It may be 55 years old but the Renault 16 remains an important step in automotive genealogy, introducing the (then) radical design of a hatchback.

In many ways, the 16 opened the door – literally – to the hatchback craze and term “hot hatch” that followed in the 1970s and remains in force today.

But that wasn’t the only feature that made people look twice at the new Renault. Born in 1965, it was radical not only because of its “fifth door” but it introduced one-piece side body panels that gave Renault’s second front-drive car excellent rigidity and reduced weight.

The 16’s hatchback concept was followed four years later by the Morris Maxi (Europe only), Morris Nomad (Australia only) and nine years later by the global Volkswagen Passat. The 16 was clearly ahead of the pack.

That wasn’t all. The 16’s roof gutters were extended to form rails that could accept a roof rack; it was the first French car with an alternator (instead of a generator); it had unequal wheelbases (the left side was 67mm longer because of its transverse rear torsion-bar suspension); and it promptly became the European Car of the Year in 1966.

It was also a mid-engined car with the engine behind the front axle, like Renault’s first front-drive car, the R4, and rival Citroen’s ID and DS. The first-generation Lotus Europa flopped the 16’s drivetrain so the Renault 16 engine sat behind the driver and the gearbox was behind the axle.

As a replacement to Renault’s front-engine, rear-drive Fregate sedan that looked like a shrunken pre-1950s Oldsmobile, the 16 was a radical car that Renault had hoped to become accepted to conservative consumers. It was.

Today, it’s easy to see why it was so quickly embraced. Renault made 1.85 million 16s from 1965 to 1979 and the car featured here, the 16 TS, was the most desirable.

Made for nine years from 1968 through to 1976, the TS was the “hot” version of the 16 with an engine capacity boosted to 1565cc from 1.5-litres, a twin-throat Weber carburettor and cabin changes including the addition of a tachometer, extra instruments, reverse lights, a rear defroster and two-sped wipers.

The price in 1969 – the year this car was made – was $2885, almost the same as the Holden HT Premier with the 186 cubic-inch engine. The Holden had more power (97kW) and cache, but the Renault had flow-through ventilation, a more compliant ride, more cabin and boot space and standard radial tyres.

The Renault 16 – and 10, 12 and 18 – was also assembled in Australia for the model’s life and the bulk of remaining 16 cars on the roads today, well, what’s left, were locally assembled. Against that trend, the featured car was made in France and imported early in its life.

Driving the car cements the gushing press reports of the late 1960s. Despite its family-car status when marketed, it is 100mm shorter than a Corolla hatch, 110mm narrower and 20mm lower.

But the Renault has a longer wheelbase (on either side) that gives a generous boot with a 420 litre capacity compared with the Corolla at 360 litres. This capacity, and the eight-position flexibility of the seats, immediately warmed the 16 to families in an era when family holidays were held on the road.

It is an easy car to drive though the enormous size of the dished steering wheel can be a bit off-putting, as can the near-vertical windscreen and the column gear shift and its five-position gate.

But there is superb visibility from the driver’s seat and – the stand-out feature – the comfort of the seats makes the Renault an armchair on wheels. The vinyl-covered seats are soft though with body weight, there are hidden bolsters that support the occupants.

The gearshift, through the four forward gears, is equally as comfortable to operate and even the non-power assisted steering – again ahead of its time with the precision of a rack and pinion design – is light and positive.

Suspension design is a simple torsion bar arrangement aided by wishbones at the front and trailing arms at the rear. The differing wheelbase lengths, by the way, makes no difference to handling or ride.

The 16 rides on the French tradition of under-nourished thin tyres, in this case they would have been originally Michelins and with a size of just 155mm wide (155/80R14) around steel wheels with three studs to repeat the trend of early-era Citroens and Peugeots. A modern Corolla, by the way, has 205mm wide rubber (205/55R16).

Brakes are front discs with rear drums, the park brake operated by a pull-up under-dash lever that is awkward to operate with non-inertia seat belts.

The engine is quiet, despite its position alongside the driver’s toes. It’s also very smooth and surprisingly torquey, able to take most corners in third gear and quite sprightly off the mark. Even the column change barely affects the acceleration times.

But above all it’s so easy to drive. All the functions are very well integrated and ergonomic, so driving though a series of corners and operating the gear lever and steering wheel, brake pedal and accelerator, is effortless. Remember, this is a 1960s car and not something that’s been through the latest wringers of form and function.

I love the way the rear seat pivots on its upper-most bracket and attaches to the ceiling to make a long cargo area, then returns and slides forward to allow seating for children and a bigger boot. Thee’s even a layout to create a double bed.

But above all, I love the way it drives with so much poise, with early-day testers claiming a top speed in excess of 160km/h and yet a turning circle that could embarrass much smaller cars. From the bird’s beak grille to the tapered hatch door, it remains a car design that’s hard to beat. – NEIL DOWLING

ENDS

SPEC SHEET

Make: Renault

Model: 16

Model code: TS

Year: 1969

Price new ($A): $2885

Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl

Valves: OHV, 8-valve

Bore/stroke: 77 mm x 84 mm

Comp. ratio: 8.6:1

Aspiration: normal

Power: 61 kW @ 5750 rpm

Torque: 118 Nm @ 3500 rpm

Power-to-weight: 58.4 kW/tonne

Fuel: 1 x Weber carburettor

Fuel tank: 50 litres

Fuel thirst: 10.5 litres/100 km

Transmission: 4-speed manual

Drive: Front

0-100km/h: 12.5 sec

Top speed: 163 km/h

Dimensions:

Length: 4230 mm

Width: 1651 mm

Height: 1359 mm

Wheelbase: 2718 mm

Track (ft/rr): 1312 mm/1263 mm

Weight: 1060 kg

Chassis:

Suspension (ft/rr): ind, torsion bar, four-link/ind, trailing arms, torsion bar

Brakes: (ft/rr): disc/drum

Steering:  Rack & pinion

Wheels: 14-inch steel

Tyres: 155R14