Talk:Renault 4

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The contents of the Renault 3 page were merged into Renault 4 on 25 October 2012. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page.

Can anybody check (and write down) how many 4Ls where produced? 4Ls are the third most produced cars, after Ford Model T and VW Beetle. More than 5 million units, if I remember well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 187.48.60.10 (talk) 18:51, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The R4 pictured on top isn't very authentic this R4 with a lateral exhaust was probably build in the seventies but has a R4 F6 front (the last Breadvan produced until 1992). Ericd 00:05, 19 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Though reasons such as emissions and safety legislation are often given for the Renault 4's demise, the Renault 4's popularity would not have lasted anyway. Outmoded production methods, more advanced competition and the reasons outlined above meant that the Renault 4 days were numbered, at least as a mainstream product. In any case, projects to replace the Renault 4 had been in development since the early seventies. However the continuing success of the Renault 4, the need to replace the Renault 5, the difficulties coming up with a suitable replacement (and the idea that the Renault 4's market would die with it) all meant that the Renault 4's replacement did not appear until twenty-two years later. When the Renault 4 finally went out of production in the early nineties, the French newspaper Libération celebrated its life with a series of photographs. There was a series of 1000 Renault 4 "Bye-Bye" counting down to the last one."

Please source it !

As far as I remenber the Liberation photos were Renault advertising ?

Ericd 15:52, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The F6 produced until 1992? I don't think so!

The F6 was replaced by the Express in 1985. But it seems that the standard "Fourgonette" remained in production until the end. Ericd 11:13, 31 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The following sentence, moved from the article, seems debatable.

"The Renault 4 is generally accepted as having pioneered the hatchback body style, and is therefore significant in the history of car design."

In 1986, the Renault 4's last year as part of Renault's British range, the Consumers' Association's Car Buying Guide did not include the car in its section on "Small Hatchbacks". Instead, it was listed in the "Bargain Basement" section, even though at £4,000 it was around the same price as the cheapest hatchbacks and could have been included in that section.

The reason it was never perceived as a hatchback is that it lacks the sloping rear end that is typical of the hatchback style. Instead, it has a much more upright rear door and this line provides space for a window above the load space, typical of the estate car body style. By contrast, hatchbacks of that time usually had no load-space window and in two-door versions the rear passenger window extended to the sloping rear line.

So the Renault 4 was not considered to be a hatchback during any of the time it was available on the British new car market. Adrian Robson 17:50, 9 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The gradient of the rear slope of the Renault 4 hardly disqualifies it from being a hatchback - many modern hatchbacks such as the VW Polo, Renault Modus, Fiat Punto, Renault Twingo, etc. are even more upright than than the Renault 4 was.

The fact that it did not appear in some random buyer's guide's hatchback section is hardly reason enough for it not to be considered a hatchback.

Besides, there are many reasons why it may not have been considered in the same class as ocntemporary hatchbacks, given the fact that it did not compete with the majority of hatchbacks in the eighties, which were in the supermini class, which the Renault 4 was not a part of. 83.71.70.227 May 13

It may be that 83.71.70.227 is right in saying that the Renault 4 was a hatchback. But I think the article needs to clarify why this might be so. The contemporary view (as demonstrated by the Consumers' Association report) was that it was an estate car styled like many others of the time. See for example the 1957 Vauxhall Victor http://www.kolumbus.fi/makkesgarage/brochures/broch14.html . Although larger, this had many of the same features as the Renault 4: tailgate hinged at the top, folding rear seats, side windows over the load area. If the article is to say that the Renault 4 was a hatchback, I think it needs also to explain what features make it distinctive from other estate cars of the time. Adrian Robson 08:16, 16 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This Vauxhall Victor looks like a Simca Marly... The question is whats the the difference between a hatchback and a van ?Ericd 22:53, 4 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The front-wheel drive 5-door Ford Escort hatchback has a shallow rear slope, and windows behind the rear doors. Many other hatchbacks (and some saloons) have these windows, e.g. 5-door Austin Metro. Estate cars generally have a tailgate reaching down to the floor, whereas hatchbacks generally have a deep rear sill. The criteria might also include the length of the roofline behind the rear seats. A van generally has no windows (or sometimes small ones) behind the front doors. David, 17 July 2006

So a hatchback is a hatchback and not an estate depending on whether there is a deep sill? What a load of rubbish! A hatchback is simply a short estate. An estate is a long hatchback, and that's the only difference, and it is not black or white.

