Real Road Test: Renault 4 - tested by a 2CV fanatic!
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2024
- The third most-produced car in the world is the Renault 4 (after the Ford Model T and VW Beetle), and it comfortably outsold the Citroen 2CV. But what does a seasoned 2CV fanatic make of it?
This car is for sale with Chevronic Centre: 01462 455 280 or chevronics.co.uk
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This guy is superb. Simple, accurate, dry humour and examines cars we have all likely seen on the roads over the years. Thank you. Keep them coming.
My dad worked for the Irish telephone company and in the 70's and 80's drove the van version as Renault 4's made up a huge part of their van fleet. Looking at this little car brings it all back. Thanks for the review! 👍
Yes, P&T. Opening above the rear doors for longer items, ladders etc.
Fourgonet I think every French car maker has such a model .note even Ford .
Favourite choice of teachers at my Comp in the late 70s, including two married teachers in the language department that had his and hers Renault 4s. They were so popular you would have thought that Renault gave NUT members a discount.
So true! My history teacher Mr. S. had a lovely one of these in red at our local grammar school. I always admired it when I passed it in the car park.
"Where have they all gone?" They rust in peace. 😉
I owned several R4s during the 1970s including a van. I used to carry some technical equipment for work ( a large winch) which fitted easily in the back. To my amazement, the same equipment would not fit into a short-wheelbase Mk2 Landrover! The suspension was amazing and I traversed many rough tracks in the North of Scotland as part of my work where it was also a lot more comfortable than the Landrover. Of course the Landover could get to more places because of 4WD but for most jobs the R4 van was far preferable. I did see a 4WD conversion for the R4 once at an off road motor show but never tried it.
@darknee that is not nice thing to say. You should rdeem, and go read bible now.
@@rheijm9201 I have, it made me an atheist. I suggest you do the same, read it from cover to cover.
Non dire idiozie
What a lovely example. One of my favourite cars I have owned in my many years of motoring is my Renault five. An age of simplicity that is lost today.
Liked already, before I've even watched. I've been waiting to see a Renault 4!
What a beautiful "quatrèle" as we say in France. It lacks the usual holes in the floor.
Pourquoi 4L? Tout le monde l'appelle comme ça et je me sais pas pourquoi
@@torresalex C'est l'abréviation de Renault 4 Luxe => R4L => 4L => "quatrèle"
Le L signifie également limousine car la R4 "de base" n'avait que 4 glaces (comme la R3) et que la R4L avait 6 glaces.
Comme la version "luxe" se vendait nettement mieux que la version de base, seule la R4L demeura au catalogue d'où son petit nom.
@@jean-charlesweyland129 Ah, d'accord. Merci!
There are a few still going here in dryer Poitou-Charentes.
@@torresalex The 4L was the top of the range 4 in the early years. The range in 1961 was the 603cc R3 the 747cc base 4 and the less spartan 4L
I had the 845 cc Renault 4 for 2 years. You literally could drive across ploughed fields in it and the gear change stopped anyone wanting to borrow it. Great little car.
The Renault4 was and is an absolutely superb car. Back in 1976 I worked up in East Lothian and the estate ran several of these. The owner either drove his Rolls Royce [an old one] or a Renault 4 car or van. The car was canary yellow. The gearbox in front of the engine, controlled by the big rod over the top of the engine was superb. In a different league to the similar age Morris 1000 vans [fairly new] they also ran at that time. Superb ride on rough unpaved roads.
Never thought id see someone mention East Lothian in a hubnut vid lol, I live in Dunbar but born n bred from East Linton. Wasnt Tyninghame Estate was it ? The renault 4 jesus everyone had fords or austins but 2 neighbours had the renault 4 a grey one and a white one.
@@Hillbillymills.
No it was with the Dales at Scoughall and Seacliff. I lived in a cottage at Seacliff and worked primarily with Jack and Mr Tommy Dale. The place was really rocking back then. They had, possibly still have Drylawhill, just as you rise up the hill out of East Linton and Tommy junior now has a recycling plant on the N. Berwick side. back in the day they had a gang of women in from Dunbar every day working on the vegetables and tatties. Back then there were no mobile phones so I used the kiosk on the square at Whitekirk.
