The front and rear of the cars were fully redesigned, while the dimensions and sheetmetal of the central passenger cabin were unchanged.

In the French market, the Renault 10 found itself struggling to compete with the successful Peugeot 204 introduced in the same year.

[5] Although the engine mounted at the back of the Renault 10-1300 was in most respects identical to that fitted at the front of the Renault 12, the unit in the older car was effectively detuned, with a lowered compression ratio and a listed maximum output of 52 PS (38 kW; 51 hp) SAE (48 PS (35 kW; 47 hp) DIN) whereas the unit in the Renault 12 was advertised as providing 60 PS (44 kW; 59 hp) SAE (54 PS (40 kW; 53 hp) DIN).

[5] Renault thus offered two competing models in the same market category, but the older rear engined design came with a listed price 1,000 francs (approximately 10%) lower and a top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph) as against 145 km/h (90 mph) for the entry level Renault 12.

[10] As well, many hundreds of performance kits to upgrade the standard vehicles were sold over their parts counters.