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Does it hold some memory for you Zero? About 8yrs ago I looked after exactly the same model in the same colour for a friend in the village. Apart from the fact it was troublesome I thought it a quite unremarkable car.
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No special memories for me, tho I remember it as a remarkably comfortable wagon, but they are very sought after by certain people.
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"collector's car" - I can remember like it was yesterday when my boss had a 1991 21 in same colour but a hatchback delivered as his company car. We both enjoyed driving it for 3½ years and then my dad bought it and ran it for several more reliable years.
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Had a 2068cc NA Diesel Savanna for several years, excellent car extremely comfortable and the ability to take corners at astonishing speed without any drama.
Difficult to find aftermarket non friction parts at the time and genuine were very expensive.
edit...had the injectors fully overhauled for the princely sum of £40.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sun 16 Jan 11 at 10:43
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Oh well... it was just me then.
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>> Oh well... it was just me then.
>>
Not really FL, there were many petrol engined equivalents but few Diesels, which obviously wasn't any road rocket being NA but was very quiet (remember VW Diesels of the day would wake the dead) and would cruise at 90 all day long giving around 40mpg at that speed, which was virtually unheard of in such a big estate.
Reasonably simple to work on too, CHG leaked oil down the outside of the block, a reasonably simple job to fix including valve removal to clean and reseat, whipped the sump off and checked the crank etc while i was at it...found no wear at all after 130k miles though it had proper service history with oil change every 5 to 6k.
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Former manager of mine had a Savanna (or however it was spelt) 2.1 turbodiesel about 5 years ago. Typical French magic-carpet ride and a huge boot. Pretty tidy for what would then have been about 12 years old, too, and went very respectably.
Unfortunately it threw a rod through the block about 8 months after he bought it (never did get to the bottom of why) and that was the end of that.
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I had a Renault 21 once. Ive never bought another Renault. Go figure. Its old tat, wasnt even a great car when new. Id have a Pug 505 over that any day.
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does more than 45 mph in crosswinds.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 16 Jan 11 at 13:04
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Only if it starts in the first place ;-) mine often didnt.
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The 21 was an evolved 18. I had an 18GTX estate and it was an exceptionally good car as well as being very pretty. It wasn't perfect, flimsy in some ways and roughly finished under the skin, but went very well and was quite economical as well as comfortable. First car I owned with power steering and electric (front only) window lifts.
I got rid of it well before its time after it had been vandalised, and still regret it bitterly.
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...the 21 was an evolved 18...
I sold a few R18 turbos.
A petrol turbo was unusual in the early 1980s.
Anyone who test drove one was impressed by the overtaking oomph and 'whoosh' sound which was unique to the car.
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>> A petrol turbo was unusual in the early 1980s.
>>
>> Anyone who test drove one was impressed by the overtaking oomph and 'whoosh' sound which
>> was unique to the car.
>>
>>
>>
And anyone who worked on them, or had to order parts for them, was not amazed by the raft of warranty claims!
They did shift a bit when they were working properly though.
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Did Savanah mean estate or was that the trim level?
Comfortable car, I remember thinking the chunky plastic controls were futuristic looking.
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Estate. It didnt describe the terrain to be found in the back.
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The Savanna was the 7 seat thing and they were sought after by folk with large families for that reason. I knew a couple of people who ran them as successors to the Peugeot 504 family estates.
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>> The Savanna was the 7 seat thing
There must have been something not ideal about the boot seats, I sat in the dickie (sp?) seats in the Montego and the 240 owned either side of the savannah, but never in the renault.
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Wasn't the third row of seats forward facing in the Renault, like the Peugot 504/505, rather than rear facing as in the Volvo / Montego?
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>> Wasn't the third row of seats forward facing in the Renault
That would have been it, leg room probably.
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>> A petrol turbo was unusual in the early 1980s.
Perhaps I am mistaken, but my impression is that the first turbos were - often quite crude, with sudden power delivery and strange flat spots - all petrol, on performance variants of Euroboxes. Of course they have evolved since then and are now often quite sensible in their behaviour.
Turbodiesel cars came a bit later, but being a much better idea soon became widespread and are now almost universal in Europe. Turbocharged diesels were available in heavy commercial applications much earlier though, from the 1950s.
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...but my impression is that the first turbos were - often quite crude, with sudden power delivery and strange flat spots - all petrol...
The R18 turbo certainly had 'sudden power delivery'.
Not sure about flat spots, but I'm fairly sure the turbo's operation would be regarded as crude by today's standards.