I was born and raised in West Wales, five miles from where the Hubnut clan live now, and I have lived here ever since. [Never met the Nuts though, but see them driving around now and again]
@@hedydd2 ahh yes the Dales, Did they own drylawhill when the barn caught fire. Local eejit was having a fly smoke up there and set the place alight lol. And the Dales had Seacliff haulage now owned by an ex driver mcKinnel quite a big outfit now with a depot up in Arbroath also.
@@Hillbillymills.
Lovely people and families.
John McKinnel, now retired, was the arable farm foreman and became a partner in Seacliff Haulage, with a Foden and an AEC Mandator that I remember, now owned and run by his son Brian. Didn't know they had another depot and didn't know of the fire at Drylawhill either. I worked quite a bit at Drylawhill back in the day. Scotland is so far away and I rarely can get away from here. I was a teenager, barely 18, in 1975/6.
I recall they advertised Renault 4 as a fuel efficient car here in Finland, just a drop of petrol and off you go. Coincidentally just 2 weeks ago received a 1/43 scale model of the Renault 4, a 1978 model year :)
In about 1964 my mums friend had one of these to carry her two Irish Woolf hounds in. The Youngster, called Brian, was a lovely character and the tallest Woolf hound in Ireland at the time. Brian used sit comfortably with his front paws on my shoulders and wash my face. This gentle giant would sit beside his mum in the back of the Renault 4, with his nose poking out of the rear window and his tongue out. I loved my life in Ireland.
My dad bought one of these in about 1970, and we went all over the place in it, mum, dad, three kids and our dog. No car will ever measure up to that Renault 4 in my eyes. A truly wonderful car, reliable, and with character all its own.
My dad has owned both a 1970 2CV4 (his first car) and a 1976 Renault 4 L. The Renault 4 wins hands down in practicality with its large rear hatch, but the 2CV offered a more comfortable ride, was more reliable and was amazing in summer with its roof rolled up. I remember both the 2CV and the 4, I think those cars (and the DS 23 he also had) definitely made me have a soft spot for French cars.
When I was living in Italy, a neighbouring farm had a very tidy looking Renault 4 parked up. I regret never asking about it! Simple, comfortable motoring.
I find myself sometimes nostalgic for "simple,comfortable motoring" in the day and age of very unsimple motoring
We all know that Renaults were extremely comfortable, but will someone elucidate the fine differences in the ride quality of Renaults, Citroens and Peugeots of vintage???
Love how Ian always manages to send me on a nostalgia trip, maybe that's why I'm such a fan of the channel ;)
+1
Loving the French car reviews
Yes me too. I was getting a bit worried about the recent FORD obsession. 😆
“Super-long baguettes” lol moment. Great review, brings back some boyhood memories as my French uncle had one, and a Renault 14 after that too.
same in my family :-) our R4 was frog green the R14 orange
The 2CV was introduced when 4 lane motorways were not a thing yet. The R4 was probably the answer to those motorways. You could take your young family on a summer holiday to the mediterranean sea because it was better at doing long distance motorway travelling.
Excellent review, i enjoyed that very much!
The 4 was designed before the 2cv - kinda - but they were both to a very different design brief
Kinda not at all? 2CV development began in the 1930s and production commenced in 1948, long before the Renault 4 was even a thought.
@@HubNut Before he left Renault to go to Citroen, Andre Lefebvre doodled a simple little car, discussed it with Louis Renault, and Louis wasn't interested - conforming to Andre that he needed to leave. Louis wanted everything to be boring proven technology, and Andre needed to innovate.
He'd been at Citroen for a while before the TPV project started, then a while after the 2cv was launched Renault released the 4, and it looked a lot like Andre's doodles. I'm unsure of how much of the 4 came from Andre's design, but from what i've read (book called The Cars Of Andre Lefebvre) it's remarkably similar.
I took my 2CV, with 2 passengers, all the way from London down to Greece, through the then Yugoslavia and on over to Crete and back via Madrid. No problem as a long-distance cruiser, but I was younger then. 🙂
I passed my test in a '72 R4L, that one did have the 2cv type gear pattern, I then moved on to a ''79 Dyane. With hindsight, the Citroen was quirkier and had more character, but the R4 was probably the more reliable and dare I say it, better car.
for shure. Much more practcal than a 2CV and with more horsepowers. We had an R4L frog green :-) Later R14TL also a quite modern car in its time.
Passed my test in a Renault 8. Had a Reliant supervan briefly..Had the French taxi Renault for a few years,( Renault 17?), Citroen visa, Renault trafic (had that for 10 years!). Now graduated to a 1984 Citroen Acadiane! :D. Drove South of France to Kiel in Germany & back last summer. Never missed a beat!
