renault 16

[baldy1926]

I saw 2 on the m11 northbound yesterday.
I think these are very rare now a days.
They were the 1st i've seen being driven for years. My father had one and it was the most comfy car i had been in when he bought it and the 1st that he had with leather.

[E31Shrew]

Awesome motors! We used to have a 16GTX. Most comfy seats ever experienced! Would I be correct in saying it was the first production hatch or did that honour fall to the R4?

[hot metal]

baldy1926 said:

I saw 2 on the m11 northbound yesterday.
I think these are very rare now a days.
They were the 1st i've seen being driven for years. My father had one and it was the most comfy car i had been in when he bought it and the 1st that he had with leather.

Comfy yes but dreadful to work on as were most Renaults of the period.
Not missed.

[bigblock]

I remember my dad having one about 35 years ago. Not the GXL as that was the top of the range and we never had a top of the range car when I was a kid. I suspect this may have psychologicaly damaged me in some way and probably explains my need to purchase totaly impractical cars

Anyway my dad decided to get the Renault 16 Ziebarted (undersealed) and every time I would go in the car I would feel sick due to the smell of the stuff. It was metallic brown and is probably still around today because of the amount of Ziebart painted underneath it.

The one thing I did like was the column gear change which to my young untrained eyes appeared extremely complex and I thought my dad was a genius being able to make it work.

[Evangelion]

The one thing I remember about the 16 was that it had different wheelbases left and right!

Friend of mine had one and wouldn't believe this until I pointed out to him that the rear bumper, where it wrapped around the body, was different lengths on each side. Left wheelbase was 70mm longer than the right to make room for the torsion bars.

Also the engine was mounted longitudinally, behind the gearbox.

[lowdrag]

E31Shrew said:

Awesome motors! We used to have a 16GTX. Most comfy seats ever experienced! Would I be correct in saying it was the first production hatch or did that honour fall to the R4?

You are correct if the definition of a hatch is vertical opening. The R4, of course, was preced by the A40 if you use side hinged door as a definition. Oh to be a pedantic!

[Gaspode]

lowdrag said:

E31Shrew said:

Awesome motors! We used to have a 16GTX. Most comfy seats ever experienced! Would I be correct in saying it was the first production hatch or did that honour fall to the R4?

You are correct if the definition of a hatch is vertical opening. The R4, of course, was preced by the A40 if you use side hinged door as a definition. Oh to be a pedantic!

I don't think they made any A40s with side hinged rear doors, I thought they were all split horizontally, with the window lifting and the rear bodywork hinging down. But not what most people would consider to be a true hatchback.

[Dave Dax builder]

For some bizare reason I was having the "first hatch" conversation the other day.
We decided (For what it's worth) that the A40 didn't count as it was split type like Range Rovers and the R4 was side opening. had to look it up though because we were initially guessing Austin Maxi or Vauxhall Chevette.

[worsy]

Remember my Dad having a P plate blue 16 TL back in the mid seventies. First car I really remember, and replaced in '79 by an 18 TL.

I think the 16 was the only car he ever bought brand new until his last a Renault Scenic in 2002.

[andyps]

My Dad had a metallic green one, I think it was a 16TS but not sure - it was the top model until the GTX came out. I remember it being a great car, very comfortable and was pretty reliable for the high mileage my dad was covering at the time - we lived North of Lancaster and he was working in Swansea so a fairly big weekly commute. Doesn't look like it still exists though - DVLA have no record for JDE852L (if I have remembered correctly).

[skeggysteve]

E31Shrew said:

Would I be correct in saying it was the first production hatch or did that honour fall to the R4?

Reliant Scimitar ?

[E31Shrew]

In retrospect, after looking at the font of all knowledge that is Wikipedia, looks like it was the R4!

It says the Scimitar was first released as a Coupe....thats mt theory out of the window then