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These were awful cars when new, like all Renaults, and I'm sure time can't have helped them. I wouldn't wish one on an enemy.
If you ever find the need to torture me, simply threaten me with having to some some major work on one - I'll spill all my secrets to avoid that horror.
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The first turbo Renault I drove was a 5 GT Turbo. No finesse to the delivery at all, and it needed 3000 RPM before the boost gauge showed anything meaningful, but boy did it go once on boost. Proper, squeeze in the kidneys wallop. Flawed, but incredibly exciting.
Shortly after that I drove a 21 Turbo which was a lovely car in its day. Quick and very well sorted.
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...The first turbo Renault I drove was a 5 GT Turbo...
When I was working at the Renault dealer we had a little incident with the 5 Gordini demo.
One of the mechanics turned it over on a straight bit of the North Circular.
The car skidded - or sledded - along the road on its roof.
Heat produced by the friction caused the headlining to melt.
The top of the mechanic's head was quite badly burned, because it was resting against the inside of the roof.
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>>The first turbo Renault I drove was a 5 GT Turbo. No finesse to the delivery at all, and it needed 3000 RPM
You should've tried the Ariel Golden Arrow that had been 'breathed on' back in '67 I took on a test ride.
I might've been tempted if what I suspect I heard was the piston hitting the head wasn't there.
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i had a few of them always good sellers with 7 seats
yes they had problems but i never blew on one
i did have auction fever with a fellow friend trader bidder one night and a car valued at £1500 we bid up to £2200 on it both goading each other, however i have a better poker face and fortunately didnt end up owning it
he had it over 12 months without a single tickle
how he hated me afterwards but we never dueled under the rostrum ever again
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My uncle once owned a R20. Quite a large car from memory. 5 door hatch I think, metallic gold, flimsy bodywork but very comfortable. Possibly around the time my father had one of the first Passats in the country, an estate PKY 888M.
Sorry, I digress.
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> flimsy bodywork but very comfortable.
That pretty much summed up all Renaults, especially from the 1980's onwards. Engines were pretty reliable, proven units, gearboxes strong but with horrendous linkages and rubbery actions (automatics were very good though) larger models had dubious handling and all had excellent seats.
I still think the Renault 12 was an excellent car in its day, and the 16 was well ahead of its time; I owned a 16 TS automatic,lovely car let down by its complete inability to resist corrosion.
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...I owned a 16 TS automatic,lovely car let down by its complete inability to resist corrosion...
You needed a lorry drivers' forearms to turn the steering wheel.
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Dad had an 18 GTD Estate, that became my run-around after leaving polytechnic once he had finished with it. Very comfortable in the old French way, and really quite nippy, but prone to massive under-steer with the heavy diesel engine stuck out in front of the front axle.
The best but was, being an old school diesel, that if anyone tailgated you, you just needed to put your foot down and cover them in a cloud of soot. This was normal behaviour for diesels in those days.
Sold it on to a friend, who had many more years of use until it eventually failed the MOT on rust (quelle surprise!)
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>> You needed a lorry drivers' forearms to turn the steering wheel.
>>
>>
>>
True, but I'm used to that; cut my teeth on Landys, Bedfords and Scammells in the REME, went on to drive loads of old heaps like Ford D Series, Dodge Commando and the like in civvy street. One reason I feel safe leaving the old GMC in town is the sure knowledge that no-one under the age of 40 would get more than 50 yards without demolishing something with it! ;-)
Just remembered; when I first bought the 16 it took me a couple of days to find the choke; hidden beneath the steering column, there was me thinking it had an automatic jobbie! :-)
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>> I still think the Renault 12 was an excellent car in its day, >>
I see an early R12 most mornings on the school run - even through all the recent snow (and salt) on the roads. Can't see it surviving much longer being treated like that!
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...I still think the Renault 12 was an excellent car in its day...
Agreed.
Front drive, so roomy inside, nice compliant ride and willing engine.
It competed with the Morris Marina.
Need I say more?
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My dad had a Renault 12 for a while when I was a kid. The most memorable feature of it was the sunroof which leaked so badly that the passenger footwell could have 2" of water in it after a downpour. :-D
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Need I say more?