You can keep your noisy 2cv The R4 has more than enough character for me- Just love the push pull gear lever
The video did explain to me why the bloody gear lever sat up in the middle of the dashboard. As a kid I always peered into cars trying to figure out what was what and the French ones were typically weird. My great uncle was a Renault man but he lived back up in Scotland and we had moved down to England so I never got to ride in his various jalopies. I know he had some of the rear engined 50s and 60s models.
I passed my driving test in one of these. A grey 4L estate with 845cc motor and 3-speed gearbox. It had very comfy seats and the suspension simply soaked up every bump like a sponge. Got 40+ mpg (imperial gallons) all the time too. Great little car, apart from leaning prodigously in bends and the headlights being like candles for brightness. Happy memories though.
Quite some time ago, I poised a question to Ian how come he, the automotive Francophile, never tested R4. Today I will rest on not-so-deserved laurels of my inquiry. Yes, they are enormous fun to drive
My grandparents had a Renault 4 when I was born. It was green and might have been built in 1979, but I can't remember exactly. What I do remember is that something was always wrong with it (probably because it had been a fleet car with a huge mileage, so it was properly bust when my grandparents got it) and my grandfather spent a lot of time fixing it himself, just to keep it going for a bit longer. My mother also once told me that she had brought the entire heating system for our house in it. When I was four, my grandparents bought a Mk4 Ford Fiesta and sold the Renault 4 for scrap. I remember that the day it was going to leave, I spent a lot of time playing in it with some of my cousins.
Fun little fact about these: the door handles and wiper motors were used on various helicopters made by French company Aerospatiale in the 70s (later Eurocopter and now Airbus Helicopters).
Interesting that the 'copter grade would accept Renault components. Maybe they were selected to a higher standard.
I live in the Dordogne since I retired and have a Dutch friend who's a 2CV (Deuche) nut. As well as having a restored Mehari which he bats around as a daily workhorse and which he intends to restore again because he's not happy with its bodywork, and a beautifully restored Deuche which he loaned me as a daily driver when I lost my own car for several weeks, he also has a 2CV 'Fourgon' which is in the middle of its restoration. It's the low roof-line version with suicide doors, so rarer and more valuable.
When restoring he strips everything down to components and makes everything 'as new' or even better. The 2CV has opening rear windows, which I think most restorers do now, and its engine was bored out to accept Visa pistons, so it's quite pokey and more than capable of keeping up with modern traffic.
After totally stripping the 'Fourgon' he sent the body off to a specialist local French restorer-cum-bodybuilder who took 3 years to restore the body shell because he refused to release it until he'd done the best he could. It was quite rotten in places so he had to fabricate some parts and panels from scratch but what came back is a work of art that's arguably better than when it came out of the factory. My pal has restored its engine to original spec and it's been waiting ready to go in for many months, as have the beautifully restored chassis and running gear, but it'll still be some time before it's all finished.
I've noticed that maybe because the supply of Deuches of all flavours is beginning to run out or even just fair examples for restoration have become a bit pricey, more Renault 4s are beginning to come to the fore, as well as Dyanes. There are many elderly original Renault 4s still being used down here by elderly original owners and the trick seems to be to get hold of one that maybe has a bit of light corrosion and scars of everyday life but can keep getting through a CT every two years and then to use it keeping it in that condition. I'm just starting a new house build so have a lot on my plate right now but might even consider doing the same myself when I'm less pushed.
Both the Deuche (and its derivatives like the Dyanes) and the Renault 4 are cars of their day, quirky and nothing like modern technology. So compare them to each other but IMO it's unfair to rate them (power, braking, acceleration, roadholding) against modern offerings. And anyway, that's not why people now yearn to own them.
Keep up the good work. There's always time and space for more quirkiness!
My dad had one when I was 5 or 6 years old. I loved the body roll, tumbling across each other on the rear bench in the corners was so much fun.
We had one in the 80s, and we loved it as a practical vehicle in London. Cheap to run and fix, and loads of boot space with the back seat folded foward - you couls get a chest of drawers in there (and we did). Ours had the hand brake on the dash too, so we had a bench front seat. I loved the fact that everything was to hand. The air condition was a flap under the windscreen to let a bit more air in….it never needed recharging the whole time we had it. The big problem was rust- water would collect in the floor and there were only so many times you could get it welded up.
