T he Renault is another old design, the cab originally hailing
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from the seventies. Names and details have changed, though the cab still retains grab-handles on the mudwings despite the adoption of a hydraulic cab tilt. The Midliner remains in the range for now, overlapping with the all-new Premium model.
The Renault's engine is one of the lowest-rated on test, and it is distinctly noisier than most: the noise measurements are exceptionally high, and the overall drone is rather irritating.
This wasn't helped by apparently rather low gearing (the engine was doing 1,900rpm at 80km/h in top, or 2,250rpm at %km/h), though it needed to be taken to the top of the green for a real response. Whatever, there seems to be a fairly big gap between fifth and sixth (top), and the gearbox has quite a heavy action. This may have contributed to its particularly slow acceleration times, although the power-to-weight ratio didn't help and the engine puts out even less torque than the diminutive Mercedes. Like most of the others, the Renault had done 21,000km.
The brake pedal felt rather sluggish (as did the steering), and the exhaust brake button was set even further forward than the Iveco's and the Dal's. Other pedal positions were even worse, as the ergonomists from BGZ noted. The pedals were too close together, and the clutch suffered the dual problem of being both too high and too heavy in action--a real problem in town driving. The MAN, by contrast, is an example of the right way to design a clutch pedal.
There's a nice high ceiling but the windscreen isn't especially deep—in fact the left-hand windscreen wiper has a pantograph linkage to tackle this. The shallow screen tended to obscure highlevel traffic lights, though it wasn't as bad as the Daf's.
The engine cover is quite high, but its fiat top means that it could support a dual passenger seat, albeit with limited foot room.
The design may be from another
age, and the switchgear is angular r
and unattractive, but build quality is fine: just a small example is the fusebox cover (inside the glovebox), distinctly better moulded than either the Iveco's or the Daf's. Also, there were big-truck features such as electric windows on the near and off-sides, and heated, electrically adjustable mirrors.
We weren't too keen on the Renault, though we didn't dislike it either: it's a proper truck, without doubt. But the high noise levels alone would rule it out of many shortlists