Mobilize Duo Review 2025

Even the most ardent car enthusiasts feel envious pangs for the freedom that’s inherent with two-wheeled motoring. Not purely for when out exploring the winding ribbons of asphalt across the UK but also in those stop-start urban snarl-ups. If only there was a small car that could nip in and out of those slender, motorbike-friendly gaps in traffic. Well, there is, sort of — feast your eyes on the Mobilize Duo.

We said ‘sort of’ because, strictly speaking, Mobilize Duo’s not a car — from a legal perspective it’s a heavy quadricycle, but we’ll explain more about what that really means as we go on. Regardless of the legalese, it’s driven in the same way you would any electric car, albeit one that’s narrow.

At around 1300mm wide the Duo’s around two-thirds of the broadness of a conventional small car — take the new Renault 5 E-Tech as a prime example at 2020mm. The Mobilize is also 90mm skinnier than it’s nearest rival, the Citroen Ami. It can’t be spun around on the proverbial sixpence but its 6.8-metre turning circle will win you admiring glances from black cab drivers.

While both the Duo and Ami are two-seaters, in the Citroen the passenger sits to the driver’s right by dint of it being left-hand drive-only. With the Mobilize, the passenger sits behind the driver in tandem — just as they did in the model the Duo essentially replaces, the Renault Twizy.

Mobilize is Renault’s standalone brand that’s focusing on urban mobility solutions and the Duo is the Twizy recipe honed and improved, not least by the introduction of scissor-action doors that are now fully glazed, keeping the airiness of before but without all of the weather joining you. Even if the Mobilize’s interior does get wet, then no problem — it was designed to be hosed out for easy cleaning.

Another leap from the Twizy is the Duo’s potential urban driving range which thanks to its 10.3kWh battery is claimed to be around 100 miles on the City driving cycle, although that’s yet to be fully ratified. Similarly, there’s no guidance yet on recharging times, but the Mobilize has a conventional Type 2 electrical connection whereas the Renault original had a three-pin plug.

Mobilize hasn’t yet confirmed how much power the Duo has available but heavy quadricycles are limited to a 21PS maximum — its 48-volt motor driving the rear wheels is also used as one of the propulsion components on the Renault Austral.

A key advantage for heavy quadricycles over their light counterparts is that they’re legally permitted to travel at speeds of up to 50mph which makes the Mobilize Duo a far better prospect for those who commute into a city from an outlying village than the Citroen Ami with its 28mph maximum can hope to be.

As a package the Duo’s been designed to be cost-effective and at least 95% recyclable, with interchangeable front and rear bumpers as well as side sills. Most of the exterior bodywork is unpainted black plastic helping to keep repair costs down from minor city scrapes — that’s assuming you don’t like the battle-scarred look.

What exterior colours there are find themselves replicated on the Mobilize Duo’s Boombox dashboard that doubles as a sound system. Although there’s a natty 1980s-style digital display incorporating essential speed and battery info, any infotainment touchscreen features are that of your actual phone when mounted into the dash itself.

Two trim levels will be available for the Mobilize Duo, with Pro being the entry-level model. It’s the more basic of the two featuring keyless entry, a driver’s airbag, a heated windscreen and a USB-C socket for charging your phone.

Evo is the plusher version, relatively speaking, which also gets you Bluetooth connectivity, a heated front seat with more cushioning and upholstery, plus the orange and white colour pack for the body and Boombox. Other colours are optional as are air-conditioning and rear parking sensors — how vital the latter extra is on a model that’s just 2430mm long is debatable, especially now as the Duo features a rear window, unlike its Twizy forebear.

What you won’t find in the Duo is a boot space as such, although Mobilize claims this city car has 300 litres of storage space inside it — presumably large amounts of that are alongside the driver’s seat, so instruct your passenger to avoid kicking it.

Order books for the Mobilize Duo are expected to open in the second quarter of 2025 ahead of customer deliveries starting in the summer. Very early indications are that the Pro version will cost £9300 and the Evo £9999. Add a few options are you’re getting remarkably close to the price of the cheapest Dacia Spring…

Keep this page bookmarked for further news ahead of our comprehensive Mobilize Duo review in the coming months.