Brings back memories! When I was a wee lad in the 1970's, my swimschool teacher had one of these. She would cram as many kids in this thing as needed (surprisingly spacious for such a tiny car, somehow we'd all fit), and roll us off to the nearest indoor pool for certain occasions (lessons were normally in the sea).
Great little car, very capable
You misplaced the toot sound by a few seconds. It sounded like you were cursing the car's lack of acceleration!
Oh, the humble Renault 4 - they were everywhere in my childhood and on more than one ocasion they were the vehicle in which school field trips were made. Now you almost never see them - guess they did not like the Swedish winters... Allthough I am a Renault die-hard fan, I have to admit that then it comes to my model cars, the 2CV wins 4 - 0 to the Renault 4. Somehow I still did not come arround to get one - but I see my Modus as somewhat of a spiritual successor to the R4, even if it probably don't run over really bad roads with the same ease.
But the Modus at least has the famous boot chute!
Oddly enough there is one for sale on OOYO Sweden, and, there were 2!One 63 (probably sold) and a pale blue 69 !
@@AaronSmart.online - Mine doesn't, since it is a later Grand Modus. but it has a hidden storage space withing the front passenger seat. Never saw that solution in any other car: you can fold up the middle part of the seat where the passenger would sit and store documents or even the odd CDs in there... Very weird and quite useful even.
@@Rammstein56 - oh wow!
I live in rural Spain and in my town there are about half a dozen of these still used as everyday cars.
When I was stationed in Germany in 60s/70s these were used as mini cabs so obviously capable of high mileage, brilliant little cars.
I hate to say it, but having tried both, the Renault is far more civilized and (relatively) confortable. Unfortunately, haven’t been able to drive either (this was eons ago and I was a little kid)
I took a shot of whisky everytime you said 2CV... I am now a borderline alchoholic... 😉 Joking aside, what another great review Ian!
Just come across your channel - and thanks for the trip down memory lane👍
My uncle used a Renault 4 on his Devon farm throughout the 70’s & 80’s. He stripped out everything but the drivers seat, which he covered in plastic. He then had the perfect utilitarian vehicle for road or more commonly across fields. Anything and everything went into the back, including small livestock - and I can well remember bouncing around in the back with his sheepdog. Or having to cling onto pregnant ewes, or newborn lambs during lambing season whilst he sped them back to his barn. To clean it out he would occasionally just hose down the inside. When he retired in the late 80’s he bought a Mercedes with the money he had saved with his Renault 4. Genius...
my first car, back in the 80's. Multi colered by different doors, no windscreen and lots of rust for 100 DM ( 50 € ). I loved it and lost it by an accident 2 years later. Thanks for this flash back
Brings back many happy memories Thankyou Ian if you want more French comforts,find yourself a Renault 16 with the steering column gear shift ....
Quite so MrCoggins. my late father had 3 in a row, TL, TS and TX. He only let me drive the last one when I was over 20 years old. I took it for a weekend away over Dartmoor roads. Plush ride yet fast in it's day. 100 mph came up easy thanks to its aerodynamics, sure it had body roll but cornered well with Michelin ZX tyres.
I remember him driving it to a trade fair in Marseille, a trip he previously did in his business partner's Cortina mk3. The only cars that out paced them over the distance were Citroen DS & SM & Peugeot 504.
My first car (bought in 1980) was a ‘72 (‘71?) Australian-built R16TS.
It was a great car.
I replaced it with an R12 wagon (Virage) which did not have the same style and charm.
Great, (relatively) balanced review. I love Citroens for their innovation, but the 4L (845cc) was the most positively memorable car I have ever owned, beautiful red, rust free bodywork, it just did everything you wanted to do and did it well. Bought at auction, because I had no money, synchro gone on 2nd and 3rd, bashed in drivers door, water ingress through windscreen so drilled a hole in the floor, plate under the floor welded on every MOT, exhaust fixed up with bean cans, wire and Gun gum, the clutch went and I changed it myself with a set of AF spanners because all my previous cars were British. True, real and stuffed full of memories motoring and far more fun than the BMW 316 which I bought when I had more cash. Give me a drive in a 4L today and I would be in heaven.
One of my earliest car memories is with one of these. A surgeon was driving my mom and me back home, because my dad had to work late. When we got into his Renault 4 I apparently told him he made enough money to be able to afford a proper car.
