Renault RX4 1.9DCi Review

Good Points
Fantastic size for the city. High safety rating. ISOFIX/LATCH for child seats. Great all-weather performance. Never-been-stuck-yet mud and snow performance. High driving position. Kickable-plastic cladding. Great balance of mechanical and automatic features. Suede leather! Good performance considering its size/class. Good economy considering its size/class. More storage spaces than I know what to do with. No-nonsense radio controls on the steering wheel. Good rear passenger leg room. Doesn't beep at you for opening a door! I know I just opened the door!

Bad Points
Smaller turning radius than Rav4. Difficult to see out the back window at first. Various suspension issues but Latvian roads are likely to blame. Some corrosion detectable. One difficult to change headlight bulb. Difficult to find in a panic central door lock. Annoying middle armrest. Reportedly cannot be put through an automatic car wash.

General Comments
All-in-all this Renault RX4 is the best vehicle I have ever owned and is a near-perfect blend of a sport utility vehicle and a family estate/wagon. I bought it used and thus avoided the reportedly-high initial cost. While it is not designed for heavy off-roading, it has never failed me in cautiously-navigated snow or mud. I can confidently take this vehicle in any weather that Latvia can throw at it though I didn't test the -27C temperatures last winter. I appreciate that it has a normal key and hand brake (unlike the new Scenic) but automatic climate control and radio control. The essentials are manual and the luxuries are automatic. It is amazingly narrow for its size and that has been a blessing in an 800-year-old city. It is a shame they have discontinued this unique vehicle but it appears that a Nissan Murano variation will replace it though my dealer rumored that it would be Xtrail-based. The elusive Toyota Rav4 Diesel is a worthy alternative but saving 10,000 Euro compared to a similarly-used one was a compelling argument.