The car sold well in most of Europe, winning praise for its spacious and comfortable interior as well as the practicality offered by its effectively unique hatchback bodystyle.

[9] The 16 successfully introduced the hatchback bodystyle to the mid-size family segment, allowing the interior to be configured in seven different ways.

[15] The engine was mounted longitudinally in the front, behind the gearbox/transaxle, contributing to the handling balance by keeping the weight closer to the centre of the car.

[17] The column-mounted gear change (required by the position of the transmission in front of the engine) was rare in West European markets.

Series production started in March 1965 at the company's recently completed Sandouville plant, a few kilometers to the east of Le Havre.

[18] The car had its formal launch in March 1965 at the Geneva Motor Show, and was made available for sale in France and most other left-hand drive markets during June 1965.

An automatic transmission version, originally designated the Renault 16 TA, was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show early in 1969.

[20] The top-line model was the TX, launched at the Paris Motor Show in October 1973, featuring a 5-speed manual transmission[18] along with power front windows and central door locking, one of the first family cars in Europe to include these.

The single headlights were replaced by twin sealed beam units, while slightly altered bumpers increased the overall length to 4,270 mm (168 in).

A coupé cabriolet version was in development, but due to most of the body parts being unique to those used on the saloon, production would have been too costly and the project was shelved.

[24][25] In 1970, racing driver Stirling Moss exclaimed: "There is no doubt that the Renault 16 is the most intelligently engineered automobile I have ever encountered and I think that each British motorcar manufacturer would do well to purchase one just to see how it is put together".