I believe my '74 12TS used the Sierra engine, bored out to a larger capacity, with a twin choke Weber. I believe the engine was in front of the gearbox. Luved it's aubergine color, the Rostyle wheels and tan racing interior. It had been thoroughly maintained by a Renault mechanic before I purchased it second-hand. I sold it when I left the UK in '85.
Thank you for bringing back so many memories with the Renault 4l . An absolute Superb little car. Bought second hand with 6v electrics . Loved it so much bought new 4l. Did 400 mile week as tv engineer, it went everywhere even across a snow covered field. Plus many trips to Europe and Yugoslavia as it was then.
Very good commentary Ian. The 4 is a fantastic design and a well deserved success for Renault. And It lead directly to the 5 and millions more sales.
We had a 72 in Germany in the early 80s. It never failed us and other than rust was a good car. The gearshift got a lot of comments from passengers.
I had 2, a 69 and a 70 R4, bought for a few hundred back then, I loved them and I liked them much more than the 2CV, they had powerrrr and a decent heating system and they were overall more practical then a 2CV.
The R4 is one of the greatest inventions ever. 575kgs that can transport 4 people at 75mph all day and go off road.
My first one cost £30 in 1989. Someone had tried to set light to it and failed so I picked up the pieces and used it for 3 years. It was an 850cc model (1983). It transported me all over the place, happily cruising at 75+mph on the motorway all day in comfort. My sisters 2CV would struggle to maintain 60mph. It even transported me and a Yamaha XT500 from Beaulieu Motor Museum to Colchester no problem (seats removed). I fitted a tuned 1108cc engine to this one (I was doing a City and Guilds in Engineering at the time) and had 4 reverse gears and one forward gears. Yes, as stated in the vid, the old and new engines spin in different directions.
90mph in 3rd gear when fixed. I then ran a Gordini GTL. I remember burning off an RS2000 at the lights. I went passed him with three passengers, then the boat I was towing went past him too. Fantastic. The engine and gearbox tested in this video is really meant to be driven around town in the first 3 gears. 4th is an overdrive. Superb Car.
I had quite a few of them, I usually bought one with inspection, valid for as close to one year as possible, drove the hell of it, threw it away, bought ''new'' one.... I took only stereo out, it cost me much more than any of my R4s.
I really enjoyed driving them, nice and easy. Interestingly, cops didn't stop R4 a lot, despite the fact there were a lot of them in my country. A cop once told me they see us as sedate, cool drivers. We surely didn't set any speed records....
They were advertised as Little Giant in my country.
Just recently I had one on my radar, totally restored, probably in a better condition than new, but it was out of my price range. I plkan to get one that is not too rusty and slowly restore it myself.
An interesting little car, I remember my maths teacher at school having one in dark green, he loved it 😊.
The sound of the door closing brings back memories of my job at the renault dealership. Can not wait for a hubnut renault 16 test.
Yes! (owned one)
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. My earliest car memories were sitting in my mum's Renault 4 pressing all the buttons. I remember burning myself on the cigarette lighter and the enormous drip tray my dad put under it. Ah to be 3 years old again and full of wonder. My kids have to put up with 90s classics to get their car fix, not such a bad thing.
It's always nice to come home and ear 👂 my favorite CZcamsr and listening to his knowledge of cars absaloutly beautiful car Brilliant video Ian 👍
I had one of these and I loved it. It was quirky enough for me. You could imagine that you were doing massive speeds around bends, because of the roll angles. Liked the push me pull you gear change too. I sold it for an Alfa Romeo with a massive rust hole in the passenger foot well!
I love these and prefer them to the 2CV, maybe because it was the first car I remember being driven around in aged about 3. Just the right blend of cuteness, modernity and practicality.
Renault 4, tough as nails, in their day like the 404 Peugeot a true champion in African conditions, and a bush mechanics favourites, my brothers wife drove his one off a cliff when they lived on Ibiza, she came out uninjured, he was rather upset, he loved that car.
Interesting getting your balanced perspective having grown up myself with Renaults but a closet Citroen lover. It deserved to be as successful as it was. Sealed for life coolant system, a triumph of marketing over engineering but even BMW was not immune to such hubris. I did watch an episode of Drew Pritchard when they tarted up a 4 fitting the 3 slot alloy rims from a Mk1 5 Gordini, I just put my head in my hands and wept. That was enjoyable, thank you.