>
>>> yes
it was french so going to the little shop at the end of the street that sold most car parts didnt really do french stuff did it
so while on a sunday morning you could buy a rear wheel cylinder repair kit or if you were sensible a new rear wheel cylinder for a marina you had no chance for a reno
also if you went to the scrappies for a s/h gearbox you could buy one for about £25
you wouldnt get a froggie one for £25 because home mechanics bought simple cars to work on and so the reno 12 was piled 5 cars up and the roof was crushed in anyway (oh and look at the way the engine and gearbox is in it,im not going to buy one of those if it needs a clutch on my back next week...)
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...Need I say more?...yes...
I used the Marina as an example because I drove one after the other one day at the garage.
The Marina was truly dreadful in comparison to the R12.
As regards the bits, factors were just starting to supply spares for 'foreign' cars, but availability was nothing like as good for BL, Ford and Vauxhall.
The R12 was in for a clutch.
I remember we put it on axle stands at the front with two of us underneath withdrawing the gearbox.
The wheeled ramp might have been busy, or we might have thought it was just as easy to do the job on the ground.
Or did you need the wheels free and access underneath, thereby ruling out the wheelfree ramp as well?
Last edited by: Iffy on Mon 17 Jan 11 at 13:24
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The R12 is a common sight in Turkey - and no doubt many other countries.
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@ Bellboy;
Renaults weren't half as bad for spares as you imply; on the 1970's models such as the 4, 5, 6 and 12 there was a considerable amount of parts interchangability, especially servicing bits; Renault were quite sensible about that in those days. I worked in the parts department of a Renault dealer in Nottingham in the early 1980's so can vouch for this.
The 12 had one weak point that I remember; on the gearshift linkage were two oblong isolastic-type bushes which were prone to breaking in extremely cold weather, due to the rubber becoming brittle. One such harsh winter resulted in most of the 12's in Nottingham being off the road for about three weeks when the factory ran out of spares.
Am I right in thinking that Dacia made them under licence in Romania? Certainly the engine turned up in the Volvo 340.
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>> Am I right in thinking that Dacia made them under licence in Romania?
Yes. There are loads of them still going in Romania.
It was sold here as the Dacia Denem.
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>> It was sold here as the Dacia Denem.
>>
And over here, although not many as they were well past their prime by then.
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...Yes. There are loads of them still going in Romania...
Something rings a vague bell with me about another R12 clone, possibly from eastern Europe.
I might be getting mixed up with something else.
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I worked in the parts department of a Renault dealer in Nottingham in the early 1980's so can vouch for this.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>harleyman
>
i was on about-the likes of your car discount shop of the time with a knowledgeable ex stores man behind the counter
there wasnt the demand for renault stuff back then but there was for your ford and vauxhall stuff,you may well remember if a man came off the street into the domain of the trade counter at a dealership of any make its was the parts mans ambition to belittle him with his microfiche and pull his pants down hard
not happy days im afraid and half the time the parts man was a waste of space and wouldnt know a frig from a frog (no offence)
unfortunately its going that way again with number plate recognition needed to ortder parts for ever more complicated glorified charabangs
why do you think we have the likes of andrew page to depend on these days?for reliable good parts that come via the manufacturer direct
have you been in a ford dealership for parts lately?
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you may well remember if a man came off the street into the
>> domain of the trade counter at a dealership of any make its was the parts
>> mans ambition to belittle him with his microfiche and pull his pants down hard
>> not happy days im afraid and half the time the parts man was a waste
>> of space and wouldnt know a frig from a frog (no offence)
>> unfortunately its going that way again
>> have you been in a ford dealership for parts lately?
>>
>>
I can't speak for the dealerships round your way, but our parts manager, a very "old-school" type, had a very good reputation with the local independent garages for being a man of his word who would do his best for his customers, and instilled the same qualities into his staff.
I've spent many an hour on microfiches myself, chasing part numbers for the various exotica including Dauphines and Gordini Turbos. The only time I remember my boss having any problems with a customer was when we spent several days sourcing some hard-to-get decals and trim parts for a 17 Gordini, which would have been out of production for about eight years; he phoned the customer and to inform him that we'd not only found them but they'd be there the following day, and was told that he didn't need them now. It was the only time I ever heard him swear.
Mind you, I do remember having to grit my teeth occasionally when customers insisted the parts book was wrong and they were right. Perhaps in your area the parts salesmen were a bit less tolerant? ;-)
Last edited by: Harleyman on Mon 17 Jan 11 at 17:17
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...I can't speak for the dealerships round your way, but our parts manager, a very "old-school" type...
Perhaps it has something to do with the individual dealer.
The Renault place I worked at was privately owned and the owners insisted the job was done right.
