Twingo and smart are most-stolen

CAR MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS THIEVES’ FAVOURITES – WITH HIGH-END BMW X6 STILL BEING TARGETED RENAULT’S Twingo and the Smart Fortwo have been named as the No1 cars in France – for thefts. The pair

are way ahead of the other vehicles on the “thieves’ favourites” list compiled by _Auto Plus_ magazine after getting figures from insurance companies and banks covering more than 20 million

vehicles. _Auto Plus_ says that the Twingo and Fortwo are “easy to break into and ideal to be broken up and sold for spares”. It added that they were “not very resistant to thieves and

easily found in city streets”. The same could not be said for the next-placed victim, the high-end BMW X6, which has a range of electronic protection devices. However, the brand has been

targeted by high-end thieves who have bought equipment to create copies of the vehicles’ electronic keys. The X6 was also in third place in 2012. BMW’s sibling manufacturer Mini has its

Countryman on the list in fourth place and the BMW Series 1 is in fifth. Renault’s Megane is in sixth before BMW returns with the X5. The final three spots in the top 10 are filled by the

Citroën C8, Citroën DS3 and Volkswagen Scirocco. Like the BMWs, the in-demand DS3 has also been targeted by thieves, who have managed to counterfeit its electronic key. _Auto Plus_ says that

police arrested a gang responsible for many of the thefts at the end of last year. Photo: Renault