Mobilize Duo review

Renault's nascent mobility brand promises to rewrite the city car rulebook in a fun-sized package

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Before we consider the weird - and perhaps wonderful - world of the Mobilize Duo, we should briefly revisit the car it ultimately succeeds: the Renault Twizy.

There was plenty about that two-seat quadricycle that made it an illogical purchase. It didn't have windows or a heater, its electric range was less than 50 miles and it cost as much as most second-hand city cars of the period. But that didn't stop us from liking its charming, lovable character.

Developed and built by Renault's urban mobility brand, Mobilize, the new Duo looks set to continue that trend by taking the Twizy's fundamental principles and bringing them up to the standards of the day. It also promises to solve many of its inherent flaws with big-car equipment levels, a 100% increase in electric range, a design overhaul and - helpfully - windows.

It has to, because even at this end of the car market - known as the sub-A-segment - there is competition from the likes of the Citroën Ami, the Micro Microlino and the Luvly 0.

Each of these future-gazing brands, particularly Mobilize, claims its machine will be a practical, eco-friendly solution to otherwise crowded transport in burgeoning cities over the next few years. But what's the Duo like in the here and now?

The Mobilize Duo range at a glance

Two versions of the Duo are available, homologated to meet L6e and L7e quadricycle regulations depending on their weight, power output and top speed. The L6e variant, called Duo 80 Evo, has 8bhp and a top speed of 28mph but it is not coming to the UK. The L7e variant - Duo 80 Pro - is coming here and can be boosted up to 21bhp, with a top speed of 50mph.

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Directly beneath the driver's seat of both versions is a 10.3kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery pack, which shuffles current, via a power inverter, to a rear-mounted electric motor. The battery yields a range of up to 100 miles on the WMTC (World Motorcycle Test Cycle) regime used for quadricycles. In winter conditions, Renault said this should translate to around 62 miles.

Those looking for more storage space, such as delivery drivers, can have the Bento, which trades the Duo's single rear seat for a loadbay with a 649 litre-capacity. It's available only in L7e guise, with its range slightly reduced from the Duo's, at 93 miles.

The main focus of this review will be the Duo 80 Pro.

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DESIGN & STYLING

Mobilize Duo side tracking

The sub-A-segment is often a source of some very distinctive designs. Much like its Microlino and Citroën Ami rivals, staid and sensible the Duo is not.

Lamborghini-style scissor doors for tight parking spots, square headlights, a wheel-at-each-corner stance, and bumpers carved from a single piece of plastic combine to make this one of the most striking urban runabouts you can buy. To this tester’s eyes, it looks like a modernised Twizy, with enough sharp angles and interesting details to make it just as distinctive as its rivals.

One thing that can’t be disputed is its focus on sustainability. Its front and rear bumpers are carved from one piece of plastic, and each indicator unit on the car is identical, which means the Duo uses five times fewer parts than a conventional car. Elsewhere, 40% of its weight comprises reused materials and it's claimed to be 95% recyclable at the end of its service life. Overall, this means that the Duo emits one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions of a typical A-segment city car over its lifetime.

But this attention to sustainability hasn't come at the expense of material rigidity. Built around a lightweight steel frame wrapped with plastic panels, it is, says Mobilize, the safest car in its class, with crumple zones front and rear, all-round disc brakes, and a three-point seatbelt for the driver - who sits in a central position - and the passenger. It is also the only quadricycle on the market to come with an airbag.

The Duo sits on a brand-new platform that shares 10% of its components with the Twizy and, at 2.43m long and 1.3m wide, it is of a similar size to its key rivals. The footprint is sufficiently small that the Duo has a very tight turning circle of 6.8m, bettering not just its key rivals but also any supermini and a London taxi. You can park three Duos perpendicular to each other in a regular parking space too.

INTERIOR

Mobilize Duo interior dashboard

Said by Mobilize to be “as simple to use as a smartphone”, the Duo's interior is deliberately basic, both from the perspectives of design and functionality. The company wants it to appeal as much to private customers as shared mobility, fleet-based operators like ZipCar or Enterprise, which means it has to stand up to accommodating multiple users over a short space of time.

On the whole, we can see why it would appeal to such customers, simply because of how easy it is to use. There are just eight buttons on the dashboard itself, each arranged into three separate groupings, making them very quick to get used to. The steering wheel and side stalks have been sourced from Renault, which provides some familiarity and helps to normalise the driving environment.

Directly in front of you is a small but clear TFT display showing only necessary information such as the battery percentage and road speed. Next to that is a standard-fit phone holder so that you can use your device instead of a screen.

The Duo's functionality hasn't come at the expense of some design flair. There is a boxy orange dashboard that's said to be inspired by a 1980s boombox, decals that match those of the exterior, and some attractively textured surfaces.

You sit quite high in the central driving position, which makes for decent visibility, but large A-pillars create more of a blindspot than you would like. The seat itself is reasonably comfortable but quite unsupportive. In this tester's normal driving position, leg room for the rear passenger seat was non-existent, meaning those over 6ft are going to struggle to fit, especially on longer journeys. Head room, however, was passable.

While we're having a grumble, it's a pity that you can't open the windows fully, especially since air conditioning is an optional extra (and one well worth considering, by the way).

The interior plastics are predictably cheap, but they're not brittle and will be easy to wipe clean. The dashboard-mounted rocker switches are entirely interchangeable and the splash of orange makes it a more interesting place to sit than it otherwise would be. What’s more, there’s a handy plughole in the driver’s footwell, should the vehicle ever need to be washed clean inside.

