Renault Avantime Review (2002 to 2003)

Quick Summary

If the Avantime proved a prize turkey first time round, what's to stop it being an equal dud on the used market? A few things weigh in its favour. With the edge taken off its ridiculous pricing no longer looks quite such an anomaly. Secondly, history may well look upon it a little more sympathetically than European new car buyers ever did, making the Avantime a charmingly idiosyncratic purchase. It would be interesting to see the market research Renault undertook when Avantime project was in its earliest days because there must be figures somewhere indicating a huge untapped market of customers just waiting for a big coupe based on an MPV with styling that causes pedestrians to walk into lamp posts. The joke was on someone. Was it us or was it Renault?

Overall:

Models Covered – 3DR COUPE: (2.0 DYNAMIQUE, 3.0 V6 PRIVILEGE)

LOST IN THE TRANSLATION

Industry watchers will long remember the Avantime as the moment Renault, buoyed by a swelling wave of innovation, innovated perhaps a little too far. The idea of merging a Renault Espace chassis with an angular three-door coupe-style body came from way out of left field and left many potential buyers scratching their heads. As a used buy it's an intriguing proposition. Rarity is more or less guaranteed and it may well hold its value reasonably well due to curiosity value but there aren't too many about. Renault aimed to sell 1,500 Avantimes per year in the UK. Divide that by ten and you'd be nearer the mark.
Used Renault Avantime for sale

History of the Avantime

When Renault unveiled the Avantime at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show, few thought it anything but a typical show car. Flashy, impractical but guaranteed to generate a few headlines; it was novel but would never make production. Further inquiries revealed that a deal had already been struck with Lagardere, owners of Matra, to assemble the cars. The Avantime was getting the green light.Green, however, soon turned out to be amber. The initial design for the Avantime hadn't included facility for multiplex wiring, a feature that allowed all sorts of 'plug and play' electronic gizmos to be added or deleted as required. Realising that using a traditional wiring loom would render the futuristic-looking Avantime a touch archaic, a solution was designed that offered a rudimentary multiplex system, but this put Avantime production back another year.This may not have been hugely significant in the Avantime's fate, but its UK on sale date of summer 2002 saw advance orders looking pitiful. Nobody, it seems, was interested in buying a Renault luxury coupe built on an Espace chassis. Worse still, Renault had withdrawn Espace production from Matra's Romarantin factory in central France, leaving it with just the Avantime to rely upon. With global orders totalling 15 cars a day, the plant proved uneconomic and the decision to can the Avantime was taken in February 2003. In a statement it called the Avantime a "commercial failure" and said the decision to end production "drives Matra Automobile to end its activity in auto construction." The Avantime's fate was sealed when Renault themselves washed their hands of the car. "We will not take over production. A transfer of these facilities was considered out of the question because of the cost," a Renault spokesman was quoted as saying. He also stated the Avantime was based on outmoded technology and that it would take too long to restart production in new factories. A bold, if brief, chapter in France's automotive heritage had come to an ignominious end.
Used Renault Avantime for sale

Renault Avantime Road Test

The 3.0-litre V6 engine as fitted to flagship models is the same 210bhp unit as fitted to range-topping Laguna models and is enough to punt the Avantime up to 137mph, yet can average 25mpg. Although the automatic gearbox feels better suited to the Avantime V6, the manual gearbox makes it surprisingly good fun to hustle about. Otherwise, anybody who's driven an Espace will get a strong sense of déjà vu, with many of the minor controls being purloined from the MPV. There are some faults which luxury car buyers won't be used to - the way the doors judder into place and the modest turn of speed - but they pale into insignificance next to the satisfaction of making the average coupe/cabriolet/4x4 appear about as original as an ABBA tribute band.
Used Renault Avantime for sale

Buying a Renault Avantime

Little goes wrong with the engine and running gear but there are plenty of other things to keep an eye out for. Body damage is the first as Avantime spares can be tricky to get hold of and any misalignment in the hideously complex doors will be costly to rectify. The multitude of hastily developed electronics inside the car are also rather error prone. Many Avantimes show spurious warning lights on the fascia. Alarm and immobiliser systems have also proved temperamental.
Used Renault Avantime for sale

Renault Avantime Typical Pricing

Prices for an 02-registered Avantime 2.0-litre Dynamique start at £11,000 with a low mileage 03-plated example starting at £12,000. The 3.0-litre Privilege versions are very rare and £12,500 should turn up a well looked after 02-registered car. Insurance is fairly steep, the 2.0-litre car rated at Group 15 and the 3.0-litre version Group 16.
Used Renault Avantime for sale

Renault Avantime Parts

(Based on an 02 Avantime 2.0 Dynamique) Exterior parts for the Avantime are expensive. A new windscreen is in the region of £450 and the mirrors alone are the best part of £200 each. A front bumper assembly is £245. Elsewhere costs are kept to a more reasonable level. Both engines are Renault stalwarts so costs won't be too high for engine ancillaries and consumables.
Used Renault Avantime for sale