1991 Renault 21 Reviews

High/Low beam switch failed 95000km, 2nd hand replacement to 20 minutes and one screwdriver to replace.

Remote central locking key broken through wear about 100000km.

Rear electric windows starting to slow down.

One of the rear door locks works intermittently.

Reading light switch starting to need wiggling to work.

Air conditioning needs re-gassing.

Really well behaved car, handles variable surfaces well, if not noisy on some.

Never had a reliability problem although still getting regular services done. Scheduled 120000km cam belt nice bonus. Most cars require them 90-100000km.

Quirky auto transmission jerky when cold, but OK once warmed up. Changes down too quickly when coasting.

Really good open road economy, better than 8l/100km if speed kept below 105km/hr.

Like all french cars I have driven, the seats are good, and headroom great. I'm 191 cm and car feels roomy.

Excellent luggage capacity, can fit 3 sets of golf clubs easily. Reasonably low tailgate for ease of access.

Air conditioning needs to be re-gassed, since 125000 km approx.

One of the door locks doesn't always work for central locking.

Remote central locking key broken.

Front door linings starting to wear through.

Full-beam switch failed about 95000km.

One of the rear electric windows slow to go up.

This has been a great car and I thoroughly enjoy driving it.

Has had all the regular services and has never missed a beat.

Comfortable to travel long distance and quick off the mark in city driving.

It is a shame that it is starting to age a bit, starting to show signs of wear.

A bit hungry around town (auto), but economical on the open road, under 8l/100km.

Central door locking sometimes "forgets" one door.

Several oil leaks.

Dashboard LCD screen deteriorated.

Dashboard lighting sometimes switches off (wire loose).

Air conditioning regulator at 120000 Km.

Radiator leak at 125000 Km.

Gearshift pommel came unstuck at 140000 Km.

This car is very pleasant to drive, the engine gives its real power only above 3500 revs, it easily reaches 6500 revs generating a lot of noise. Under 3500 revs the car will behave like a good family car and your passengers will not be able to guess it can become a furious road racer.

The car has a magic suspension setup and good brakes.

The seats are very comfortable and the hatchback is convenient.

The engine is very reliable, but the gas consumption is too high (12 liters/100 Km).

Rear door electrics failed when the wires in the hinge mechanism failed (twice).

Cam-belt damaged (but luckily didn't snap - only found by chance), possibly by a small stone entering the cam-belt cover.

Clutch got heavier and stopped disengaging until replaced at 100,000 miles. This cost in the region of 600 pounds.

Front subframe collapsed due to corrosion (this is "apparently" fairly rare) which was in the region of 400 pounds to fix (2 weeks after the clutch was done - unlucky me!)

Heater hose rubbed itself through on the engine breather hose, causing a small leak that still held pressure when tested by the AA. Had to be fixed as the engine lost water when hot though.

Remote headlight adjuster system stopped pushing the headlights up enough, that was 70 pounds to buy a new system.

Door switches for courtesy light seemed to be replaced too many times - not costly, but a bit annoying.

Diesel tank straps rusted through and the bolts had seized onto the chassis, so had to be cut out - not easy!!! 45 pounds for a pair.

CAV Filter head/priming pump replaced when it didn't pump any more. 45 pounds from a diesel specialist (or a Ford dealer if you know the part number), for exactly the same part at Renault you would pay 85 pounds.

Alternator regulator went leaving me with 18 volts coming out. Got through headlight bulbs! Blew 2 in one journey before I could get it fixed. 150 pounds with a 2 year parts and labour guarantee from Renault (as the local part shop tried 3 different ones, all were wrong).

Gearbox main input shaft bearing became VERY noisy (louder than the diesel engine.) This can be heard while idling in neutral and goes away when the clutch is fully depressed. This is what finally made me trade the car in as a recon'd gearbox was more than the car was worth.

Part failures aside, it was cheap and easy to run and service (I did this myself). Brakes, discs, filters etc were all pretty cheap from Halfords.

Fuel economy was great, I got over 55 MPG on long runs with the massive boot completely full of luggage. This allowed well over 600 miles from a single tank.

The boot capacity was extremely good. A 2 seater sofa would go in (with the split back seats folded down) with no trouble.

The car felt solid and handled very well for an estate as it had 2 sets of springs on the rear suspension and decent sized tyres.

The stereo system was great and the remote controls made it very convenient to use.

If buying one second hand listen to the gearbox, check the gear change is light and easy, and check for corrosion on the front subframe and fuel tank straps.