ALLIANCE

The Renault Alliance — a compact car explained

The Renault Alliance is a compact car built from 1983 to 1987. Most were assembled in the United States (100% of the cars in our records).

Data · NHTSA & EPA · 1983–1987 · 5 model years · Updated Sep 1, 2026 · 3.5 ★★★★★★★★★★ ForCar Score
Quick answer

The Renault Alliance is a compact car built from 1983 to 1987. Most were assembled in the United States — 100% of those on record. Engines offered: 4-cyl. Worth buying? It depends heavily on which year you buy at 3.5/5 — and the year you pick matters far more than the badge (best and worst years →).

1983–1987
Years
13
Recalls
33
Top MPG
—★
NHTSA
48
Complaints

What the Alliance is

The Renault Alliance is a compact car that Renault built from 1983 to 1987 — 5 model years. It has been offered with 4-cyl power. Its closest sibling in the Renault range: Encore.

Where the Alliance is built

A badge says where the company is registered; the VIN says where the car was bolted together. We counted the first three characters — the manufacturer identifier — across 27 Alliances on record.

FIG.02·Where the Renault Alliance is built
Assembled inShareVIN starts withYears seen
the United States100%1XM1984-1987
ROWS 1·SOURCE NHTSA records, grouped by VIN manufacturer code

Check your own: the first three characters of a Renault VIN decide which of these 1 lines your Alliance belongs to. What every character in a Alliance VIN means →

Got the full 17 characters? A free VIN check on a Renault Alliance adds what the decoder can't see: open recalls, theft and total-loss records, and the safety ratings for that exact build.

Renault Alliance tire size, oil type & owner specs

The fitment Alliance owners look up most — tires, wheels, oil and batteries. Exact wheel and tire sizes decode from your VIN or the driver's door-jamb placard; the universal items are listed below.

Wheels & tires
Wheel sizeby VIN
Tire sizeby VIN
Bolt patternby trim
Tire pressure32–36 PSI
Engine oil
Oil typeFull synthetic
Gradeon oil cap
Capacityby engine
Battery
Main battery12V · group by trim
Key-fob cellCR2032
Wiper blades
Front bladesby generation
Rear bladeif equipped
Fuses
Fuse boxeshood + dash
Diagramon box lid
Light bulbs
Headlightby trim
Tail / brakeby trim
Fogif equipped

Exact tire, wheel, oil grade, capacity and battery group are added per trim and model year — decode your VIN above for the factory fitment. Universal items shown as-is.

What engines does the Renault Alliance have? Power & range

The Renault Alliance is offered with 1 powertrain — 1.4L 4-cyl. Here's the lineup by engine, transmission and drivetrain — 1 for the Renault Alliance, against one or two on most rivals.

FIG.06·Renault Alliance Powertrains
EngineDisplacementTransmissionDriveFuel
4-cyl1.4L · 4-cylManual 4-spdFWDRegular
ROWS 1·SOURCE EPA + NHTSA vPIC

Horsepower, torque and fuel-tank size decode from your VIN — exact figures vary by engine and trim.

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov (engines, drivetrain, range, charge time). Horsepower & torque from NHTSA vPIC on VIN decode.

The Alliance by the numbers

What the federal and market records say about the Renault Alliance. Each line opens the full breakdown by year.

FIG.05·Renault Alliance by the numbers
TopicAllianceDetail
Recalls13 campaignsNHTSA, all years
Owner complaints48 filedWhat breaks and when
Reliability3.5 / 5Best and worst years
ROWS 3·SOURCE NHTSA, EPA, HLDI and market listings

Frequently asked questions

What kind of car is the Renault Alliance?

The Alliance is a compact car, built from 1983 to 1987. Engines offered: 4-cyl.

Where is the Renault Alliance made?

Across 27 cars in our records the split is: the United States (100%). The first three characters of a VIN identify the plant's manufacturer and country — that is where these shares come from, not from a press release.

What is the Renault Alliance warranty?

New models carry 3 years / 36,000 miles basic cover and 5 years / 60,000 miles on the powertrain. Worth knowing: across our complaint records the typical car reaches the halfway point of its faults at five years, so most repairs land after the basic warranty ends.

Is the Alliance reliable?

It scores 3.5/5 in our data. The honest answer depends on the year far more than the model — see the best and worst years, and when this car starts to break.

How do I check a specific Alliance?

This page describes the model; it cannot tell you whether that car has an open recall or a branded title. Run its VIN against the records — free, and matched to the exact production run.

More in Renault

More Renault models
ModelYearsRecallsBest MPGForCar score
Renault Fuego1983–1986124 mpg4.5/5
Renault Encore1984–19871033 mpg4.0/5
ROWS 2·SOURCE NHTSA + EPA
Data sourced from NHTSA (recalls, complaints, safety ratings) and EPA fueleconomy.gov (MPG). Best/worst-year analysis is ForCar's own aggregation of complaint volume. Last updated Sep 2026. — ForCar Editorial Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.