1993 Renault 5 Campus Prima review from UK and Ireland

Required a pair of Coil Springs after the old ones had broke (very unusual?!?) resulting in a MOT failure.

Needed a new rear silencer, bargain at £25 fitted!

Fan belt needed replacing.

That's it!

The car was a run-out model after being replaced by the Clio in 1990 (run-out lasted 6 years!) the 5 was a entry level car with minimal equipment and I was fortunate enough mine had a rear wash wipe fitted! (this was apparently an 'option')

Being a budget model mine came with very basic seats and trim though this is bearable for occasional long journeys (not bi-weekly trips down the A11 to see Norwich City play as I used it for).

Unusually Renault deleted the 1100cc engine for this car and left us with a single 1400cc fuel-injected engine for both models Campus and Campus Prima. This is a very pokey unit and it returns excellent economy, typically 40-45mpg and the engine is a delight to work on should you ever need to, theres plenty of space under the bonnet.

The 5 is an excellent car to drive with lots of leg-room for the driver and well spaced pedals.

Steering is on the heavy side (though I didn't really notice as it was my first car)

Handling is supposed to be good if your brave enough to find it's limit. I don't think they came with anti-roll bars as my one certainly rolled a lot under swift (not even FAST) cornering.

The engine is very noisy and ride comfort is so-so depending on the surface really, they don't like bumpy roads at all.

Interestingly all the wiring is there should you want to fit accessories from an earlier model, such as a clock or fag lighter!. Though i was told it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to fit such items as central locking and electric windows though you may spend a lot of Saturdays down the scrappy looking for a dead GTS

I would say the R5 is an excellent car and a brilliant first-car and although my current car (a fully loaded 306) is superior in every way, I would say it the R5 was probably the best car I've owned so far.