Why was the wheelbase slightly longer on one side than it was on the other? A bit "unique"...
Great review of an interesting car. Love you eye for the fine detail. If you are taking Christmas requests, your review of a Renault 16 (preferably one if the earlier models) would go down a treat, just saying…
More 70s & 80s Renaults please. My Dad got rid of his Mks Cortina 1600E in '73 when I was born to a more practical R16 as it had a hatchback. He had mainly Renaults for years afterwards including 18 Estates, Savannahs and Scenics.
My Cousins in France used an R4 to collect the milk containers on their dairy farm in Eastern France, apart from doing all that off road work, it was jolly fast on the road as well. I liked it much more than my Aunts Dyane, which was taken over by my uncle for hunting wild hogs in the mountains!
The sound of the C1E (1108cc) engine brings back lots of memories as my mum's R5 TL had the same engine. An absolute pig to start from cold but ran all day once warmed up. 3 stud wheels were quite unique to French cars and the last time i saw them was on 106's and Saxo's.
Now the renault kwid has them too
lovely car! a great icon like the 2CV, I would love to have both right now and use them in the countryside. When I was a child we used a 2CV van as a "jeep" on gravel roads in Patagonia, and it functioned very well because the car was so lightweight and could be "carried out of the problems" by a bunch of guys, a R4 would have performed as well for sure. Besides a Landie Series 1, a VW Beetle, a Willys jeep, and a Fiat 500, a R4 and a 2CV would certainly be part of my dream collection!!! (plus a Citroen 11 traction avant, a VW Kleinbus, a Ford F-100 pickup truck, and, and, and... my wish-list seemingly never ends)
I had the experience (I won't say pleasure) of getting a personal guided tour of the Bilancourt Factory in Paris around 1964. It was great to s see these being made. It was an archaic place, dark and noisy, like descending down to H**l. In the early 70s I bought a Dyane (425cc?) and drove around 1000 miles in Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. There were four adults with a trailer tent. The gears were used quite a lot but the car served us well. Happy memories.
The Dyane is simply the best fun car and has the storage too. For gear or girls..i mean.. people. Drove fr Holland to pothole Portugal way back then. Like a sailboat..
My very British dad was a huge Francophone, and also fascinated by microcars. Over the years, we had a Renault 4CV, a Heinkel bubble car, a Dauphine, an R4, an R8, and finally an R16. They were all marvellous, but my favourites were the R4 and the R16…
In any of those 70’s and 80’s Renaults with the inline engines, the crown wheel could be flipped to make 4 reverse 1 forward.
Love these cars for some reason and it's weird to think that they're virtually extinct in this country. Renault managed to get 50bhp out of the same engine in the later 5s and early Clios, I'd imagine that would fly in this car. Thanks for another great review Ian.
Hello,
The Renault 4 was a good car, this is my first car in 1990. Now Dacia Sandero is the same idea low price and good quality and modern motor.
Excuses me if my English is not good because it i am French people.
I like your video.
Thats great.
They were also made here in Colombia and they're still a common sight around Bogota.
I love the plaid pattern upholstery. Looks like a fun car and preferable to a 2CV in my opinion. Not having an under bonnet pad allows significantly more engine noise. I don't understand manufacturers who omit that inexpensive and effective feature. It could be added to that car at minimal cost.
The biggest difference today is the ability to still get one with a reasonable budget, the Dyane (a seasoned former owner)still edges it for me. However when it comes to character a 2CV wins, both cars are the sort that if you went down the EV route they still retain the charm. The other deciding factor maybe the support each model gets, again the Citroen has the upper hand.
when you compair the small van models 2CV AK versus the R4 F the choice becomes difficult .
Great to see a Renault 4 again. I owned 2, a 1974 secondhand in mustard colour and a ‘brand new’ 1978 in Bluebell. I loved them and wish I had one now just for nostalgia. If the front floors didn’t leak there was something wrong!! My uncle used to say ‘changing gear was like playing a trombone. They were reliable and so versatile. Happy days!
Great Video Ian! My mother had an early 3-speed Renault 4 which she eventually replaced with a 4-speed Renault 4 van. The van was hugely faster (though still very slow by modern standards) And she used it for years. I drove it a lot delivering for her knitwear business. When the Renault was too rusty to fix, she then had a Fiat Fiorino because the Renault was too rare to find in good condition. Both vans had high tops which was essential as the crates of wool were too big for a regular low van such as an Escort or Marina. Much to my mother's annoyance, the young me once raced a friend's MGB across Dartmoor (don't do it kids its dangerous and irresponsible), and the MG just could not keep up on the twisty bits; in spite of the van's roly-poly handling, it actually gripped like crazy.