The Renault 4 can be considered the father of the hatchback because of the way the car was laid out: 5 doors, flat floor, folding seats, counterbalanced 1-piece tailgate hinging from the top, rear parcel shelf, spare wheel under the car- it led directly to the Renault 16 and that is undisputedly a major chunk of hatchback DNA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr hackenbacker (talk • contribs) 12:29, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

the Fiat 127 was IMO considered to be the first true hatchback. The Renault 4L was never thought of as such. Hatchbacks have sloping tailgates! So I’m deleting this unsubstantiated claim: “Although originally marketed as a small estate car, it is now regarded as the first mass production hatchback car.” from the article. Boscaswell talk 05:12, 8 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Editors!

My Frineds has an old Renault 4. My friend's make some pictures about his car. Pleas use it, if you think it is good.

http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A9p:Hasznalt-renault-4-2.jpg
http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A9p:Hasznalt-renault-4-1.jpg
So if you think please use it.

David from Hungarian Wikipedia.

i cant see these pictures --Markusizr (talk) 20:06, 8 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

How can I get a service manual for Renault 4TL I own? It's capacity is 845cc and it is relatively in good condition. But it goes not more than 10km per 1 litre of fuel.

I think you can still find the "Revue technique automobile" for the R4 in France. But it's in French. Ericd 18:47, 6 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'd say that the Renault 4 is a small family car: completely different from the supermini concept. I believe it was the successor of the Dauphine, not the first supermini car from Renault, the first Renault supermini was the Renault 5. Can someone adjust this timeline? I also think that the Renault 5 is not the successor of the renault 4, since we are talking about two completely different types of cars. The renault 6 would have to be promoted to "family car" (new category) i.s.o. small family car. 144.95.32.9 12:08, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Renault 4 is definitely not the successor of the Dauphine, the Dauphine's successor being the Renault 8 (in France it was dubbed 'Dauphine Carré' meaning square Dauphine). I agree that it wasn't the Renault 5 either that replaced the Renault 4, they're indeed very different cars. The french version of this article says it has no successor.

Agreed: the R4 was the sucessor to the 4CV (Quatre Chevaux or "Quatch"). The 4CV was produced in the Renault factory on Il de Seguin, Paris, until mid 1961 when the production lines were changed over to the Renault 4. Dauphine production continued alongside until much later, and the Dauphine was in a higher market segment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr hackenbacker (talk • contribs) 12:24, 29 May 2009 (UTC) Dauphines were in production until much later too, sometime around 1967/68. They were probably killed off at the same time- mid-late '67- that the R4 got a 4 speed gearbox and the 845 cc engine became readily available for french buyers, and subsequently the 10 was in the works to provide an upmarket alternative to the 8 in the same way the 8 had to the dauphine. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr hackenbacker (talk • contribs) 12:42, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder where you can see Renault 4 in Playtime. Tati had a deal with Simca so you mostly see Simca 1300s and Simca 1000s, plus a few other cars like the Citroën truck of the restaurant, but Renault 4s ? Hektor 13:34, 9 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This is an obvious mistake. The author means Trafic, the previous film by Jacques Tati,from about 1970, which is entirely about the Monsieur Hulot character designing and building a camping car based on a Renault 4 van, then ineptly trying to get it to Brussels for the motor show and failing miserably. The Renault 4 is in just about every scene. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr hackenbacker (talk • contribs) 12:21, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]