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Renault Espace Mk1 buying guide, history and review

Words: Matthew Hayward

It may well have been the taxi of choice for many late-night airport runs in the 1990s, but when was the last time you actually saw a Renault Espace? For years these hugely useful cars were everywhere, carting large families to the beach or taking old mattresses to the tip. Now they’re almost all gone.

You’re probably thinking that this is hardly the sort of glamorous machinery that usually graces these pages, but it’s only when something as groundbreaking and popular as the Espace disappears from the roads completely that we will really appreciate just how clever the quirky-looking MPV pioneer was. It also has an interesting story behind it.

Renault Espace Mk1

During the late 1970s, French manufacturer and former racing car constructor Matra was looking to replace the Rancho with something even more daring. With the help of Chrysler UK, which had been busily working on its own MPV project, the Espace (codenamed P18) was born. The project was as risky as it was intriguing, though, and after PSA’s takeover of Simca and Chrysler UK the idea was shelved.

Matra still needed the backing of a larger manufacturer, and Renault was very happy to oblige. The Espace, now codenamed J11, went into production in Matra’s Romorantin-Lanthenay factory in 1984. Matra stuck to what it knew best, engineering the Espace to use the same production-line technique as the Murena sports car. This meant strong and resilient glassfibre body panels, underpinned by a very rigid skeleton in galvanised steel.

Part of the Espace’s magic is how it makes the most of its cavernous interior. The flat floor means that its seven seats can be reconfigured easily. Up front, the driver and passenger seats can swivel to face rearward – making it the perfect tool for families. The rear seats can be removed entirely, turning the Espace into what is in effect a large van. Very useful.

Initially it was powered by the four-cylinder Douvrin engine, but a turbodiesel model followed – as did a four-wheel-drive Quadra for chillier climes. The driving experience is dominated by a terrible driving position, but you sit high behind a distant windscreen and have an almost aircraft-like view out. That long-travel suspension smothers the road, but these early cars were also surprisingly nimble and light on their feet. It was developed by Matra, after all.

An instant sales success, then? Not quite. It took a few months for buyers to catch on, but after that Matra couldn’t build enough of them. In 1988 the Renault Espace was given a fairly mild facelift, which brought it much closer in line with the rest of the range. That revamp would see the Mk1 through to a much more substantial overhaul for the Mk2 in 1991.

Not only is the Espace Mk1 an endangered species, so too is the entire MPV market it helped to forge. It might make a slightly odd classic proposition, but there’s something strangely appealing about running one of these rare, characterful and sector-defining cars. You can’t fit a fridge in the back of many other classics, either. Prices remain low, but finding a good one is very difficult. Get one while you can, and enjoy.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

• As with any utilitarian vehicle, many Espaces have gone through decades of abuse so expect the interior to look very tired. Also, finding replacement trim and switches can be tricky.

• Engines and mechanicals are robust and shared with other French cars of the era. Usual checks apply. Diesels are good for 500,000 miles if maintained.

• Parts for the four-wheel-drive Quadra system with its carbonfibre propshaft can be difficult to find and, while the system is largely trouble-free, specialists are scarce.

• Glassfibre bodies don’t rust but the chassis does, so give the underside a full inspection. Repairs can be quite intensive.

WHAT TO PAY?

Values are difficult to pin down because UK cars are so thin on the ground. You could pay anywhere between £500 and £1500 for a runner, but expect something cosmetically tired.

For an Espace that is more presentable, prices generally head up to £2500 today. Condition is always key, but top-spec models carry a slight premium. Although interesting, the added complication of the Quadra models makes them an even more niche proposition.