quelle horreur !
This thing is rather ugly, looks like a big sleeper, and has the power of a small asmatic ant.
for 16K ... you can get a second hand M3,boxter, s2000, z4, hell even an SLK or a TT, if hairdrying is your kind of thing
Thumbing its nose at yet another grim British summer, Renault has added a Gordini model to its Wind roadster line-up and so given us all an excuse to put on our best French accent, pretend to be Maurice Trintignant and ponder why Renault didn’t name it Le Vent and dodge the inevitable flatulence jokes. Renault Wind Gordini …
0-60 in 10 seconds is hardly hot hatch country is it. Sod all the geegaws like leather seats, BlueFang, usb media player. Get it to do 0-60 in sub 8 seconds. Otherwise its just hairdressers' special.
Better still pay roughly the same price and get the GT line 1.6 VVT version.
My horrendous American oilburning 4x4 can manage something very close to that 0-60 time, even though it weighs a couple of tons. And, in spite of having all the styling and beauty of a breezeblock, it still isn't as utterly, hopelessly fugly as this thing. It also isn't French and it's rather good at not getting stuck in snow or on muddy fields.
To be fair, I was probably a bit bonkers to buy that car (what with the cost of fuel, tax and what have you) but it still makes far more sense as a mode of transport than this mixed-up crapmobile.
REN 133? That would make it the 133HP Renault Sport version surely? I have the Twingo version of *that*, and it's a highly entertaining hot hatch with nice things like cruise control (in a Twingo!) as standard.
The Wind is a horror to look at though. Where the Twingo is a bit bland (and a bit silly with the white painted-on bits), the Wind is just ugly. It is too tall and narrow for a roadster, which is a shame because the punchy engines are very good and the build quality is a lot better than Renaults of old.
It's a shame that the designers of the Wind had apparently never heard of the Renault Sport Spider - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Sport_Spider
Renault styling is really in the pooper right now. It doesn't really have much going for it this car.
Ugly, expensive, slow and uneconomical.
It used to be that French cars made up for the fact they'd turn to dust after 3yr by being pretty. This isn't even pretty.
And 36.8mpg from a 1.2!!!
I've average 35.1mpg from my 2.0T 200hp.
I spend rather a lot of time on the road, what with my semi-long distance relationship and all. The thing is, stopping at a service station and getting a cup of coffee (which is surprisingly nice around here, better than in the average bar, and this is in a country that will commit collective suicide the second our coffee shipments don't come through, mind) for the road is really bloody nice, keeps me awake and the car smells of coffee rather than my rotting feet.
So there, this is why I perform this ridiculous activity.
"What is it with people wanting to drink coffee in their cars? How has this ridiculous activity managed to become mainstream and acceptable?"
Why would it be rediculous for my lift-sharing passengers to want to drink a cup of coffee in the morning whilst I drive them in to work? Or is it just that you assumed everyone drives around by themselves, like you perhaps?
Ever since the lard-arse Méganne Renault seem to have lost the plot with styling. Maybe I just don't get modern styling, but why the rising body line and high haunches? Why the gaping grille? Why the side vents, as though you need extra cooling for the brakes on a road car? The R8 Gordini looked superb (though sadly rust prevention wasn't a priority in those days). This one just looks tacky.
Nostalgia try again!
Remember my mum has a brand new Renault 5 Gordini way back with tinted windows (very cool back then).
Was really quick and held the road like “something stuck to the road”, after 6 months the poor thing was rusty and the passenger door fell off!
Oh! Well, better luck this time Renault!
Still preferred my old Maxi though.
My wife just got a 1.2 GT-Line. I think Renault pre-registered a bunch in July and then flogged them to the dealers to get rid of them, presumably to clear the decks for the Gordini edition. Got a decent discount for ours at six weeks old and just 30 miles of demos on the clock.
It's no sports car, but the 1.2 (really 1.15) turbo is not bad, and makes a decent noise which is just as well, as you dont get any choice in whether you want to hear it or not. The handling is brilliant, reminds me off all the old minis I owned in my yoof, there is no bodyroll in corners at all. Talking of minis, the roof mechanism is actually made by Webasto, so that's good enough for me.
