Trafic History
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The Renault Trafic van was introduced in 1980 and remained in production for twenty years with very little in the way of major changes. The Trafic was one of the first, if not the first, light commercial vehicles (LCV's) to have the stylish raked front end which immediately made it stand out from other square shaped LCVs'. The first vehicles had the characteristic sticking out radiator grille at the front which was made flush with the headlights in the late 1980's. A further cosmetic improvement in the early 1990's kept the Trafic looking fresh until it's replacement was announced in 2001. Mechanically the Trafic remained fairly basic throughout it's life and was available with various payloads, short and long wheel base versions and either front or rear wheel drive plus a rare four wheel drive version. Petrol engines ranged through the years from a 1397cc through 1647cc, 1721cc, 1995cc and 2165cc units. Diesels were 2068cc and 2499cc. Later Trafics were only available with the 2499cc or a 1870cc diesel engine. Gearboxes were either four or five speed with automatic available on some models. Petrol engines could be carburetor or fuel injected and have conventional or electronic ignition systems depending on engine type. The Trafic is easy to drive with a close coupled gearbox and fairly light steering even without power steering fitted although this is an advantage when parking. The Renault Trafic has always been looked upon as a low budget model, both by commercial users and Motorhome manufacturers, and although by no means without fault, the very fact that there are quite large numbers of early Trafic based Motorhomes still in regular use proves it isn't as bad as some would have you believe, although some of the earlier models are reputed to suffer from a weak gearbox. The Trafic was a popular van to convert in the late 80's and early 90's especially for high top and elevating roof models. Auto-Sleepers and Holdsworth had the largest selection of models between them with models like the Rapport and Romance still commanding good prices today. Few coachbuilt models were built on the Trafic base but the Elddis Eclipse is a very popular compact coachbuilt. Many smaller converters also built on the Trafic. One of the more unusual being Island Plastic's (of Romahome fame) St Michel which has a full width shower/toilet room across the back of the vehicle. Trafic based Motorhomes can be purchased from as little a few thousand pounds for a mid 80's van conversion to around £15,000 for a 1997 Elddis Eclipse coachbuilt. They are ideal for first time Motorhome buyers particularly the more budget conscious. After over eighteen years production the current Trafic was replaced by a radical design with looks more in keeping with some of Renault's car designs. As is often the case these days this is a joint venture, this time with Vauxhall who will market their version as the Vivaro. Both models will be built in this country, in Luton by IBC Vehicles, a subsidiary of General Motors. The
dashboard looks out of this world compared to the old Trafics and
sports a dash mounted gear lever for the six speed gearbox on most
models. A new range of engines include 1.9 turbo diesels offering
80bhp or 100bhp or there's a 2.5 16 valve engine with 133bhp. They
have disc brakes all round with ABS. |