Hot men. Hot competitions. Hot downloads. Hot nightclubs. Hot saunas. Renault is aiming to turn local expectations of economical hatchbacks on their heads, and put women in the driver's seat.

Coinciding with the launch of Twingo, the "Flirting with Life" campaign will see 40 ladies having the day of their life: champagne, sushi, shoes, facials, waited on hand and foot by the four Twingo hotties, Max, Mike, Mark and Peter.

A brand new compact hatchback, Twingo is no econo-box. It is squarely aimed at the ladies, but it's not a chick car, and in no way is the styling girly. Quriky perhaps. Basically it's a modern car for the modern young city woman: practical, economical and nippy, but also funky, cheeky and fun to drive.

For more info on the car and the competition, visit www.newtwingo.co.za, where you can find out more about the Twingo hotties, and customise them. Make them do some vacuum cleaning. Or dust. Or put them in fur handcuffs. Your choice.

Alternatively join the "Flirting with Life" fanpage on Facebook.

The car itself is a three-door hatchback, with typically French styling. Its 1.2-litre engine consumes 5.7l per 100km, with enough power for cruising and enough zip for running about town.

Safety? Four airbags and loads of reinforcement in the body to dissipate impact energy. But Renault wants to prevent a crash in the first place: good visibility and ABS brakes with electronic brake force distribution plus brake assist. The Twingo even thoughtfully flashes your hazard lights during an emergency stop, to warn the car behind to look out.

And it has an MP3-CD stereo with fingertip audio controls, and an optional connectivity box that let you plug in your iPod or USB drive.

It's what women want, Renault reckons.