Renault 14 TS (1981)

Renault 14 TS

The Renault 14 was a small family car produced by the French manufacturer Renault between 1976 and 1983.

Featuring front wheel drive, the R14 was developed as a competitor in the small family car segment, which had been opened up by the Volkswagen Golf. Initially, the 14 was available in L and TL trim levels with a 1.2 L single overhead camshaft engine sourced from Peugeot. The design was generally well thought out and practical with interior space a major selling point.

Things would get off to a bad start with a disastrous advertising campaign that compared the 14 to the shape of a pear. A preview at Paris' Pompidou Centre as a bare bodyshell did little to win it customers. The car would later a reputation for premature body corrosion which saw the 14 being dubbed as the "rotten pear" by the motoring press. In France, "La poire" (literally: "the pear") still refers to the 14.

Renault later attempted to enhance the car's appeal by relaunching it with improved equipment levels, but the damage was done and the production run ended during 1983 with around one million units sold over a period of just under seven years. The 14 is now a rare sight on the roads of Europe, even in its home country of France where they have tended to last longer than elsewhere due mainly to easy parts availability through the extensive dealer network.

Its joint successors, the 9 / 11 appeared in 1982 and early 1983, respectively.

Timeline

• 1976 - R14 launched, with 1.2 litre engine on all models.
• 1979 - TS specification launched with 1.2 litre engine. R14 L and R14 TL rebadged R14 and R14 GTL.
• 1980 - New 1.4 litre engine for the R14 TS and new LS specification.
• 1982 - GTL specification given new 1.4 litre engine (different unit from 1.4 on TS and LS).
• 1983 - Production of the R14 ends, the car is replaced by the Renault 9/11.

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