Our parts manager had been in the job years and I don't think he would have recognised the parts counters described by Bellboy, let alone run one himself.
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Actually a customer of mine, a supplier of aluminium, was telling me recently that Renault with the 21 were revolutionary at the time, pioneering as they did the use of light weight materials (e.g. aluminium) in cars back when customers apparently cared about these things. Just checked Wikipedia and it seems he has a point, a Renault 21 only weighed between 950 and 1150kg which wasn't much more than the contemporary Golf. I didn't know that, remembering the highlight of the 21 being its availability with engines transversely or longitudinally mounted depending on trim level. And here was me thinking the last desirable Renaults were the 16, the 20 and the 30TX.
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Istr the R21 was marketed as one of the first repmobiles to have a genuine 110mph or more max speed.
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Renault certainly used lightweight panels! I remember an embarrassing episode when the brand new Renault 9 was launched in our showroom; one of our sales reps, a fairly large chap, leaned on the wing with one hand and it gave way, creasing the panel!
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...when the brand new Renault 9...
Nice car, deserved to do better, although small saloons didn't sell well, then as now.
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...But it's hatch sister, the Renault 11, did OK didn't it?
Useless fact fyi - the Savannah was named Nevada in other countries, but someone had beaten Renault to the Nevada name in the UK...
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>> And here was me thinking the last desirable Renaults were
>> the 16, the 20 and the 30TX.
As usual, I seem to desire the things others find unattractive. I used to love the 20s and 30s, tried to convince my Dad to buy a black top spec 30 once to replace his Ford Zodiac Executive (last model, the squarish one, Mark 4 was it?), which had been written off somewhat surprisingly after being hit by a Triumph Spitfire. It was a beautiful thing (the 30). He wasn't having any of it and bought a Triumph 2000.
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I remember seeing a Renault 30 in a garden centre carpark in the late 90's, driven by an old couple, it was mint. Never seen another. Actually, its been quite a while since I saw a 25 either or a Safrane - do big old Renaults get swallowed up by the earth or something? I always rather fancied a 25...
cgi.ebay.co.uk/1988-RENAULT-25-MONACO-BRONZE-/330514219806?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4cf42ec31e
Last edited by: stunorthants29 on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 10:51
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>> a while since I saw a 25 either or a Safrane - do big old
>> Renaults get swallowed up by the earth or something? I always rather fancied a 25...
>>
>> cgi.ebay.co.uk/1988-RENAULT-25-MONACO-BRONZE-/330514219806?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4cf42ec31e
Good grief, I'd forgotten those things existed. A mate of mine had one in the early 90s, I think it was a Monaco as it had chintzy and remarkably tasteless light brown leather upholstery to go with the totally bizarre and creaky dashboard. It must have been a V6 as he'd bought it as a cheap performance car and it was certainly fast. I remember it being comfortable but totally pointless as a new car, but of course worthless at 3 or 4 years old so a bargain.
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I had a few Renaults before deciding never again - an 18, a 5GTX, two 5 GT Turbos, a 19 16valve and one of those brown leather Monaco R21s. The 21 we took on a family holiday to the South of France, and although it wasn't much of a driver's car, the passengers still remember it as a really comfy car.
Some of them still comment about it today, years later, in a way they never have about other "luxury" cars I've owned over the years, such as Jaguars and various Lexuses, so from that point of view Renault had something right.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 11:30
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I've always fancied a big Renault. Like this:
tinyurl.com/5sv4tdz
That bronze 25 Monaco is in exactly the colour I'd want - for some reason I love brown/bronze colour cars.
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When I was young and foolish I SO wanted one of these Renaults - but even my heart wouldn't persuade my head it was sensible on any level.
www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/vehicles/road/cars/renault_alpine_gta_v6.html
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Someone local to me runs one of those as a daily driver, I see it nearly every morning in the rush hour. Silver one. I don't think they're that mad a buy.
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Oh stop it.
*checks bank account furtively*
Last edited by: Crankcase on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 11:38
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This thread prompted me to search for Renault Avantimes on autotrader just now. Oh good grief. How much more fun would that be than my Ford Galaxy???? What a motor.
Eeeeeek.
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>> This thread prompted me to search for Renault Avantimes
...and I had a look on ebay for a 19 16v like the J reg I used to own. There's one going for under £1k...
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That's not a lot of money for a toy which will give you years of enjoyment, now is it Focus?
:-)
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>> That's not a lot of money for a toy which will give you years of
>> enjoyment, now is it Focus?
