The original supermini, Renault’s Le 5 was just about as cute as four wheels and a seat could ever hope to be.
My:
Trust us, the 5 is a great little car. It might not have appeared so in your younger days, with its baby toy styling and saggy backside that always looked like it was scraping on the floor. Only now after yet another slew of dreary shopping carts (Volkswagen, what on earth happened?) do we see the truth; the Renault 5 remains one of the most interesting cars ever made.
Unsurprisingly introduced as a successor to the Renault 4, the 5 was intended as a stylish alternative to the Morris 1000 and a bigger alternative to the all-prevailing Mini. Back in 1972 the world’s streets were already becoming thicker with cars than people. The Renault 5 got you where wanted to be without making a big old fuss about it.
So it might not have been much of a handler (except in Turbo guise, though that was an entirely different car under the bonnet), but Le 5 held onto its character with infinitely huggable charm. Plus it’s true that the entire planet’s best looking girls (in bobble hats) still drive a Mark 1.
Name:
The MK 1 Renault 5 was available in a variety of engine sizes for its twelve years in production before the MK 2 took over. The most popular variation being the cheap and cheerful 956 cc. In France there was even a 782-cc model that officially did 450 miles to the gallon and still had enough left in the tank to power a series 11a Land Rover.
5’s overall layout was not that different from its predecessor, which admittedly worked rather well in the crudest possible way. Mechanically simple (apart from a complicated torsion bar suspension system), it happily reminds us of those cars you used to rub up and down on the carpet and then watch fly off into the skirting board. The MK 1’s dash-mounted gear change was soon replaced by a ‘normal’ one that, bafflingly, did not seem to engage as fluidly. Typical of the French. Just because you ask them to change something they actually make it worse out of sheer spite.
Is:
hecklerspray‘s very first venture onto the city streets was in a Renault 5. It was as embarrassing as hell when most kids were driving things that ended in SR or GT. Though in dark glasses and a scarf the 5 was a right royal giggle. It jerked and twitched all over the shop, constantly feeling as though it would tip over. Ah, driving a small car with feeling, remember that? If we only knew then what we know now we would have kept one tucked away somewhere on stilts.
It’s no good getting a MK 2 however. There may be loads more about, but it doesn’t have the buggy-boy charisma of the MK 1. It doesn’t make you laugh.
Earl:
If you want a used MK 1 (or Phase 1 as it’s sometimes known) you are in for a long journey. Since it has been out of production for twenty-two years expect most examples to be rusted old heaps that couldn’t make it onto a breakdown truck without tearing in half. Either that or you are in precious owner territory, which is just as bad because they never want to sell the things.
We have found a neat model Renault 5 on eBay for all those who wallow in nostalgia as much as we do. It’s the next best thing to sitting inside a real one and putting your shoulder out of joint reaching for the seat belt. If you are still struggling to agree with our Renault passion, bear in mind that Le Car introduced us all to one of the greatest rally beasts in history. Oh yeah, baby.
With unpolluted eyes you might call the cheeky 5 rubbish. After several thousand-odd miles and a fumble in the backseat, we still call it buddy.
[story by Chris Laverty]