I love this period of Renault and thought the Avantime and Vel Satis as really special, interesting examples of what the French were good at alongside making great hot hatches. My (totally unfounded I should add) worry would be parts availability for them being that they didn't sell many in the UK.
Yep, Matra Automobiles had (mandated?) access to the Renault parts bins so petrol versions used Laguna engines/gearboxes and the early diesels shared those from the Trafic van.
I love this period of Renault and thought the Avantime and Vel Satis as really special, interesting examples of what the French were good at alongside making great hot hatches. My (totally unfounded I should add) worry would be parts availability for them being that they didn't sell many in the UK.