still staying on the light side at parking speeds.

However, you do pay for the great cornering with a hard, almost punishing ride quality over undulations and speed humps. With little power to exploit the handling, Fiat should really consider softer suspension for this one.

The Renault actually offers a great balance between ride and handling, although the steering is far to light at higher speeds — it really needs variable assistance.

Once we?ve considered all the ins and outs of these two trendy and sophisticated runabouts, the Renault still emerges as the most rational car and the best value for money — in relative terms.

Yes, the Renault is expensive for its size, but the Fiat is ridiculously expensive for a car its size. Yet the Fiat is a far more special-feeling car for those not too concerned about how much money they?re blowing.

What it loses on sensibility it sure makes up for in character.