French perfection
As the owner of the Renault 16 in Martin Buckley’s comparison with the Maxi (August 2021), I feel I must reply to Chris Johns’ letter (December 2021), which seems to be trying to rewrite history.
Firstly, the R16 was arguably the great original modern ‘lifestyle’ car, blending comfort and practicality, style and technology. It had been on sale for half a decade before the Maxi appeared on the scene and it’s well known that British Leyland – as well as other manufacturers – had bought one to study, and the Maxi was BL’S copy of the concept.
Designed for British conditions and with five years to improve on the R16’s shortcomings, the Maxi undoubtedly did some things better. However, the Maxi is the better car? I think not. The Renault had a wealth of new technologies not seen in the Maxi, too many to list them here, such as the highpressure diecast all-aluminium engine, the block of which was an engineering marvel. Although not overhead-cam, it was light, smooth, efficient and very durable.
The assertion that the R16’s handling was odd is rubbish: any road test of the time will tell you that the roadholding was excellent, with the good balance of having the engine behind the front axle. Neither is it noisy: the 1971 Motor road test commented on the high standard of refinement, which was further improved when a five-speed gearbox arrived in 1973.
The Renault was outsold by the Maxi in the British market, as you would expect, but it sold extremely well considering that in those days imported cars were bought in much lower numbers than today. It was voted European Car of the Year in 1965, the British automotive press universally praised it – as did journalists in other countries – and Stirling Moss was very impressed.
Finally, the sales figures confirm my popular view that the R16 was the superior car: it outsold the Maxi at the rate of nearly five to one.
Richard Allen
Via email