Meet the Owner - Ian Gillson and his Renault 16TL

“My father had TL back in 1977, and around 1980, the family acquired a 1974 TS. Sadly, it succumbed to the dreaded rust and ended in Renault 16 Heaven, but I never forgot them”.

It is understandable why Ian always remembered those Renault 16s. This was the Car of the Year 1966 and one of the most incredible vehicles to wear the diamond badge. Ian says of his 1977 TL: “I spent about seven to eight years looking for one and eventually became fed up. I ended up buying a Spanish-built Renault 12 but never forgot the 16. So, I carried on looking and at the end of 2020 I saw this one for sale in Penzance. I made a two-day journey from Aylesbury to Cornwall to look at it, but I was already thinking I was probably going to buy it. In fact, I purchased the 16 there and then and drove it home to Aylesbury!”

The TL was the entry-level version of the 16 and the model you were far more likely to find in the UK or France than the TS or the flagship TL. In 1977, its chief British-built rivals were the Austin Maxi and the unfairly neglected Chrysler Alpine, costing £2,902 for the HL and £2,921 for the GL, respectively, compared with £3,068 for the Renault. You might have considered a Volkswagen Passat, but that was a steep £3,538.

The 16 was a great favourite of the British motoring press. In 1973, Car stated: “Its dynamic qualities are so good that on second-rate European roads, it makes garlic mince of the like of Maxis without the occupants even noticing”. They concluded: “So, the Renault remains the superior car of the two, and we cannot see any way in which the Maxi will be able to catch up”.

Renault promised the owner “amazing versatility,” and the seats can be arranged in a number of ways, including suspending the rear backrest from the grab handles. Ian is used to the 16’s various imperfections, including the odd handbrake position and “the dashboard air vents that look good but just seem to rattle!”

The 16 always came with a steering column lever, which was already becoming unusual by the late 1970s. However, Ian says “once you have sampled the Renault’s set-up you really will not want to go back to a floor lever. Plus, the front seats are better than most armchairs!”

Of course, the LHD steering wheel has its challenges, as does the attention his 16 regularly receives. “At supermarket car parks, filling stations, shows, there is always ‘my dad had one of those’. I’ve also seen passengers in passing vehicles take pictures of my Renault; many younger people have never seen one before.”

And who can blame them for being mesmerised by the 16TL, the Renault that earned, to quote the brochure, “a special place in motor car history?”

With thanks to: Ian Gillson