By James Stinson
Small cars are making something of an electric comeback and Nissan is joining the party with this, the new Pixo.
Reviving a name last used more than a decade ago, the Pixo is a compact, four-seat electric city car designed to offer a relatively affordable entry point into Nissan’s expanding EV range.
And if it looks a little familiar, there’s good reason. The Pixo is essentially Nissan’s take on the new Renault Twingo E-Tech, making the most of the long-running alliance between the two marques. It will even be manufactured by Renault at its Novo Mesto factory in Slovenia.
Small car, clever packaging
At just under 3.8 metres long, the five-door Pixo should be right at home around town. A tight 9.9-metre turning circle helps, while independent sliding rear seats allow owners to trade passenger room for additional luggage space.
There’s an impressive 356-litre boot with the rear seats in place, including 50 litres of cable storage, and another 18 litres of storage dotted around the cabin.
Up front are 7-inch digital instruments and a 10-inch touchscreen. Google built-in incorporates Maps and Google Play, while its Gemini voice assistant can handle functions using natural speech. Facial recognition can also automatically call up individual driver settings.
Modest power, decent range
There’s just one electric motor, producing 60kW, or around 80bhp, and driving the front wheels. Performance is modest, with 0-62mph taking around 12 seconds, but instant electric response should make the Pixo feel considerably livelier where it matters around town. The closely related Twingo uses the same 60kW drivetrain.
Range is up to 161 miles, which looks perfectly adequate for commuting and urban use, though buyers regularly tackling longer motorway journeys may find rivals offering larger batteries more appealing.
Rapid charging peaks at 50kW, taking the battery from 15 to 80 per cent in 28 minutes, while 11kW AC charging is also included. Those aren’t headline-grabbing charging figures, but the relatively small battery means stops shouldn’t be excessively lengthy.
Plenty of standard kit
Final UK trim specifications haven’t yet been announced, but Nissan says some surprisingly useful equipment will be standard across the range.
That includes 50kW rapid charging, Google built-in, one-pedal driving and a strong suite of driver assistance technology. Adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, Lane Departure Warning and hands-free parking are among the systems Nissan says will be fitted as standard.
Even the entry model should therefore avoid feeling stripped out, something increasingly important as buyers compare European city EVs against generously equipped Chinese alternatives.
Tough competition
And there are plenty of those. The Pixo enters a rapidly improving small-EV market that includes the Dacia Spring, Leapmotor T03, BYD Dolphin Surf and Hyundai Inster, as well as its Renault Twingo sibling.
The Pixo scores well on range, an unusually generous boot for such a small car and impressive connectivity.
Prices haven’t been confirmed yet, but the Pixo is expected to start at around £17,000 to £18,000 when it goes on sale in early 2027. That should make it one of the cheapest electric cars on sale in the UK.
