Faults:

Fuel pump conked out at about 100,000 miles, but the scrappy is a gold mine for cheap bits. Original parts cost a king's ransom.

CV boots seem to 'go' with disturbing frequency.

General Comments:

A solid little run around with excellent reliability.

The handling was very good and the grip wonderful.

The seats and suspension were hard, and so long distance hauls were a chore.

The build quality was very good and the engine responsive.

The clutch was a nightmare, and you needed a bionic left leg to depress it. The gear shift was very positive (stiff).

Needless to say, being a small hatch back, the carrying capacity was... that of a small hatch back.

The Renault 5 was an endearing little car and parting was such sweet sorrow. We had a lot of laughs in it, and enjoyed frustrating it by asking just too much!

Faults:

Normal wear and tear for a car that is 24 years old and made to last 5 years, tops.

General Comments:

This car was obtained from a friend in Atlanta, Georgia for $300. It sat in his back yard for many years with a tree growing up through the engine compartment, and served as a home for feral cats. His hobby at the time (early 1990s) was buying up Le Cars from Atlanta owners who were being quoted $800 for normal wear-and-tear maintenance (due to the need to jack up the engine to reach the starter and other user-unfriendly attributes). He performed the needed repairs, and sold them to his friends. We replaced the worn convertible top for $200 and bought some other goodies from a Miami distributor (e.g., halogen headlights, aluminum wheels, hood scoop).

Although this car was clearly not made to drive long distances on the interstate, it is the perfect city car. Its extremely narrow width allows parking in nooks and crannies that even a Toyota Camry would overwhelm. And in my town, where the majority of vehicles are SUVs and large pickup trucks, there are many such "unparkable" spaces to be had.

The car also functions as the foul-weather car of our fleet, and is one of the few cars to sit out in the elements. When the roads have been salted, we are reluctant to subject our “nicer” cars to this corrosive influence. Since Le Car is already a little rusty (but not too bad, being a southern car), we drive it on snowy and rainy days. It never fails to start, even on the coldest days in Tennessee (where the temperature rarely dips below 15 degree Fahrenheit). Unfortunately, the cloth top is getting a little leaky now, so dry towels are in order for any rainy day drive.

Faults:

The automatic gearbox needed some maintenance, as it wouldn't shift into first gear, which didn't keep me from driving it another couple of thousands of km.

No major defects were recorded, but it's only been in my possession for a short time.

General Comments:

This car is the most comfortable small car I've ever driven. True, you can't take a corner any faster than the average senior citizen in a wheelchair, but it cruises like you're on a magic carpet. Much better even than my Xantia!

Rust is its greatest enemy, you have to actively fight the onset of it in every spot exposed to water.

The seats are brilliant, and even tall people have room to spare (in the front seats, that is). The brakes are good, too.

Average fuel consumption is about 14 km to the liter, which is decent for an automatic I guess.

Steering requires some force, but I can live with that. I intend to keep this little gem as long as it will run.

Faults:

Nothing serious actually...

I had small electric problems, e.g. rear lights did not always work.

As I bought the R5 rear brakes squeaked, but this was solved by cleaning them.

General Comments:

This R5 was my first car, which I bought for very cheap (750 EUR).

It was great for the price: I drove a lot without any problem.

The ride was very comfortable.

As a car designed during the crisis it uses very little fuel.

Faults:

Nothing much - flat battery and a bit of rust on body and brakes.

General Comments:

Nice little car, not too quick, good for a first car. About 100 mph top speed, you can also make it look like a GT Turbo.