A tiny two-person electric car may be the last choice for Formula One race car drivers, but that was the electric ride of choice last week as Formula One drivers rode around Dubai. With massive luxury cars as the status quo, the Twizy was an unusual choice. But alas, it was all about promotion by Renault. Seems like Renault, after its failure with Better Place electric car company in Israel, is testing the unlikely market in Dubai.

The Formula One drive taped by Renault was a publicity stunt no doubt, as Renault, the makers of the Twizy have posted the video online. See below. Even though it’s a commercial, it’s still fun to watch.

The drivers Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber and Caterham’s Charles Pic cruised through the city in a battery-powered electric vehicle race around the streets of Dubai, even doing a little urban dune bashing in a dusty parking lot. At one point they stop to a staged group of young people, in western clothing, asking: Do you want to get in? I know I would. I mean, take a look at those guys.

But with all the riches in Dubai, one positive green idea that they could also push in the oil-fueled economy is hooking eco car insurance like that being offered by the Green Insurance Company in the UK. Plant trees for every month you drive? This could take driving green in Dubai to a whole new level.

According to the National newspaper, the pair toured the roads of Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai, and Safa Park in the tiny Twizys, which are only 2.34 metres long and 1.24 metres wide.

“Driving down Dubai’s iconic roads and alleys was an amazing experience,” said Webber. “What made it even more special was the fact that the Twizy is a green car. The silence inside the vehicle was pretty impressive.”

Leaving out the rest of the PR-planted quotes in the National story, the Renault Twizy will be available for purchase in the UAE in 2014. The newspaper acknowledged it was a promotional campaign, but what was missing is the all too common glossing over of the environmental problems in the region –– something severely under-reported.

The article doesn’t talk about the problems of glorifying race car driving, habitat loss from dune bashing, or the problem with road accidents in Dubai.

So what do you think are Renault’s plans?  Are they hoping the Twizy will be adopted as a new Dubai shopping car? Not likely since Arab families tend to be big, but probably something that will appeal to the maids and urban expats from western countries looking to do their own little green part in that neck of the desert.

And would I feel safe in a Twizy on crazy Middle Eastern urban highways with all the 4×4’s beside me? No way. If I had a choice I’d be taking my family in a Hummer, but make it electric please.

(Photos: screengrabs from the Renault Twizy video)

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The Israeli electric car company Better Place is seeing rough times (it just hired its third CEO in as many months after firing two others), but it has reduced its leasing plan to about $400 a month including charge and battery swaps to attract more customers. Thanks to the millions in marketing done by Better Place, the Israeli public is more than ever interested in going electric. With its fair share of oil embargoes from the Middle East, Israelis are too aware of the cost of foreign oil. Locals do want to see greener modes of transport, and ones that use less foreign oil. A second car commuter car, or a first car choice for those living in congested cities may just be the Renault Twizy, at a comfortable price of about Euros 7000 or NIS 50,000 depending on the taxes. Twizy, a mini electric two-seater, will be piloted in the Israeli city Kfar Saba, located about 1/2 an hour north east of Tel Aviv, according to Globes.

The Twizy is a 2.32 meters long car which carries only two people, one behind the other. Its electric motor is powered with a rechargeable lithium battery and over all the car weighs less than 450 kilograms, topping 45 miles per hour. In Europe, most countries let those over 16 drive it without a license.

In Israel this could be a good replacement to the moped drivers who dangerously weave in and out of traffic and who drive on sidewalks. But it would be a hard sell to young couples who tend to have children back to back and earlier than in other western nations. How can a Twizy carry carseats for two babies? It wouldn’t work. But as a commuter car within the city limits it’s a great idea, maybe, and especially in Tel Aviv where finding parking spaces has been known to cause light to severe insanity among the locals who try to park for the night.

Also Tel Aviv, like Paris and its Twizy electric rental pilot, wants to start rolling out a mini electric car program for its people. But we haven’t heard any updates on that news yet.

I say make buses better and get that light rail in order city officials and the people of Tel Aviv won’t need cars at all. But I support the notion of going electric if it means that those driving gas guzzlers will switch over to smaller, emissions-less vehicles. Going electric makes the air cleaner, and reduces the need for fossil fuel even if Israel is still burning fossil fuels at its power plants.

Or like in the city of Jaffa where I spend a lot of time the authorities seem to have no problem with people driving electric golf carts on the road. You can find a cheap one for about $1000, and carry more passangers and groceries that the Twizy will allow; but you won’t look as sexy that’s for sure.

All images via Renault websites

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