The Safrane.Info Forum!

I,ve had a chat with Saffles about this subject and just wanted to have everyones input if possible on what they like or dislike about there Safrane.
Either design faults,or appearance,or what should or shouldn,t of been fitted to the cars when new.
I must admit i have a long list of things but want other people to list there thoughts first....

Volvo engine and gearbox are one of my favourite features along with the dipping wingmirror. The new C5 has that but both sides dip depending on which side you select (Our camera man friend was showing me a while back when I last saw him).

One of my other favourite features is the lighting in the safrane. Very gentle. Lights everywhere yet you can drive along with them all turned on blaring and still see out through the windscreen. Plus all the passengers have their own individual litle lights - How cool is that? Plus the puddle lights on the doors when you open them so you can see the ground outside the car. I think the only fault I can find with the lighting is that the doors only have reflectors inside instead of red lights for other drivers to see.

Lack of cupholders... crazy although in fairness the 'pilot' style buttons above your head more than make up for it

Heres a few i can think of...
The Computer controlled suspension on a V6 phase 1 is a complete waste of time and very expensive,a lot of effort for very little.
The fact that Renault dropped so many toys on the Phase 2,cost cutting.
Heated front screen wasn,t standard on a Questor.
Chrome grille wasn,t fitted as standard on Phase 2 2.5 RXE and Questor.
The chrome grille is very strange to understand,there seems like no particular pattern to what Safranes these are fitted to.
The lack of the soft boot closure on the Phase 1,this was fitted on the 25 and the Velsatis but not a Safrane.
The late change of mind to not fit electric adjustable headrest on the drivers seat,this almost went into production as the workshop manual shows the loom going to the headrest,maybe very early cars still had this loom fitted.
Electric steering column adjustment,looks great,but again a lot of work for little reward really.
Renault only using one set of alloys on both 2.0 and 2.5 phase 2,you can have a 2.0 and 2.5 next to each other and except for badging theres not difference,they look identical,the 2.5 should of had different wheels.
Foreign cars had so many toys zenons,ergomatic seats,headlamp washers,different alloys V6 24V engines etc.
I feel the front and rear of a phase 2 just doesn,t look right,the phase 2 i,am sure iam right in saying is Phase 1 shell but with facelifted front and tailgate/bumper,the rear just doesn,t look right with the Phase 1 outer lights and the numberplate low in the bumper,look at a Phase 1 rear and the continue line of the tailgate reflector and position of the numberplate just seems to look much smoother,its just a personal thing,still love them!
I think the fact Renault dropped so many toys show that they had concerns over reliability and cost,but then used a fantastic reliable engine and G/box in the Phase 2.

I must say I'm not a big fan of the looks of the Ph11 from the rear. A bit droopy from the back but very mean and purposeful from the front. The 2.5 engine is a peach and I've seen a few now with 400k miles on. The Aisin Warner gerabox is also a cracker. Very reliable unlike Renault's unit on the early 3.0's which could be troublesome. I know of someone who had 4 gearboxes on his 3.0 in less than 100k miles before giving up. Overall, the Safrane's comfort and ease of use puts it ahead of most cars for me. Exceptionally cheap to buy second hand and very reliable if looked after. Great car, I'd buy another although my car still has a bit of life in it yet!!

Phase 2 rear spoiler really suits it,on a phase 1(French Baccara)they look wrong.
The very faint click clock of the flasher relay when you indicator(this was bought up on several period roadtests)
The memory setting on the seats,mirror glasses and electric steering column is a great show off.
Electric individual rear seat,superb.
The large double DIN stereo with CD and tape player with it large light up graphics.
Light up vanity mirrors.
Early yellow foglamps,very French.

@ V6 I'm with 610 on the PH2 rear - it's a disgrace. The rear light clusters are just weird. I've got used to it over the years but even now I still cringe a bit when I look at it. I'd prefer a ph1 boot to be honest as the light clusters actually suit the back end of the car rather nicely.

