Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Renault 20/30
The Renault 20 (R20) and Renault 30 (R30) are two executive cars produced by the French automaker Renault between 1975 and 1983. The most upmarket and expensive Renaults of their time, the two cars were almost identical with regard to sheet metal and mechanicals; the R30 was the larger-engined and more expensive of the two. The two cars were easily distinguished between each other from their differing headlight configuration – the Renault 20 had two single rectangular headlights, whereas the Renault 30 had quadruple round headlights. The interior specifications differed substantially, however, with the Renault 30 having a higher specification in all models. Over 622,000 R20s and 145,000 R30s were produced in Sandouville near Le Havre, France.
The 20 variant won 1978 What Car? "Car of the Year".
The Renault 30 variant had a reputation for heavy depreciation. Motorists Guide reported the cost of a brand new 30 TX Automatic as £11,950 in May 1984; by June 1986 a good example was worth about £3,450 within the motoring trade.
Launched in March 1975 at the Geneva Motor Show, the Renault 30 TS was marketed as Renault's flagship model and it was the first Renault with an engine having more than four cylinders since the pre-war Renault Vivastella. It was one of the first cars (the other two being the Peugeot 604 and Volvo 264) to use the then newly introduced 2664 cc PRV V6 engine, which was developed jointly between Peugeot, Renault and Volvo; the PRV produced 130 PS (96 kW) and could power the R30 to a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph). The vehicle's hatchback styling was derivative of the extremely successful Renault 16.
The more affordable Renault 20, which was presented at the Paris Salon in November 1975 (exactly eight months after the Renault 30 TS) and used the same hatchback body styling as the R30 but with two rectangular headlights instead of the R30's quadruple round lights. The Renault 20 was essentially a successor to the Renault 16, albeit in a rather larger body shell. Under the bonnet, the R20 had the smaller four-cylinder 1647 cc engine (from the Renault 16 TX) rated at 90 PS (66 kW). Other technical differences between the 20 and 30 were that 20 used drum brakes at the rear wheels, 13 inch wheel rims, and a smaller 60-litre fuel tank. The 20 came in three different trim variations: L, TL and GTL. The two cars were effectively two 'badge engineered' versions of the same car with separate numeric classification. The R20 received an all-new 2068 cc diesel engine in November 1979, Renault's first diesel automobile.
Both the 20 and 30 were advanced in terms of safety, featuring front and rear crumple zones as well as side impact protection. Aside from the unusual proportions, the 20/30 also received unique, downwards-folding door handles on the first two model years. These were changed to regular units in August 1976, for the 1977 model year.
Reliability issues, such as niggling mechanical faults (which sometimes proved expensive to fix) plagued both cars throughout their lifetimes. This was a factor in the cars heavy depreciation on the used car market in the UK. Other large cars with steep depreciation included the Peugeot 604 and Rover SD1. Rust was another major concern (in a Belgian owner referendum 70% of owners named it as the car's biggest problem); as a response Renault improved rust protection and began offering a five-year warranty against rust on 1 January 1982.
The Renault brand was never strong in the upper segments of the market, particularly outside of France. Coupled with the hatchback bodywork, anaemic engines (to suit the French tax structure), and quality concerns, export sales were always low. In the end, over 63 percent of the total 20/30 production was sold in the French home market. However, the Renault 20 and 30 was assembled from complete knock-down kit in certain countries. In Venezuela, the R30 TS was assembled between 1979 and 1984, while the R20 TS was assembled in Australia from 1979 to 1981 and in Thailand in 1979 and 1980. While never sold in the United States, the R30 was brought to Canada in small numbers (426 cars according to a Renault Canada employee).
Hub AI
Renault 20/30 AI simulator
(@Renault 20/30_simulator)
Renault 20/30
The Renault 20 (R20) and Renault 30 (R30) are two executive cars produced by the French automaker Renault between 1975 and 1983. The most upmarket and expensive Renaults of their time, the two cars were almost identical with regard to sheet metal and mechanicals; the R30 was the larger-engined and more expensive of the two. The two cars were easily distinguished between each other from their differing headlight configuration – the Renault 20 had two single rectangular headlights, whereas the Renault 30 had quadruple round headlights. The interior specifications differed substantially, however, with the Renault 30 having a higher specification in all models. Over 622,000 R20s and 145,000 R30s were produced in Sandouville near Le Havre, France.
The 20 variant won 1978 What Car? "Car of the Year".
The Renault 30 variant had a reputation for heavy depreciation. Motorists Guide reported the cost of a brand new 30 TX Automatic as £11,950 in May 1984; by June 1986 a good example was worth about £3,450 within the motoring trade.
Launched in March 1975 at the Geneva Motor Show, the Renault 30 TS was marketed as Renault's flagship model and it was the first Renault with an engine having more than four cylinders since the pre-war Renault Vivastella. It was one of the first cars (the other two being the Peugeot 604 and Volvo 264) to use the then newly introduced 2664 cc PRV V6 engine, which was developed jointly between Peugeot, Renault and Volvo; the PRV produced 130 PS (96 kW) and could power the R30 to a top speed of 185 km/h (115 mph). The vehicle's hatchback styling was derivative of the extremely successful Renault 16.
The more affordable Renault 20, which was presented at the Paris Salon in November 1975 (exactly eight months after the Renault 30 TS) and used the same hatchback body styling as the R30 but with two rectangular headlights instead of the R30's quadruple round lights. The Renault 20 was essentially a successor to the Renault 16, albeit in a rather larger body shell. Under the bonnet, the R20 had the smaller four-cylinder 1647 cc engine (from the Renault 16 TX) rated at 90 PS (66 kW). Other technical differences between the 20 and 30 were that 20 used drum brakes at the rear wheels, 13 inch wheel rims, and a smaller 60-litre fuel tank. The 20 came in three different trim variations: L, TL and GTL. The two cars were effectively two 'badge engineered' versions of the same car with separate numeric classification. The R20 received an all-new 2068 cc diesel engine in November 1979, Renault's first diesel automobile.
Both the 20 and 30 were advanced in terms of safety, featuring front and rear crumple zones as well as side impact protection. Aside from the unusual proportions, the 20/30 also received unique, downwards-folding door handles on the first two model years. These were changed to regular units in August 1976, for the 1977 model year.
Reliability issues, such as niggling mechanical faults (which sometimes proved expensive to fix) plagued both cars throughout their lifetimes. This was a factor in the cars heavy depreciation on the used car market in the UK. Other large cars with steep depreciation included the Peugeot 604 and Rover SD1. Rust was another major concern (in a Belgian owner referendum 70% of owners named it as the car's biggest problem); as a response Renault improved rust protection and began offering a five-year warranty against rust on 1 January 1982.
The Renault brand was never strong in the upper segments of the market, particularly outside of France. Coupled with the hatchback bodywork, anaemic engines (to suit the French tax structure), and quality concerns, export sales were always low. In the end, over 63 percent of the total 20/30 production was sold in the French home market. However, the Renault 20 and 30 was assembled from complete knock-down kit in certain countries. In Venezuela, the R30 TS was assembled between 1979 and 1984, while the R20 TS was assembled in Australia from 1979 to 1981 and in Thailand in 1979 and 1980. While never sold in the United States, the R30 was brought to Canada in small numbers (426 cars according to a Renault Canada employee).