Mmm... already got 4 cars on the drive with stepsons living at home, no room for a 'toy', more's the pity.
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>> This thread prompted me to search for Renault Avantimes on autotrader just now.
The Avantime would feature somewhere in my list of the top 10 most beautiful cars ever made.
Totally, utterly pointless, but to be honest so would most of the rest of the list be. A lovely piece of design. I was gutted when Top Gear wrecked one.
On the 25, I remember seeing an advert in a car magazine for the 25 Turbo and its 140 mph top speed. I recall that being a distinctly impressive figure for its era.
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>> When I was young and foolish I SO wanted one of these Renaults - but
>> even my heart wouldn't persuade my head it was sensible on any level.
How about this one - £4,000 spent on repairs in last 12 months and still undrivable so spares or repair! tinyurl.com/6g6cfzn
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That's a Vel Satis - the one I wanted was an Alpine GTA. But cheers for the thought.
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>> I've always fancied a big Renault. Like this:
>>
>> tinyurl.com/5sv4tdz
I actually saw a Vel Satis the other day. The styling hasn't improved with age, the long front overhang especially looks very awkward. I quite like the Avantime but not enough to want one.
On the other hand if a good 16TX came my way I would be seriously tempted. Bouncy long travel suspension, armchair seats and a dashboard stuffed full of dials but clearly styled by a 5 year old - fantastic.
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We had a black Renault 30 auto in the showroom for ages.
Each dealer at the time was prevailed upon by Mr Renault to take one.
Many put them on as demos for the MD, but our female directors were more sensible, one preferred a R16 and the other a R18 estate.
I can't remember what happened to the R30, we might have sold it retail, but I suspect it eventually went to another dealer who had managed to take an order.
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Mrs F had one of those in the early 80s... a black R.30 V6 auto. Magnificent car... but the fuel!
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...Mrs F had one of those in the early 80s... a black R.30 V6 auto...
Could have been the same one. :)
I think all of the batch the dealers were 'forced' to take were black.
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I don't remember seeing a Renault 30 in any colour except black. My girlfriend's parents (early 80s) had a Renault 20TS. Lovely car, very comfortable and with stuff like electric windows which were a real novelty at the time. Inexplicably they replaced it with an estate car of Japanese origin, I can't remember exactly which one but it was enormous and had a 6 cylinder engine so probably a Toyota Crown. I remember her Dad didn't like it much after the Renault but being self employed was grateful that it started in the morning, even when the weather was damp.
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those renault 30's had alloy wheels made of marzipan
i had a very long conversation with the owner of one in brown at the classic nec car show last november
lovely cars but ive never wanted to own one
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>>>I think all of the batch the dealers were 'forced' to take were black.
Why forced... because it was a big thirsty car?
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...Why forced... because it was a big thirsty car?...
Renault forced the dealers to take a R30 presumably because there were a load lying around the factory unsold.
The dealers didn't tend to stock them otherwise because it was big and thirsty.
Renault were often trying to offload one model or another.
The dealer were I worked was unusual in that we bought all our cars outright, not on finance via a stocking plan.
This meant my bosses were in a stronger position than most to resist demands by Renault.
It sometimes caused a problem with dealer swaps.
If we wanted a car from another dealer, they were not too keen to take our offered swap, because it meant them taking a 'fully paid' car into their stock.
The usual solution was they would let us have their car without taking anything from us, on the unwritten condition we might do them a favour in future.
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Interesting. It was truly a lovely car to use. Smooth & fast, great FWD handling (for a larger car) and luxury ride with very soft cosseting seats. Funnily enough Mrs F bought hers from the same relative of mine who has just passed on this W124 Mercedes I've posted about. Before the 30TS he had a mint 16TX in bright red. After the 30 he bought a 20TX.
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i borrowed a 25 monaco for a few weeks in about 1993.
at that time it had about 125k on it but was immaculate inside and out and was so comfortable.
he also had a 21 that i used and that at the time was so much better than ford or vauxhall were offering for sale.
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>>Renault forced the dealers to take a R30 presumably because there were a load lying around the factory unsold.<<
Rover used to on occasion force a Rover 825 or a Rover 618 on us or even the last 800 I saw sold, an 820 Vitesse Coupe in BRG. We often had 'new' 825s turn up for elderly customers that were already 3 years old.
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>> an 820 Vitesse Coupe in BRG.