According to our fellow member masserani (i think - the guy with the Bi-Turbo) the ph1 boot is the same as the ph2 so a simple swap should be possible. There was a guy advertising a brand new one on ebay a while back but I've not got the resources to deal with it at the moment. As I said in another thread I'd like to get the car resprayed to black at some point and with a ph1 boot I reckon it would be the bees to look at and with a spoiler on top...

@610: Yes the volvo / aw power train is certainly the best part of the car. It's the reason I've fallen in love with it - reliability. I did once completely break down but that was due to a blocked breather system - the car had been soldiering on for over 1.5 years when it finally gave up. I spent the day replacing the breather parts and that was it - up and running again with no ill effect. I've still not even done he oil or plugs on it yet alone the dizzy and it still fires up with no problems.

A few more...
Phase 1 over head centre console switches don,t light up,Phase 2 do.
The dipping N/S mirror glass when R is selected is a bit annoying,doesn,t seem to actually work very well.

Heh, but all the switches are laid out for a left hand drive european safrane!

i agree, the Volvo engine is superb coupled to the Aisin Warner box and i know what you mean about the rear end of the phase 2...i loved the new front but those rear indicators look a bit odd hanging about on their own! that was mainly why i wanted a black Saf so as they weren't so noticeable with their dark tinted lenses.
One thing ive never liked is there is no one touch wipe...you literally have to turn them on and off to wipe the glass once. Renault thing i guess, my girlfriends Megane is the same.

Lee.

The over head switches lit up in my phase 1....but only because i called on my brother once again to solder in some tiny orange led's.

Dislikes;

The fact that anything blown in front of the car gets stuck to it, wether a bit of plastic sheeting, crisp packet whatever, every time I'm out I end up picking crap off the front end.

A rep mobile without a cup holder. Yes not a big deal but its a rep mobile, even mid 80's boggo hatches have cup things in the glovebox lid!

The trim appears to be great quality at first, but the fact is most of it breaks (yet to see an undamage door bin or its lid), the ones in scrappers are all broken as well, my much older and many owner abused 19 's have never had broken trim.

Ph2 with airbag has no glovebox, come on.

The boot lid. WHat a stupid design for opening. Open a door handle then use it to lift the heavy boot lid up, seen a few of them broken off, I open the handle then lift it open with the spoiler, poor show.

Rear veiw mirror, everyone I have seen they all have a wobbly rear view mirror. Most are packed out with paper etc.

Vinyl covering on centre consoles and dashtops unstick itself and causes unsightly bubble. I thought mine had escaped it, its started on the centre console.

Central locking and sunroof button position. Fair enough most things have the sunroof button up there, but stuff like my old saabs and fords had the button down by the handbrake/gear lever, much better. The central locking button up there makes little sense, not an issue for me but my sister would have wanted the auto lock or been able to easily hit the central locking button. I would also prefer the autolock feature if my mrs and kids were in the thing without me.

Some parts are common to all models, yes this is great (in some ways), but having Renault 5 strut bearings on something thats 3 times the weight means they don't last long.

Ph2's seem to be really lacking in what should be standard spec toys.

5 stud wheel mean its dearer for brake parts and limits wheel choices (for sensible money)

Centre armrest cubby hold, pathetic, the lagunas is about 3 times the size.

Rear parcel shelf, most are broken, the 2 piece thing is annoying.


Likes;

The rear toe can be adjusted, nice.

Climate control is pretty good, the only system better I can think of is the Saab individual 4 zone one and thats only because it worked to an extent.

Bootspace. Awesome boot space.

Handles well for the size.

Brakes are good, although the car skips around quite a lot if the ABS kicks in.

Power steering the electric adjust power steering is like the old punto city button, the steering is the lightest of anything I can remember. 1 finger 3 point turns are amusing.

Its spacious inside but still not quite big enough for my right leg, my knee rests right on the corner of the door handle with the seat right back and right down, its annoying. The mk1 laguna is actually more spacious in the legroom.

The auto is the perfect choice for these cars (except bi turbo) as they are not sporty enough to warrant the manual.

They look nice aside from the back as mentioned, the ph2 looks like they were not sure on what to do with it.