According to Renault, there is 300 litres of storage on offer, which is nearly 10 times more than in the Twizy and makes it a far more practical solution than a big scooter. Usefully, there is enough room either side of the driver’s seat for two suitcases.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Mobilize Duo front three quarter cornering

We will see only the faster version of the Duo in the UK, and with a 50mph top speed and a 0-30mph time of around 10sec, it sounds as though even this one would struggle to keep up with regular traffic. But the way in which the powertrain has been calibrated means it has enough performance for most situations. 

It helps that you perhaps think you’re going faster than you really are: the thin glass and plastic body panels mean 20mph feels more like 40mph, and to get the best out of it, you have to press the throttle pedal harder than you think necessary. 

Indeed, going uphill, even with one passenger on board, it can feel lacklustre, but in every other case, this vehicle is not unsuitable for faster driving. It goes about its business in a fun, controlled manner. 

Under hard acceleration, it is composed and quite smooth, and while the rear-mounted motor can get noisy at higher speeds, it doesn’t ever get distracting. It makes as much noise as you would expect a car at this price to, but after a while, it blends into the background. However, at pretty much any speed, road and wind noise are very pronounced and become tiresome after a while.

At the top end of the acceleration curve, the Duo's enthusiasm to accelerate begins to dwindle, but you are likely to have arrived at a corner or the next set of traffic lights before you reach that point.

Besides, you can tell that the powertrain has been devised to encourage efficient driving. It gives you a kick of initial acceleration before dulling the response from the motor, which is useful for low-speed manoeuvres and negotiating traffic. 

No version of the Duo is capable of fast charging, which means it will take three hours and 50 minutes to charge from 20% to 80% at a plug socket, and 25 minutes faster if you attach it to a Type 2 charger. The lack of fast charging could become something of an issue in the urban areas it is geared towards, especially because driveways are in short supply. 

RIDE & HANDLING

Mobilize Duo front corner

If the Duo is going to be driven by both first-time buyers and multiple users who are unfamiliar with it, its driving dynamics need to be unintimidating, approachable and safe.

Generally, it achieves this. It has mostly consistent levels of grip that are enough for the sort of environments it will be used in. Its chassis allows you to explore its potential no matter what speed you’re travelling at and short springs ensure well-controlled lean. However, you will find that its Continental tyres do run out of grip quite quickly if you approach a corner with too much enthusiasm. This inevitably results in understeer, which can be curtailed only if you slow down - a response that is ideally suited to the average young or inexperienced driver at whom this machine is aimed.

The short wheelbase and 13in alloys mean that it is very easy to place on the road, but the trade-off is that the ride feels quite firm, especially when going over deep potholes or cobbled streets. You can expect a sharp judder to be sent through the cabin and up to the seatbase in those situations, but in every other respect, it feels well controlled, with a quality of ride that matches the Citroën Ami. In any case, the quick, mostly responsive steering allows you to easily dodge the worst of the road surface's imperfections with ease.

The steering itself could be more progressive and intuitive. Initially, it is responsive, but as you begin to explore more of the lock, it starts to get uncomfortably heavy. This could become a slight chore in tight city streets or when making a U-turn - particularly if you’re not used to it. 

During the initial stages of the pedal’s travel, the brakes are almost entirely lacking in feel and responsiveness, but if you use them with more assertion - using more of the pedal travel, like the accelerator - they begin to wake up. 

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Mobilize Duo lead

Standard equipment levels are generous, with the basic Duo 80 getting keyless entry, Bluetooth, heating for the driver's seat and steering wheel, Type 2 charging and USB-C connectors, and it is the only quadricycle to come with an airbag. For each model, you will pay extra to get rear parking sensors, air conditioning and more colours.

Overall pricing has not yet been finalised. However, it is expected to cost between £9000 and £10,000, making it slightly more expensive than the Ami, but nearly £7000 less than the Microlino.

Notably, it is the only quadricycle to come with an eight-year/50,000-mile warranty for the battery.

VERDICT

Mobilize Duo front static

The Duo overturns many common preconceptions about quadricycles of this ilk because it offers users more than they would expect in several departments.

Subjectively, its spiritual predecessor was uncompetitive in most key areas, especially against like-minded city cars. However, the Duo builds upon what we liked about the Twizy, such as its dinky proportions and unmatched suitability to town driving, by offering a more comprehensive standard kit list to match most superminis', a better electric range than many more direct rivals, and driving dynamics that suit its customer base very well.

As a result, it feels more like the finished product; if the Twizy had been in development for a few years longer, something like the Duo would probably have resulted.

It’s not entirely perfect, though. We would have traded some of its body control for greater ride comfort and noise isolation, and its heavy steering is at odds with the easy-to-drive brief. That said, for just a few thousand pounds more than the Ami and almost £7000 less than the Microlino, the Duo has the potential to become the default option for this sector of the market.

Jonathan Bryce

Jonathan Bryce
Title: Editorial Assistant

Jonathan is an editorial assistant working with Autocar. He has held this position since March 2024, having previously studied at the University of Glasgow before moving to London to become an editorial apprentice and pursue a career in motoring journalism. 

His role at work involves running Autocar's sister title Move Electric, which is most notably concerned with electric cars. His other roles include writing new and updating existing new car reviews, and appearing on Autocar's social media channels including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.