Spotted: a Renault Thalia

The spotted specimen

At a business park in Hoorn, we had an unexpected encounter with this 2011 Renault Thalia, which has been in the Netherlands since 2019. The car has also been with its current owner since then. Perhaps the car and owner came to the Netherlands together, as the RDW’s ownership date only applies to ownership in the Netherlands. Otherwise, the RDW has no specifics to report, but of course it is special that we came across this Thalia at all.

What is the Renault Thalia?

The first generation Renault Thalia was introduced in 1999. It was simply the sedan version of the Renault Clio. The car was intended primarily for Eastern Europe, North Africa and South America. In other words, countries where there was (and is) great demand for compact sedan models. Incidentally, the Thalia also had different model names in all those different markets. In many countries, for example, it was called Renault Symbol. There were also markets where the car was simply called Clio Sedan, Clio 4 Puertas or Clio Classic. Apart from the extra luggage space, the first generation Thalia was identical to the regular Renault Clio up to the rear doors.

Second-generation Renault Thalia

The Renault Thalia we came across is one of the second generation. It entered the market in 2008, so again a bit later than the regular Clio. Technically, the Thalia remained based on the second-generation Clio (which remained in production for some markets until 2017), but the bodywork was completely new. The Thalia was given a completely unique design. Even the doors did not fully match those of the Clio. The type names were also “cleaned up”: only the names Thalia and Symbol remained. The second generation Thalia lasted through 2013.

Renault Thalia is another familiar one

For the third generation Thalia, Renault took a somewhat cheaper approach. Instead of developing an entirely proprietary body, the Renault Thalia was henceforth simply a branded variant of the Dacia Logan sedan. A car that was also sold as a Renault Logan in many markets. The brand logos and some minor details here and there were the only difference. This model lasted through 2021.

Thalia becomes Taliant

For its successor, Renault again chose the same approach: a Renault version of the Dacia Logan sedan. However, the car did get a slightly modified design to fit in better with the other Renault models. The name also changed: in all relevant markets, the Renault version is now called Taliant. The number of markets where the Renault version is delivered has been greatly reduced though, to a few specific Eastern European and African countries. By the way, you also saw the Renault Taliant before in this section.

The Renault Thalia in the Netherlands

So although the Renault Thalia was never delivered in the Netherlands, thanks to our spot, we are curious how many are nevertheless driving around in the Netherlands. The answer turns out to be three. In addition to the one spotted, there is another from 2011 and another from 2007. Of the Renault Symbol there are still fifteen driving around, from various years. The other type names are difficult to find, because with “Clio” in the search term, the regular Clio models also appear in the results.