I also had customers in the 1980s who had 2CVs and I had great affection for them but missed the Renault's comfort, handling and long distance cruising ability. BTW, the Renaults never had engine problems even though I drove them at max revs a lot. A lot. The Citroen has more charm but I think the Renault was much the better vehicle.
I've always felt that the gear lever linkage on a Renault 4 was a bit of an afterthought, added when they tried to take the first prototype for a drive and realised that they'd put the gearbox on the wrong side of the engine and the driver couldn't reach the actual gear lever.
It looks like something you'd find on a poorly built kit car rather than a production car.
I learnt to drive in one of these (alternating with a column change Vauxhall Victor) and yes I failed my first test
@@ferrumignis Renault and Citroen took the direct route whereas companies like British Leyland preferred to use floor changes and cables - which resulted in you never knowing if you were in gear. (Renault Dauphine was a bad one though)
@@UKMike2009 FWIW cable changes can work very well, when done correctly.
I'm not criticising the dash mounted shifter (I actually quite like them) but the construction of the linkage itself which is unbelievably crude for a production vehicle. That could have been made so much better with just a little more engineering.
I think it brilliant way better than stupid cables
Tbh I prefer this over a 2CV as it feels more secure and pleasant
Renault 6TL fantastic car. First one used for commuting and also drove twice to Rome. 37,000 miles in seven months! Very comfortable and rear bench seat came out easily, converting into a van. Thought the dashboard gear change was very direct and quick. Unfortunately they rusted away due to poor quality recycled steel. Modern equivalent Skoda Roomster another fantastic car.
Back in the day, (1978) I had a Renault 6, as you said much the same as the 4. Its party piece was fuss free driving over speed bumps at ridiculous speed. Just a thump as the wheels went over but the body barely moved. Probably something you wouldn't test in what is today a valuable rare car. Mine was a crappy French rust bucket and I treated it as such.
I am sorry Ian, but why on Earth did you expect a Mercedes driver to actually look before pulling away at a roundabout? It is NOT their responsibilty to look. The onus is on the rest of us to do their observations for them!
Have you experienced the terrible visibility out of recent Mercedes efforts ? Driving a GLA I rented a while back was like wearing goggles with a little hole to see out of. Very safe in the inevitable collisions though.
@@philhealey449 The last Mercedes I drove was a 1998 E Class, and that was fine. My dad has a 2016 B Class, and though I've never driven it, it seems ok.
@@Richard-Bullock The numerous mainly 'resting' Mercedes in my fleet span W100, W116, W123,W126, W461 and I have had a W124 also; all have excellent visibility, but that rental GLA was visually terrible, as well as being cursed with unfathomable "Command" control . I don't think I am selectively unobservant or more arrogant when driving a Mercedes compared to various past and present Citroens, small Peugeots or my present Skoda, but perhaps we are more cautious in small tinny cars than tanks ?
@@philhealey449 Oh how I wish I could have a W123. As much as I liked my old W210 (I had 2 of them) I always wanted a W123. My dad has had a W201, W202, 2x W203, W210, and 2x W246. I liked them all. Sorry if I offended you. I know sweeping generalistaions can include those that are undeserving.
@@Richard-Bullock None taken, all tongue in cheek. Hope you're not also a BMW enthusiast however ! W123 was the pinnacle of MB reliability if not rust resistance. W116 450SEL was maybe the pinnacle of excellence, W100 the pinnacle of how to spend money trying to keep the thing mobile. 21 years of two poverty spec G Wagens have shown me that's the cheapest form of motoring rivaling classic Land Rover Defenders minus the constant need to repair, OM642 engines excepted. Happy Motoring!
The Renault C OHV engine is one of the most bulletproof engines and was used until the 90's in the first Twingo.
Nice review Hubnut - it was just oozing with research! Cheers.
Great review! I've been waiting for this. I had a 4L when I was 18. Drove miles in it, including a trip to Switzerland. Had a thing about them ever since.
