Renault 25: Французский флагман своего времени

The Renault 25 is an executive car produced by the French automaker Renault from 1983 to 1992. The 25 was Renault's flagship, the most expensive, prestigious, and the largest vehicle in the company's line up. It placed second in the 1985 European Car of the Year rankings. In total, 780,976 were built from 1983 until 1992. All 25s were built in Sandouville, near Le Havre, France.

Introduced at the end of 1983 for a March 1984 start of sales, the Renault 25 was a large step forward in nearly every aspect from the Renault 20 / Renault 30 range it was replacing. Its five door liftback body was penned by designers Gaston Juchet and Robert Opron of Citroën SM fame, and the unconventional style (the wraparound rear window one of Opron's signature design features was used on many of his earlier designs such as the SM, the Renault Fuego and Renault 11) was aimed at giving the car a notchback look in order to overcome customer preference outside France for formal sedans in the segment. The 25 was one of the first cars designed from the start for aerodynamic efficiency giving a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.31, a key factor in improving fuel economy. The TS model briefly held the unofficial title of "world's most aerodynamic mass production car" with a Cd of 0.28, and at its launch, the 25 was easily the best in its class for fuel economy. All Renault 25 models were front wheel drive, with four cylinder (2 and 2.2 L petrol injection or 2.1 L diesel) and six cylinder (2849 cc and 2458 cc turbo injection) engines mounted longitudinally forward of the front axle. The 25's performance was above average for its class, at least in the V6 Turbo specification. A turbodiesel version of the J8S engine was also available. The 25 was praised for its ride comfort and spirited handling (despite slight understeer, and torque steer on V6 Turbo models). A newly designed manual transmission drew unanimous praise for its precision and smoothness (although the detent spring on fifth gear could cause misselection of third gear). The futuristic interior was executed by Italian designer Marcello Gandini (of Lamborghini fame) and was somewhat controversial, but the 25's passenger compartment was considered quiet, spacious, and well lit. Equipment levels were high and set new standards for French cars, the 25 including among other features, an express up and down feature on the driver's power window, voice alerts (covering items such as improperly shut doors/bonnet/boot – oil pressure, engine temperature/charging circuit and blown bulbs), and one of the world's first remote stereo controls, mounted to the right of the steering column (controlling volume +/–, station search, station select (jog wheel) in radio mode with volume +/–, mute and track advance (if supported)). For the first time since World War II, Renault had an entry in the full size market segment outside France.

The Renault 25's least durable part was the automatic transmission. As a result, most 25s remaining are the five speed manual and few automatics have survived. Three automatic transmissions were used on R25: MJ3, 4141, both three speed, and a new four speed AR4, later used on the Renault Safrane as AD4/AD8. Due to the poor quality and design of the ATF cooler, especially on the later AR4, these versions have gained a poor reputation for reliability. A leaking ATF cooler could lead to gearbox failure with little or no physical warning, except for ATF stains beneath the vehicle to which not all drivers paid attention or not quickly enough. The first transmissions started failing within a few years, while the model was still in production. Renault then prepared a package that was to replace the original poor quality cooler regardless of vehicle age and mileage. However, the cooler location in front of the right wheel could not be changed. As a result, Renault 25 Automatics with the AR4 transmission are rare today.

The car underwent a facelift in June 1988, with a new front end, taillights, interior materials, and front suspension. Essentially, every panel was changed on the facelifted car, with the intent to smooth the styling. The new version also featured more powerful engines, the 2.2i engine being dropped and replaced by a 12v version of the 2.0i engine which produced
There were a small number of run out post facelift cars fitted with the 2.2i engine to use up stocks, these were rated at Production ended in February 1992, to make way for the Renault Safrane.

An extended wheelbase version of the initial Renault 25 was called the Renault 25 Limousine. It was longer than the standard car and was available in two variants. The standard 25 Limousine had the same rear bench seat as the standard wheelbase model whereas the Executive version had two individual seats with electric adjustment. The limousine (only available with the 2.7 L V6 for RHD markets) was dropped from the range of Renault UK, within two years of its introduction in 1985, but continued in other European markets. Coachbuilders, such as Boonaker, provided bulletproof variants as well as fitting 2.5 L V6 Turbo engines. For a time, the President of France used an armored limousine variant of the Renault 25. Chrysler was basically acquired by Daimler Benz in May, 1998. The Renault 25 chassis was used for the ensuing LH FWD cars. Then it was decided due to market trends against FWD that the future cars would be RWD. Thus the chassis was modified to have a larger center tunnel, Mercedes Benz E class suspension components were used, and the resulting chassis became the underpinnings of the Dodge Charger/Challenger and Chrysler 300 series of cars. V6 and V8 engines with ZF transmissions and Mercedes Benz independent rear suspensions were used. This can be seen by the lack of universal joints in the driveshaft, which is typical in American cars. Instead, rubber flex disks are used as is typical in Mercedes Benz cars.

(French market specifications unless indicated otherwise. All hp metric.)

2.1 L 8v I4 TD (1984–88, trim level 1) and GTD (1984–92, trim level 2) Top speed:
2.1 L 8v I4 Turbo D (1984–92, trim level 3) and Turbo DX (1984–92, trim level 4 except no express up/down driver window before 1989) Top speed:

The 25 was also exported to Australia. Introduced in 1985, it was priced at A$35,000 without cruise control. It had a disc drum brake setup, rather than four wheel discs as on the Renault 18. The R25 was exported to the United Kingdom from the beginning of 1984, where its hatchback body style helped it to stand out compared with conventional saloons. GTX in the United Kingdom was equivalent to Level 3 in the above list & used the 123 hp 2.2i engine. For the facelift versions the equivalent to the GTX was the TXI, with the 2.0 12v engine of 140 hp. The 12v head from the 2.0 engine was latterly used in the J7T 2.2i engine in Safrane. The 2.2 engines in the Safrane are effectively a long stroke version of the 2.0 engine – which gave better torque but was less free revving. For the United Kingdom, the pre facelift range included TS, Monaco (being a special edition with metallic brown paint, Monaco badging on the boot and C Pillar insert panels, Leather interior, and some other changes from the TS spec), GTX, V6 & V6 Turbo. The facelift cars were TX (2.0 12v/2.2i special order), TXI (2.0i 12v/2.2i special order), V6, V6 Turbo for a short period, and Baccara (2.9i V6/2.5i V6 Turbo) which was the top of the range. The 2.2i (123 hp) engine in the Phase 2 cars was only available 'while stocks last'. The lower compression 108 hp 2.2 was not sold in the United Kingdom.