I am probably in a minority of one, but I really like the 820 vitesse. We had one on our fleet (a Vitesse Sport saloon in a lovely dark metallic blue) at a previous employer. Lunched its original gearbox in 5000 miles, but then went on to do 140k with pretty much routine servicing only. Proper quick, lovely set of half leather Recaros, and we must have got a Wednesday car as it was well screwed together. Even at 140k it was taut, largely rattle free, everything worked, and still pulled like a train.
I'm still in touch with the guy who ran it, and he still talks fondly of it.
The 800 used to cause us problems when I was in the trade though. It's really hard telling someone after spending a couple of hours with them and helping them choose their next car that their £25k (new), fully loaded exec saloon in mint condition with 25,000 full dealer historied miles on it was only worth £6k as a trade in at 3 yrs old. Savage depreciation.
Last edited by: DP on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 17:26
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At last.
For several years I bleated on here, and the other place about the sheer beauty and desirability of the Aventime (in Candy Apple Red, or Electric Blue)
And now you lot have finally come to the party.
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i really like the look of the rover 827 coupe. i suppose like most older cars though that they are fetching more than their really worth and parts are difficult to find
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i was in a older car breakers today having a last look at the cars of last century
amazing how quickly they disappear
mk3 fiesta
mk1 punto
early polo
skodas
corsas
escorts
mondeo mk1
etc
didnt see any rover 827's though as they did go in the big melting pot many years ago and at todays £190 a tonne i would be sending mine their if i still had one too
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I have just seen a Rover Stirling on a dealers forecourt marked up at £2500
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when i was younger and skint i used to love the scrapyards and climbing over metal to get the part that i needed and then make a mess in the drive putting it all back together.
i lived in leicester and there waere many scrapyards in newparks but i suppose they all went years ago. are they still around in citys and can you still climb about and help yourself
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theres a few on ebay about 1k.
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you can in the one i went to but wanton vandalism was endemic
things like bonnets hit with hammers doors scratched,parts pulled off and discarded,i mentioned it to the owner of the yard and he said he was sick of it too but sometimes they get gangs of lads going in and sometimes it was difficult to stop them if he was on his own
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id love to get another 90's car and have a tinker about.
i have a 20yr old merc 190 but it never goes wrong so cant play with it.
can never make my mind up what to get.
i used to like the granadas from late 80's to mid 90's. dont see any around now though
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I had a Rover 827 auto at one time. It was fairly unreliable but in fairness when it was going, which in reality was most of the time, it was a very pleasing car. It's funniest problem was when sitting at the head of the queue at a failed set of traffic lights. A policeman had taken over at the junction and was directing traffic. The Rover's offside wiper arm flew off and hit him squarely in the chest. He very calmly bent down and handed it back to me through the window before waving me on.
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>> On the other hand if a good 16TX came my way I would be seriously
>> tempted. Bouncy long travel suspension, armchair seats and a dashboard stuffed full of dials but
>> clearly styled by a 5 year old - fantastic.
>>
And a five-speed column change!
Bear in mind that the 16 first appeared in 1965, and was effectively the progenitor of many modern hatchbacks; in many ways it was years ahead of its time. My old TS wasn't far short of the TX spec, it had electric front windows and sunroof; despite the bouncy suspension it handled quite well and certainly wasn't slow.
Those seats folded down to make a half-decent bed, comfy as I can testify. Definitely one of my favourite former cars.
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My first car was a Savanna - with IIRC a 1.8 engine. Cost me £850 when 13 years old, I ran it for two years without trouble. Spent about £500 on a cambelt and sundry other items (brake pipes and a wiper motor), and then it failed its MOT two years later with a fail sheet as long as your arm and I gave it away in a free ad.
The back row of seats were perfectly comfortable seats for adults - I'm 6'.
It didn't much like starting if it had been outside in the frost/damp.
I'd have it back.
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My Uncle had a succession of Renault 16s : all in French blue.
Lovely ride... BUT: press your foot against the curved front panel at your feet and it bent..... and curved panels are meant to be stronger than flat!.
Very reliable.. but then he sold them at 3 years old...
They followed his Citroen DS period when he had a Safari etc... garages hated them...
Then he went on to Xantias after Renault moved to the 25 etc.. His last Xantia spent most of its time in his garage with an immobiliser fault that Citroen agents could not solve..
Both he and the Xantia died in the same decade...
The common factor in all was a very comfortable ride..
Last edited by: madf on Tue 18 Jan 11 at 21:58
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Seen on Autotrader. Renault 21 - Fenlander
