My first car was a 1974 16TL manual and to this day, still the best car I ever owned (the rust however, was not good). These were the thinking man's Citroen DS; a fantastic ride yet far more practical and none of the complexity of the Citroen. I'm glad the car was sold before I saw the video or advert, otherwise there'd have been broken piggy banks everywhere...
I agree - my first car was a used R16 here in the US. I got it cheap because no one knew what it was really. Great handling, Gas Milage and interior flexibility. Thanks for teh reminder of what it was like to drive.
I owned a 16tl manual from 1982 to 1984 in retrospect perhaps the best all-rounder I ever owned though a little weird to drive. I remember the column gears and the dash-mounted hand brake it rolled in corners but overall it was a brilliant characterful car.
I had a '77 TL manual, lovely car, the only vehicle I have ever owned that had too much seat adjustment for my long legs (I'm 6'4"). The ride was something else, even after 4's, 5's and 12's, and it was pretty good on fuel. Eventually it was replaced with an Audi 100 GL, which was the most awful car I ever owned and I quickly returned to Renault, but sadly not a 16.
Thanks for the video my dad had 2 of the 16s a White one And a metallic green one the green one was so quiet on tick over it was unreal! But unfortunately the automatic gearbox went a bit funny in it so my dad had to resort in using the gearstick to change the gears manually lol also I can remember vividly my dad‘s Renault overheating going through great Yarmouth and the glass coolant bottle smash on to the floor as we were driving through Great Yarmouth Dad replaced it on the caravan site we stopped at with a upgraded plastic coolant bottle good old days never forget !
I always wanted one of these back in the 70s when they were new. My father did buy a 16TX which I loved but it rained one day the electric sunroof and windows wouldn't shut threfore drenching mymother. She made him get rid of it after that. Now I'm blind so can no longer drive.
This was literally a childhood car for me. My dad got one in the late seventies and threw it about the place all over England. I am not aware of it being anything but good.
We had a 1972 16TS auto from new till it was written off in an accident (while parked) in the late 80s. Great car, no rust, but I always regretted it was not a manual.
Thanks for the video, this was my parents’ first car in the Netherlands, ‘76 model year with manual transmission, same blue color as the one in the video.🙂
Fabulous, the manual column change was good, this later dash is similar to the TX but not quite the same, you got a grab handle for the passenger and dials.
1:00 we called this "starts at a quart of key turn" "démarrer au quart de clé". Satisfying. A 70s classic that still had that old school french design refinement. I prefer the Renault 18 for an 80s classic with much more modern interior and mechanics
Probably automatic transmission number three or four. Unfortunately, no lockup torque converter yet either. I had one until the transmission failed and that was it. Other than major things breaking all the time, and the very heavy steering etc. I did love the car.
This (in manual form) was my first car. Underpowered, rusty, atrocious body roll and suspension. The only good thing about it was the super comfy seats. When it rapidly turned to iron dust I replaced it with an 18 TS, a much better car in every way, I still miss it.
