| Renault 20/30 | |
| Manufacturer: | Renault |
| Aka: | Dacia 2000 |
| Production: | 1975–1984 (Renault 30) 1976–1983 (Renault 20) 1979–1985[1] (Dacia 2000) |
| Designer: | Gaston Juchet[2] |
| Class: | Executive car (E) |
| Body Style: | 5-door hatchback |
| Layout: | Front-engine, front-wheel-drive |
| Predecessor: | Renault 16 |
| Successor: | Renault 25 |
The Renault 20 (R20) and Renault 30 (R30) are two executive cars produced by the French automaker Renault between 1975 and 1984. 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,[3] 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 1300NaN0 and could power the R30 to a top speed of 1850NaN0. 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[4] (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 replacement for the discontinued 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 900NaN0. 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.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7] 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.[7] While never sold in the United States, the R30 was brought to Canada in small numbers (426 cars according to a Renault Canada employee).[8]
The Renault 30 was also officially imported for into Renault Argentina as a luxury car to compete with other imported models such as the Ford Granada, citroen CX, Mercedes Benz and Toyota crown in 1979 and 1982, mostly in TS V6 and TX versions.
A Renault 30 was used as an official state car for President François Mitterrand during his election campaigns from 1979 onwards, and then during first years in office, including when he won the election in 1981.[9] In 1984, he switched to its successor, Renault 25.
Shortly after their introduction, it soon became quite clear that the Renault 20 was too underpowered to cope with the overall size and weight of the car and that the Renault 30 was seen as too expensive for what was effectively the same car. In response to this, the R20TS was introduced, and used a new four-cylinder 1995 cc overhead camshaft engine rated at 1090NaN0 (which was shared with the Citroën CX and later the Peugeot 505). The new 2.0-litre engine was universally regarded as a big improvement. The following year (October 1978) saw the introduction of the R30 TX, a more luxurious fuel-injected version of the R30 TS, then the R20 Diesel in late 1979. By late 1981, all 1.6-litre R20s were discontinued, leaving the LS 2.0 as the smallest model in the range.[10]
In 1980 the NG1 five-speed transmission was switched for the longer-geared and smoother shifting 395 unit.[5] In July 1980, the 2.2-litre fuel-injected R20 TX was added to the range, followed by the R30 Turbo Diesel one year later.[10] The R30 Diesel Turbo has the trim of the R30 TX, albeit with unique alloys, with an engine delivering 850NaN0 derived from the naturally aspirated diesel engine. In France this engine was also available as an R20, beginning in early 1982. The range was facelifted for the 1981 model year.[5] Production of the 20 and 30 ceased on 16 October 1983 to make way for the Renault 25.
The Renault 30 TS was assembled in Venezuela as well, with the carburetted PRV V6 engine in combination with either the four-speed manual or the automatic transmission. 748 examples were built, beginning in 1979.
Between 1979 and 1985, the then state-owned Romanian manufacturer Dacia produced a small number of Renault 20s under the name Dacia 2000, reserved entirely for the dignitaries and secret police of the Communist government led by Nicolae Ceauşescu. It used the 1090NaN0 2-liter engine of the R20 TS.
A specially prepared Renault 20 Turbo 4x4 driven by Bernard Marreau won the Paris-Alger-Dakar Rally in 1982. It had a turbocharged 1.6 litre engine as used in the Renault 18 Turbo and also had four-wheel drive.