Bangernomics
Richard Myers gets back in the saddle of his favourite off-roader
Did Renault build the best 4x4?
The Renault Scenic RX4 is a funny old creature, falling firmly into the bracket of ‘just too darned crazy for it’s time’. By that I mean it was either way too early for the buying public or was such a weird concept that nobody really got it. The RX4 is rapidly falling out of living memory, too. I’ve had a few over the years and have always loved the quirky looks, so when I was looking through some photos about a year ago and saw some snaps of our last one on a family holiday, I decided to search out another. The intervening time had dulled the staggeringly huge maintenance bills and the reasons for scrapping it after yet another expensive breakdown.
Over a few months we looked at just about every one that cropped up for sale from Devon to Dumfries and had given up hope of finding one still in 4x4 or without some horrendous noises underneath, only to be told that ‘They all do that’. Yeah, right.
Most were advertised as 4x4 but, as soon as I looked underneath, the majority had no rear propshaft. Most sellers were genuinely unaware they didn’t have a 4x4 on their hands, and one chap even said ‘Oh, I wondered why it was rubbish in the snow’, but I wanted a working 4x4 system.
Eventually this one turned up at the opposite end of the country, obviously. But a deal was done over the phone and a train duly hopped on. What appealed about this was the owner having a big pile of receipts including a main dealer one for a new replacement rear drive system. The bill for this was three times the advertised price of the car alone.
A quick test drive and shufty underneath confirmed everything was in the correct place.
It was nearly as described, yes it did have loads of tread on the tyres, but I didn’t think to ask how old they were. Turns out they were originals and had cracks the size of the Grand Canyon. Still, the deal was done and I headed home. Slowly. The 300 miles on the motorway quickly showed up the front passenger wheel bearings rapidly disintegrating. They were screaming to be set free by the time I got home. Eventually new tyres, cambelt, full service and both wheelbearings cost the same as the purchase price, but ho-hum, more lessons learned.
Since then I’ve cleaned the sunroof drain channels so have dry feet for the first time, changed the
brake fluid so it actually stops in a reasonable distance and tightened up the gear linkages so fifth gear can be found and isn’t just a figment of my imagination.
As a family bus, it feels little more than a lifted Scenic. Everything from the driver’s perspective is identical, even the 4x4 system is totally autonomous needing zero driver input. Having run one side by side with a Freelander 1, I can conclusively say it actually outperforms the little Land Rover. Sorry to fans of the green oval, but it’s simply down to the slightly better ground clearance of the RX4. The rest of the system is virtually identical, but when the Freelander gets hung up on ruts, the RX4 has that little bit more clearance to keep going. Approach and departure angle is marginally better on the RX4 and axle articulation look’s to be the same on both cars. Tyre sizes are the same as well.
There was obviously some industrial espionage going on somewhere back in the day.
If quirky cars make you smile, this one has to be somewhere near the top of the list. When they do work, they are comfy, fun and incredibly versatile family buses. An RX4 was the car my newborn twins came home from hospital in all those years ago, so I can vouch for their family credentials. And sentimental reasons are a huge part of why I went to the effort of seeking out this particular car recently. Our original one coped superbly with Lake District winters and muddy fields, plus the school run, for years. Nowadays it will be used sparingly and, subject to a mild makeover to fix a few bits of broken trim, plus a paintwork refresh, it wants for nothing currently – no doubt something else will have broken by the time this issue comes to print!
THE VERDICT
For the sheer pleasure of owning a very different and rare 4x4, with the option of a bit of mild greenlaning thrown in, not many things raise as much of a smile.