The uprated stereo with bluetooth, cruise control and climate control also comes on the GT-Line spec, so all the Gordini gets you is some additional blue and grey leather.
It does look pig-ugly in the photos but doesnt look so bad in the flesh, although as mentioned its still a bit too tall for a proper roadster.
I have to say that the view out the back isnt that bad, it is a doddle to reverse compared to the Kia Pro'cee'd we had before.
However the main reason we bought it is it is in a market of one. Find me another drop top with a decent boot for £12K with 3 years warranty and AA cover?
^ What has the Renault Flatulence got to do with IT anyway? It has a bluetooth stereo!
If they'd done it properly, they'd have put the engine at the back and turned the drivetrain round (like was done in the MGF) to separate power from steering.
However the lack of power for an all metal lump makes it a tepid hatch at best. Only 100bhp from a 1.2? A 700cc Smart Roadster manages >101bhp (before remapping to get it towards 120!) and can do 0-60 in sub 8 seconds (post remap) despite its terrible gearchange!
Not sure about 17" wheels with low profile tyres either: on British, potholed roads the tyres don't absorb the bumps and you end up buckling the alloys!
Ah well, that's the BRABUS engine rather than the standard 80hp one. In design terms the Roadster *was* loosely derived from the little ForTwo city car.. but done properly in terms of design: rear-engined, rear-wheel drive, stuck to corners like it was on rails and an old-fashioned turbo with real turbo lag (kids these days don't know what turbo lag is!)
I moved from a Roadster to a Twingo RS. The Twingo isn't nearly as fun (although the power to weight ratio is about the same as the BRABUS Roadster). It's a helluva lot more reliable though.
For added madness, you could get a Roaster with a Smartuki coversion, basically a 160hp motorike engine..
Looks pretty, but the appeal wore off after a few days driving.
The main problem was the instruments are set so deep into the dash that you can't actually see them in sunlight - seriously, each dial is at the end of a tube about 6 inches deep, and they're not lit unless the lights are on. Not sure what Renault were thinking there. Pretty underpowered too, although the roof was nicely done.
Why did they hinge the roof in the middle, rather than put it on a couple of rails and slide it back? The boot lid thingy would only have to move up a foot or so, and you could open and close the roof in the multi-storey instead of having to find somewhere to stop outside.
Only petrol engines available, so monster emissions and tax.
The TCe engines do seem to be a bit thirsty. I only got 35 or so from a 1.4 TCe Megane convertible I hired earlier in the year, I was expecting a lot more. Not exactly quick either, but the CC is a bit heavy.
Its a pretty little thing when you see it in meatspace, the pictures dont do it justice.
Personally though I will stick to my Safrane 2.2Vi. Quick, reliable, £500 and gets 35mpg @ 70mph. Whats not to like.
The Gordini's have a long history of being widowmakers - all the way through from the original Renault 8 version with the engine in the boot (yes, you did end up facing the other way more than you wanted to) and the utterly insane R5 Gordini with the mid mounted turbo motor.
Personally again, I like my comfort so the Safrane Biturbo AWD would be my pick - or maybe pull the motor from that and put it in a 25 - *that* would be enough to satisfy any raving nutcase, since the 25 just barely scrapes a tonne & that would make for almost 130bhp/tonne with the stock motor... tuned the PRV biturbo is good for maybe 350-400 range.
Its good for what it is - but not for me..
Looks like a stale bun, stays like stink in an elevator..
And, despite being sold as a "roadster" has all kinds of rear visibility issues. The open top might as well be the hatch of a submarine. The most claustrophiliac convertible yet?
Get the Daihatsu Copen. Almost as slow, but way more fun - which is the point in a roadster. Way more cute/beautiful too. As a plus it's Japanese (Daihatsu brand belongs to Toyota), so won't have pieces falling off.
And no, I don't own or sell Daihatsu. I do have an MX-5 though, for, you know, fun.