In its first few years the 12 received praise from the European press for its spacious, comfortable interior, its styling, its performance and its low fuel consumption.

However it fared worse in the North American press: in a test of the 1974 model, Road & Track was critical of the engine's "obtrusive" noise, and called the heavy, non-power steering "a serious design flaw".

At the time of its launch in October 1969 at the Paris Motor Show, the Renault 12 was only available as a 4-door saloon, in L and TL specifications.

[4] Many components, such as the oil pump and the distributor were unchanged, while others, including the cylinder head, the valve gear and the engine block itself were only minimally updated.

[4] The longitudinal placement of the engine, most of its mass positioned ahead of the front wheels, allowed the R12 to have a very simple design of the gear-selector that was placed on the floor of the car,[4] and not on the dashboard as with the R4 or on the steering column as with the R16.

The use of a rigid rear axle from a manufacturer that had championed all-round independent suspension for twenty-five years was seen by many commentators as a retrograde step.

The estate was launched with the same trim levels and engines as in the saloon and a high-performance Renault 12 Gordini model was introduced equipped with the all-aluminium 1565 cc block from the R16 TS fitted with two double-barrel Weber carburettors producing 125 PS (92 kW; 123 hp), a reinforced crankshaft, a five-speed gearbox, ventilated disc brakes on the front wheels and normal disc brakes on the rear wheels, as well as a tuned suspension.

It used the same 1289 cc engine as in other R12s, but was equipped with a single, double barrel Weber carburettor, which increased power to 64 PS (47 kW; 63 hp) and raised the top speed to 150 km/h (93 mph).

October 1972 was also when the hand brake lever was relocated from a position ahead of the driver to a floor-mounted location between the front seats.

It was even the basis for the GNW Duiker, a stillborn sporting convertible with a fiberglass body intended as the beginning of a Rhodesian national car project.

The earlier models were similar to the original R12, then the car underwent a facelift in 1989 and was marketed under the name Renault Toros until it was discontinued due to stricter European emissions standards coming into effect.

Sold as a sedan or a station wagon (TSW), it has a 1.4 litre carburetted C1J (Cléon) engine with 61.5 PS (45 kW; 61 hp) and came with either a four- or a five-speed transmission.

[13] Turkish-built Renault 12s also exported to Algeria, Azerbaijan, Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Northern Cyprus, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia and Upper Volta.

It produced a modest 49 kW (66 hp) at 5750 rpm, with a maximum speed of 150 km/h and returned around 9 litres / 100 km in mixed driving.

The Campbell-built 12s had about 50 percent local content (glass, upholstery, tyres, carpet, paint, radiator, battery, etc.).

The first two years' production the cars had small side marker lights, rectangular Cibié headlamps and the 60 HP SAE gross 1289 cc engine with single barrel Solex carb.

La Presse newspaper reported in 1970 that a few 12 Gordinis were also imported to Canada before the stricter 1972 emission controls kicked in.

From then on, the Renault 12 was imported fully built-up from France, and equipped with the 1647 cc all aluminium engine and 4 150 mm sealed beam headlights.

Starting in late 1977, Canada received a 1.4-liter engine, the same as was also used in Sweden, to meet more stringent emissions standards than those used in most European markets.

Fertey, former head of Renault Canada Ltée does not include figures by model for 1978, but roughly 900 R12 Nordics were likely sold that year.

[19] Period advertising made mention of the shared 1.4-liter engine and offering Scandinavian-market equipment such as headlight washers and Finnish-developed aluminum front inner fenders.

[22] US models differ in their quad headlamps and side marker lights, as well as by having a bump in the bonnet to clear the larger engine and its associated emissions hardware.

[21] The 12 was a slightly larger car than most European imports, and the longitudinal front wheel drive layout contrasted with most.

The engine, an all-aluminum 1565 cc unit with steel cylinder liners was shared with the Renault 16 and was specific to the U.S. market, although the 12 received a double-barrel Solex carburettor and slightly more power.

This caused the factory to add extras such as air conditioning and quality upholstery to close the gap between this car and the Torino until the arrival of the R18 in 1982.

The main features were the 1397 cc engine from the R5 Alpine (built locally with imported parts), bulbous fiberglass bonnet, competition-tuned suspension, and custom paint schemes.