Talbot Rancho

always loved them as a child…

Anyone grow up with one ? Know anyone that had one ?

Still a classic

Guy at work had a shit brown/orange one as part of a string of quirky motors Matra Bagheera, original Twingo, Citroen SM.

Drove worse than it looked was my experience of being a passenger.

did kind of set a mark in the sand for the current soft roader/SUV’s though so was ahead of it’s time in that respect.

Aren’t they 2wd and entirely useless off road?

Aren’t they 2wd and entirely useless off road?

yep. Who ever drives an SUV off road, though?

PE teacher at school had one. He was a complete wazzock.

Rachel

Matra brought you the Espace too – the Rancho was the inspiration for the
Berlingo Multispace , and earlier the LR Disco body shape.
Interesting company

Always loved these too. Had a Matchbox version of one as well!

my best mates mum had one, and it was the most awesome thing ever. the dash and steering wheel were that awful ’70’s dog poo brown, but you could fit an entire small boy cricket team in them, so no safety fears at all…

They weren’t great but they were different.

Basically a van with windows and seats.

Only 2wd but light with a revvy engine and the raised ride height meant they weren’t too bad off road, not a land Rover but better than a Cortina.

we had an orange one growing up. it was horrific and made almost everyone who travelled in it spew

Didn’t matra also make F cars? They went down the magnesium route I seem to remember which was great…until you crashed then they burned with extreme temperature and ferocity, so perhaps not the best material to use in that application.

Does remind me of a period when Renault Fuego’s and Opel Manta’s and a whole host of other quirky cars were common. Cars are better these days for sure, but much more boring.

My dad nearly got a Matra Simca Baghera – three seats so he could take me and my brother to school. Instead he got a TR7 and we just squeezed 2 kids in the passenger seat. The other contender was a Lancia Beta but the pictures of them standing wheel deep in water waiting after being imported came out in time.

My dad bought a Lancia Beta – it didn’t last long!

And Matra built the Avantime for Renault too.

The Avantime was a great idea, just too different to succeed. Matra also built the original Espace which was nice and light (for its size). When it sold well it was re-engineered in steel by Renault and became a bit of a lump but sold millions.

Sorry got it mixed up with KP Rancheros

Matra Bagheera!

I’d forgotten about those!!

There’s one of those Avantimes not far from me, still a daily runner and in excellent condition by the looks of it.

there was one of those Talbot Matras in red on my walk to school and i always desired it immensely

closest i got was a Talbot Horizon which was the best jalopy ever, you don’t get jalopies these days

My friend’s dad bought a Talbot Tagora – the only new car he ever had :-(

I drove a Talbot Rancho from Wotton Under Edge to Loch Awe in 1986 on a fishing trip, TBH it was fine and quite comfy in that squidgy way French cars can be.

I did the same trip in 1991 in my 1966 MG Midget which was not as comfy but more of an experience!

Skoda Yeti, innit.

Loved them back in the day, wanted one as my first car but ended up with a knackered Talbot Alpine an uncle had died in. KBA221V
Hand painted gold with black hammerite sills and lower doors. Never had sex in that car.

my dad had one, we went from a subaru estate to a talbot rancho, in brown, then another in silver, it had rear facing seats in the boot, which were the best thing ever when you are 8years old !!!

they were 2wd and build quality was rubbish, but they were ahead of their time

then we went to nissan prairie’s x2 – which along with the space were the forerunners of their kind

My aunties partner at the time had one and mum also stuck the front of our Renault 16 under the back of one :lol:

They look sooo far ahead of their time.
According to this, I’m not going to find one second hand though :(

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=talbot+matra

My grandpa had one for for years – as only transport to a bush hospital in Zambia… I think despite its shortcomings, it worked out well and he had a real soft spot for them.
From the stories he used to tell, I think babies were born and lives passed in that thing, bouncing around the African bush…

Skoda Yeti, innit.

Genuinely laughing at that one, so true…

did kind of set a mark in the sand for the current soft roader/SUV’s though so was ahead of it’s time in that respect.

They were despised by the petrol heads back in the 70s because they were 2wd and not proper off-roaders. Who knew that they’d just invented the car of 2017.

Matra! We had a Simca too..

Look, it’s got lazer written on it, sooooo cool.

I don’t think they were despised, just that they rotted away as quickly as a hilman hunter… promised so much but delivered so little

Not my cup of tea but a 2WD car with rugged off road looks, it’s only about 2 million safety and emissions away from being a current model car.

A mate of mine had the Simca 1100 that it’s based on, as a company car. I thought it was a great little car for it’s time and no worse than any other in it’s class

I had a Talbot Dodge hightop van as my first car (well van), it was awful but I loved it obviously, don’t actually remember why I replaced it.. Probably repair costs. The suspension was bouncy, the gear box interesting, I think I used 3 & 4 for the first month as I couldn’t locate 1/2nd 8O

The first car I bought as a student was a Simca 1100 estate in the very same rusty orange as the car above!
Like this only in Oxide Orange

CaptainFlashheart – Member
Skoda Yeti, innit.

It wouldn’t have occurred to me, but you’re absolutely right!
A former boss of mine had one, he used to use it to tow his daughter’s horse-box, so it was fairly capable, although I sneered at the thing.
While he owned a Rover 3.5, the big Auntie Rover version, not the 2000 version, he was also a tightwad who bought several Ladas as company cars! Quite possibly the worst car it’s ever been my misfortune to have to drive, and I’ve driven a lot of different cars.

Edit: familiar?

If only the yeti had a decent size of boot.

We had a Rancho! The car that I loved so much, I still remember the number plate ECR826W! I only loved it for the cool hardcore looks though. Inside was crap :)
I remember when we first got it, I asked my dad to pick me and my mate up from school. Told my mate how smart it was etc. Dad turns up in our other fkn car… Robin reliant :(

Roomster looks a good go.