I have just seen 480,000 Km (300,000 miles) come and go on my GTD. This is a French model, 2068cc Diesel (no turbo) - sold as the Renault 21 GTD Manager in France. I've had the car long enough to put 200,000 miles on it. I have had minor niggles with electrics and slightly less minor ones with radiators - I am currently fitting my third! Other than that, this car has been fantastic. Roomy, reliable, economic (40mpg or 7.1l/100km no problem, mainly motorway at 85mph / 150kph). Rust is becoming a problem on rear wheel arches, rear door skins and front chassis crossmember.
I own a 1993 savanna diesel turbo. Wonderful car and got 14000 miles out of it in 14 months. Always be careful about rust on these vehicles. Have a good look at the body not forgetting the underside of the car. Never buy without MOT unless you can do failure certificate stuff cheaply. No failure cert do not buy. I moved house three times with this vehicle so it paid for itself in just removal vehicle hire costs. Electrics should be 100% or else trouble is your destiny.
A year ago I sold my 1991 Renault 21 2.0 TXi with 225,000 on the clock. A fantastic, powerful and roomy car, but very faulty. I switched it for the Laguna Estate 1.8 and Renault gave me €4,400 for it, but maintenance and service cost me € 5,200 during the 4 years it had it. Average petrol consumption was 11 lt/100 km (in the city and in the motorway going 160-180 km/h). At 100 km/h in the motorway it consumed 7 lt/100 h. Although its continuous faults gave me the creeps when I had it, I already miss this car.
Renault 21 Turbo "Tour De Cours" I've had mine for 6 months and it really is an excellent car although rather thirsty on short journeys. Mine cost me £600 plus another £250 for parts and labour to get it on the road. I had to buy a car as i had been made redundant from a reps job and lost my company car but in 27 yrs repping I've never had a car as well appointed as this 21 and certainly never had anything so bloody fast!!! There is bags of room for passengers and the boot is huge--only an MPV offers more carrying capacity. It is delightful to drive and only short thirsty runs are a problem--about 25mpg. Any decent long runs see me getting 36mpg which is fine. My son fitted a dump valve and even with the boost running at only 50%, the performance is incredible. ALL IN ALL, A GOOD BUY-- WORTH £850 OF ANYONES MONEY
Renault 21 TL -88. Bigger problems only with vacuum leaks, nuts holding carburettor should be glued into place! Otherwise very nice, roomy with good roadholding and good looks. A very charming lady!
I had my 1.7 litre from 2.5 years old and 24000 miles to 11 years. It was highly under-rated by the motoring press and much cheaper to buy than a Sierra.
The rear suspension was so good that they stuck it on the Laguna! The engine was willing and easy to work on (I did all my own servicing). The bodywork was superbly rustproofed but the interior was a bit plasticky. The boot was enormous.
Weak points are front subframe mounts (an expensive repair), heater matrix (also expensive) and driveshaft gaiters. Petrol in the carb evaporates when the car is left hot and causes fuel starvation. Renault's fix was to put a switch for the electric fan on the carb and connect a length of donkey cock (tubing) from the fan to the carb to cool it down. This runs the battery down after short journeys because the fan operates for half an hour after the car has stopped. Don't bother with the mod!
I loved mine until the day the gearbox went at a mere 116,000 miles. On the whole it was reasonably reliable. I sold it to a Renault mechanic for £50 who fixed it and put it back on the road for another 3 years!
This car has 180k kms and only a new rad, filters, braked pads and tyres were needed. Powerful and strong engine, uses 1 litre of oil (Castrol 15w-40) every 4500 kms which is great, better than average. A/C system is superb, injection system works flawlessly, suspension and steering are high quality. I can't complain.
I bought a 1989 R21 1.7tl a year ago paid the princly sum of £100 with a years test!! had to spend about £300 nothing major exhaust service etc.Now the car is superb though dated and will fly through its next mot.I would seriously consider another newer model but this time a 2ltr.
I've got a savanna 7-seat estate. Plenty of room, but zero image therefore dirt cheap. Don't buy one from a dealer as they depreciate like falling concrete. Trim falls off with amazing regularity and rust around the doors and sills can be a problem. If you've got a big family and no money this will do the trick.
Owned for 6 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed December 2003.
Performance
Reliability
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My dad has owed his 1993(k)renault 21 savanna for 3 years now. we have a family of six including me and we're starting to get cramped in it. we now own a toyota space cruiser because it has more room. but it lacks in power compared to the savanna our savanna is in exercellant condition for its age my dad payed £2000 but that was three years ago its value has gone down over the years
Owned for 3 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed October 2002.
Performance
Reliability
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i got my first r21 for christmass 2 years ago from santa. i got it to learn to rally and to handbrake. she is especially good at doing the knight rider trick, u know when he comes out of the trailer backwards and does a 180 on the road. i think she has amazing handling and power. she can eat my friends G.T.I. golf off the road.
For Renault 21 2.1TD spare parts the Partco chain have or can obtain most parts filters,brakes,shocks etc. Exhausts last a lifetime' now 7yrs old and still original. Check for camshaft wear,a of profile will cause a smoky engine and mot failure. It can be replaced without removing the cylinder head. All parts can be obtained from Bright's Filton Ave,Bristol for about £230.
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed November 2000.
Performance
Reliability
Parts Availability
Overall Value for Money
mavellous value for money. No depreciation and fairly good performance with greast comfort and lots of extras.
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