Renault Vel Satis

Renault
Renault Vel Satis (2002-2005)
Vel Satis
Production period:	2002-2009
Class :	upper middle class
Body versions :	Station wagon
Engines:	Gasoline engines : 2.0-3.5 liters (120-177 kW) Diesel engines : 2.0-3.0 liters (103-133 kW)
Length:	4860 mm
Width:	1860 mm
Height:	1577 mm
Wheelbase :	2840 mm
Empty weight :	1640-1810 kg
Previous model	Renault Safrane
successor	Renault Latitude

Stars in the Euro NCAP - Crash Test

The Renault Vel Satis is a vehicle from the Renault car manufacturer , which was produced from spring 2002 to autumn 2009. Renault classified it with its comfort and technical features of the "automotive upper class".

For high-ranking politicians in France, the Vel Satis was used as a state car alongside the Citroën C6 . The model name is an acronym , formed from the words "VELocité" and "SATISfaction" (French for "speed" or "satisfaction").

Model history

Rear view

The Vel Satis replaced the Renault Safrane in April 2002 after a study with an unusual design had been shown a year earlier. Similar to the Renault Avantime , the vehicle was an expression of Renault's efforts to stand out from the competition with an extravagant, luxurious touring sedan for the discerning individualist.

The significantly different design from the conventional appearance of the upper middle class is seen as the reason for low sales: In 2003 Renault was able to sell 1570 copies in Germany, a year later it was 699, in 2008 it was 51.

In the United Kingdom, too, sales fell well short of expectations. Instead of the 3500 vehicles expected by Renault, only about a third were sold annually, which is why Renault no longer offered the revised model with right-hand drive.

The Vel Satis is based on the same platform as the Renault Laguna and Renault Espace and, like these, was manufactured in Sandouville near Le Havre in Normandy in the north of France .

The Vel Satis achieved five stars in the Euro NCAP crash test . As has always been the case with models of the upper middle class from Renault, the Vel Satis had a large tailgate, which also enabled bulky luggage to be transported. In addition, the rear seats could be folded down forwards. The car was the first Renault with adaptive cruise control . (by Bosch) announced, but was never delivered with this one.

After the version revised in April 2005 could not achieve any major sales success, the production of the Vel Satis was discontinued in November 2009. The successor at the beginning of 2011 was the Renault Latitude, which was developed and more conventionally designed as part of the Nissan cooperation .

Facelift

In April 2005 the Vel Satis was revised. Renault presented the modified vehicle at Auto Mobil International in Leipzig. On the exterior, the changes were limited to a new radiator grille with now horizontal instead of vertical slats, and modified rear lights and a modified rear apron were used at the rear. There was also a double-pipe exhaust system.

In addition to new exterior paintwork and light alloy wheels, all models now had chrome-plated door handles. The interior was characterized by redesigned fittings, higher quality fabrics and materials. The radio and navigation systems were optimized and the equipment expanded. The keycard only had to be carried and a parking aid for the front area was available. In terms of engines, the 2.0-liter gasoline engine received an increase in output to 125 kW, while the new basic diesel was the 2.2-l dCi without a particulate filter with 85 kW (116 hp) in some European countries.

The prices were recently between 36,500 and 51,000 euros and thus, adjusted for equipment, below the prices of comparable German competitors in the upper middle class.

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  Renault Vel Satis (2005-2009)

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  Rear view

End of production

In March 2007, Renault's vice-boss Pélata answered the question of a successor to the Vel Satis in the negative in an interview, as Renault wanted to withdraw from the upper middle class segment. In July of the same year, however, a successor based on the technology of the Samsung SM5 was announced.

In autumn 2009 the production of the Vel Satis was stopped. 62,202 copies had been sold in a period of almost eight years. The last Vel Satis, which rolled off the line on November 12, 2009, was made available to the organizers of the Cannes Film Festival.

Media presence

An early Renault Vel Satis was used in the film The Da Vinci Code . There he is driven by the monk Silas , played by Paul Bettany , during a dramatic journey through Paris .

Registration numbers

Between 2001 and 2008, a total of 5,380 Vel Satis were newly registered in the Federal Republic of Germany. 2002 was the most successful sales year with 2,088 units.

Today around 2000 copies are still registered in Germany.

Source: Federal Motor Transport Authority

Web links

Commons : Renault Vel Satis  - collection of images

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cars without a successor (Fig. 39) on Autobild.de (accessed on August 4, 2010)
2. ↑ Renault model description Vel Satis , June 2006, p. 7
3. ↑ FAZ online from January 29, 2009
4. ^ First drive: Renault gets Vel Satis-faction . September 27, 2002. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
5. ↑ Premiere at the Geneva Motor Show: Renault Vel Satis with new wiper technology from Bosch . Robert Bosch GMBH. March 9, 2001. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 19, 2015. 
6. ↑ Vel Satis: fin de fabrication pour la berline haut de gamme de Renault French language
7. ↑ Description of the trick recordings with the Vel Satis  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.