20. Renault Twingo
Renault presented the Twingo in 1993. It was a supermini and an answer to traffic jams and the lack of parking spaces in major European cities. The Renault engineers’ idea was to produce a small car with lots of room inside. It even featured seats you could fold into a full-size twin bed.
The success was immediate and the Europeans loved Twingo’s compact dimensions, cute styling and dependable mechanics. Although most models came with a diminutive 1.1-liter four-cylinder engine producing around 60 HP, the performance was good as long as you stayed in the city. On the highways, the little Twingo was best to stay in the slow lane.
Fans of France have the French kiss, French fries, and some pretty groovy French cars, although some have never reached U.S. shores. That is too bad because France has some fast, attractive cars to offer American car fans.