Renault has made some curious vehicles over the years, and this one is right up there with the best of them: an “off-road” vehicle known as the Rodeo 6. This one is not surprisingly listed for sale in Poland, and I can’t really envision how it could be practical in any country’s unpaved surfaces. They were available with 4WD, but most were FWD like this example here on eBay which is listed with an opening bid of $4K and no reserve.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s a fun setup, with the foldable soft top and plenty of room of your camping gear in the back. The “6” designation is actually meaningful, as the Rodeo of this generation has the larger 1.1L gasoline four-cylinder from the Renault R4 van. This oddball would have been much more interesting with a diesel mill, in my opinion.
It’s a tight cockpit, but then again, everything is likely a little snug with the Rodeo. The fact that this Rodeo was built by Renault should come as no surprise, considering it’s the same company that built the Mehari, a vehicle that seems useless for anything other than parking near a beach with a year-round warm climate.
While this Rodeo seems slightly more useful than a Mehari, it’s a sliding scale. Could it be used for light farm duty, or occasional jaunts into town where road speeds don’t exceed 30 m.p.h.? Certainly, and the extra power of this model’s truck-derived powerplant may make short trips more realistic. But you’d have to really want one to justify the importation costs to bring this one stateside from Poland, and then – well, what would you do with it?
Ummmmmm…Jeff, the Rodeo is a Renault, the Mehari is a Citroen. Aside from being roughly created for the same purpose (whatever that might be) and having an identical number of road wheels, they are very dissimilar….
my exact thoughts.
Credit the French for making a pretentious, not-really-for-off-road “SUV” before it was cool. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. We are all turning Frannch now, no?
Uhhh….no…. ;-)
Always remember. The French copy no one, and no one copies the french.
Too true ! I wish i knew that simple line when i worked at the Chrysler dealer in the early 90’s. So nice to acquire AMC /Jeep/ Renault, lmao ! (wasn’t very funny at the time)
Mais oui…
Brokeback Mountain courtesy car.
Seller say ” Car stay in the Poland”
Don’t bid unless you’re moving to “the Poland”.
Ah the French, another hideous vehicle with no power. This truly must be the French’s first rodeo. And it’s in Poland, too many jokes come to mind but I will refrain from offending anyone except the people who designed this mess. Maybe you could buy it and have the kids drive around the yard. That would probably be your safest bet because you certainly wouldn’t want to be seen in it.
If the folks at Isuzu had been aware of these Renault Rodeos, do you think they would have reused the name “Rodeo” for their SUV? Giddyup?
No one copies the French. The Grencj copy no one.
That said, I like it. I feel like if I lived in a retirement or island community it would be perfect for an EV conversion.
It looks like a car that belongs on Fantasy Island with Tattoo and Mr Rourke. All it needs is fine Corinthian leather.
ViVa La France !!! 🐸🐸🐸
The Rodeo is based on the Renault 4, which is a vehicle that accomplishes a lot with very little. While I have no experience with the Renault Rodeo, I can say that to understand a Citroen Mehari, you need to drive one. They will go almost anywhere. Both these cars have remarkably robust and simple mechanicals. Minimalism is a formula that the world seems to have forgotten.