Renault Trafic

The Renault Trafic (pronounced as "traffic") is a light commercial van produced by the French automaker Renault since 1980. It has also been marketed as the Fiat Talento, the Nissan NV300, the Nissan Primastar and the Mitsubishi Express. Until 2018, it was also sold as the Opel/Vauxhall Vivaro (briefly sold as the Opel/Vauxhall Arena earlier) by Opel and its associated company Vauxhall. From early 2022 onwards, the van is also marketed by Renault Trucks as the Renault Trucks Trafic.

Previous versions of the Renault Trafic have been sold under Inokom, Chevrolet and Tata badges.

The third generation Vauxhall Vivaro was produced in GM Manufacturing Luton plant starting in 2014. However, following the takeover of Opel/Vauxhall by Groupe PSA, the Trafic-based Vivaro went out of production in 2018, and was replaced by the next generation Vivaro based on the Citroën Jumpy EMP2 Platform for the 2019 model year.

First generation (1980)

The original Renault Trafic was sold from 1980 to 2001 and was somewhat revised and updated during its lifetime.

Originally, the van had some variations in the front end shape depending on which engine was fitted, with the original 1397 cc motor fitting behind a flat grille, and the 2.1-litre diesel engine and larger 1647 cc petrol engines requiring an extended plastic grille and deeper bumper.

The 1721 cc OHC engine replaced the 1647 cc OHV unit in the mid 1980s, which fitted under the shorter grille, but required a small lump in the bonnet. The diesel and 2.2-litre petrol carried on with the extended grille.

In the end of 1984, a four-wheel drive version was introduced. This was a part time system coupled with the diesel engine and a five speed manual transmission. This model operated as a front wheel drive until the rear wheels were engaged with a dog clutch, a system similar to the one used by Renault on the R18 4x4.

In May 1989, the Trafic underwent a major front end facelift, with a rounder shape and a plastic bumper, and the new longer body shape covering all varieties of engine. In 1995, the Mk1 Trafic got its final facelift, with a new grille, new tail lights, large double rear view mirrors, and a new interior with a modern dashboard and multi adjustable seats.

Winnebago

The chassis and cab of the 1980s models were used as the base vehicle by Winnebago Industries to build the Winnebago 'LeSharo' from 1983, and Itasca Phasar.

For the chassis and cab version to meet safety and emission requirements in the United States, this version was sold with Renault's J7T 2,165 cc (2.2 L) gasoline engine, and 2.1-litre diesel and turbo diesel engines, coded as J8S and shared with the 1985 to 1987 AMC/Jeep Cherokee/Commanche.

Jeep versions used the Garrett T2 turbocharger while Winnebagos received the larger T3 type. CARB granted a series of yearly waivers to Winnebago for non compliance in omitting On Board Diagnostics (OBD I), these waivers remained in effect throughout the model run from 1983 to 1992.

Campervan Variants

The Mk1 Trafic became popular for professional conversion into budget family motorhomes due to the flexibility of the design and the generous internal space for what was a relatively small van. Popular converters were Auto Sleepers and Holdsworth (now defunct). Other motorhome builders using the Trafic Mk1 as a base include Hymer, Elddis, Eriba, and Autostar.

Opel Arena

For the stadium, see Opel Arena (stadium).

From 1997 to 2001, the Renault Trafic was marketed as the Opel Arena in Germany and as the Vauxhall Arena in the United Kingdom. Nick Reilly, Vauxhall's chairman and managing director commented that the Arena was the first time the company had a total commercial range ever since the days of the old Bedford CF that ended production in 1986.

Tata Winger

Main article: Tata Winger

In June 2007, Tata Motors announced the introduction of the Winger, a panel van and minibus based on the 1995 to 2001 version of the Renault Trafic, but fitted with Tata's own two litre diesel engines, with or without turbo.

Inokom Permas

The Inokom Permas was launched in Malaysia in 1998. Production of the van was at Kulim District.

South America

For South America, the vehicle was made in the Renault Argentina facility at Santa Isabel, Córdoba. In Brazil, it was badged as Chevrolet Trafic and later as the Renault Trafic or Chevrolet SpaceVan. A pickup version was sold as the Renault Trafic Rodeo. Production ended in 2002.