Mom owned one many years back. It had some really nice dark brown vinyl seats that came with a "blister guarantee"
Fascinating stuff !! Re the reverse engine direction I seem to recall a garage I knew used to work on a lot of those (including regular replacement of whole floors ...) and one of their mechanics mistakenly re-installed a diff the wrong way round and got quite a surprise when it came to road testing his efforts !!
I had a Renault 6 in the mid 80s you do not see them much now very comfy and a good amount of room , but they suffered from rust.👍👍
My mother’s first company car as she was back then employed as a nurse who did her visits at the patient’s own home.
The gear pattern of the 3 speed is totally different.
She liked the car very much. She once had the gear lever in her hands though!
Cheers from Belgium!
My brother and I learned to drive in the van version of this, when I was 12 and he was 9. Our Francophile grandpa had a 4 he used on the farm in Lincolnshire - it was much cruder inside than this fancy example. You just blew my mind showing how the gear lever in the cabin is just a long lever controlling the real lever - I had no idea! What a crazy simple solution. The rubber pusher on the floor for the windscreen wash makes me think of the toilet flushers you used to find in trains
This was the car of my early childhood. Thank you for bringing back a lot of memories!
Great review! I've always loved the quirky simplicity of the Renault 4. I've never driven one, but have been a passenger.
A great video which brought back loads of happy memories of my first car.
I have very fond memories of the R4.
My parents had 3 of them from 1974 until about 1989, so I grew up with them and I learned to drive in the last one - so much fun! ❤️
Had one of these in the late 60’s.
Took six up from north Germany to south Austria and back.
Terrified other motorists when you threw it round a roundabout.
Door handle affectionately known as the ashtray, as in “how do I get out?”. “put your hand in the ashtray”
Our first family car was a Renault 4, in 1972. We lived in Cyprus, I'm not sure it was available in the UK at the time. They were called "Bondoo bashers", the bondoo word meant something like waste ground of which Cyprus had lots at the time. It didn't get stuck in sand at the beach like many cars did, but with a small engine it struggled a bit getting up the steep hills to the Troodos mountains. My lasting memory was the umbrella handle gear lever sticking out of the dash. We had it for about a year before upgrading to a brand new Austin 1300 which was actually a more comfortable car for the family and a lot more powerful.
All the Renaults of that era remind me of holidaying in France when I was a kid. There was definitely something about them. I remember one of these overtaking us in our Austin Princess on the N10, yellow headlights glowing and engine screaming as it crept past us at nearly 70mph. He made it past eventually, close to head-on death with a truck, but he made it :)
HubNut youre back!!! I was in Portugal late Sep 21 and there were a few running about, great wee cars
Thanks for the memories ! My first car. At the time our family had a Renault4,5 and6. Great cars.
I owned a Renault 4F6 van for 12 years it performed very well.i liked the umbrela handle gear change.The exhaust system needed replacing every 15 months.At last they got the braking system right,previouse models had insuficient braking.
What a treat, thank you. First car a 1968 R4, back in 1976.
I used to own one back in the day - gr8 fun to drive. We had a holiday in Croatia about 5 years ago and we came across quite a few still on the road - now I know because of your vid they were probably the later Slovenia built cars - gr8 episode thanks
My older brother had a 1968 one of these. Dark green with a light beige interior, even the dashboard, it did look well. The way those wipers park doesn't look right. Great vid, made me remember that great wee car. Thanks.
My Dad bought me one of these when I passed my driving test some 40 years ago. Banana yellow I couldn't believe what he'd done to me. BUT after a short period of time I absolutely loved it. What a hoot, swayed all over the place round corners, but went round corners really well and totally reliable, great fun. Would love a go in one today 😀.
Enjoyed that. Nice one Ian.
Oh the memories. My grandfather's last car was a blue R4 he bought new in 1968. My uncle had a much more modern one with that interior similar to Renault 5s of the time like the one you tested.
On a completely different note, your tests may seem long but they're high on quality. Worth every minute.
My dad had one when I was 2. This brought back such vivid memories. We have it a nickname “chaand gari” which means the moon car. Thank you for this video
Thats a video review I've been waiting almost 40 years to see (not that there was CZcams back then...). In 1983, my choice of first car was between a Renault 4GTL, in white too, or a FIAT Panda mk1. I went for the Panda and loved it, though always wondered what R4 life might have been like. Great to see your PoV video and get an idea at least!
That's a beauty. I remember seeing these around in the 80s. One of the cars that always stood out to me. Love seeing these cars from memory being driven. 👍