Its five-door liftback body was penned by designers Gaston Juchet and Robert Opron of Citroën SM fame, and the unconventional style was aimed at giving the car a notchback look in order to overcome customer preference outside France for formal sedans in the segment outside of France.

The 25 was one of the first cars designed from the start for aerodynamic efficiency giving a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.31, a key factor in improving fuel economy.

The TS model briefly held the unofficial title of "world's most aerodynamic mass production car" with a Cd of 0.28, and at its launch, the 25 was easily the best in its class for fuel economy.

The 25 was praised for its ride comfort and spirited handling (despite slight understeer, and torque steer on V6 Turbo models).

The futuristic interior was executed by Italian designer Marcello Gandini (of Lamborghini fame) and was somewhat controversial, but the 25's passenger compartment was considered quiet, spacious, and well lit.

Equipment levels were high and set new standards for French cars, the 25 including among other features, an express up and down feature on the driver's power window, voice alerts (covering items such as improperly shut doors/bonnet/boot – oil pressure, engine temperature/charging circuit and blown bulbs), and one of the world's first remote stereo controls, mounted to the right of the steering column (controlling volume +/–, station search, station select (jog wheel) in radio mode with volume +/–, mute and track advance (if supported)).

The Baccara phase 3 offers as standard: ABS, front and rear electric windows, automatically regulated air conditioning, cruise control, height-adjustable headrests, leather cover for clothes under the rear parcel shelf, colored leather seats Amber or Cinder exclusively, the "Ergomatic" pack (with airbags for the front seats, memory and electrical adjustment of the driver's seat positions), the doors, pillars and roof receive upholstery in [Alcantara (textile)|alcantara ], door strip and gear lever knob are in real elm burl, the 3-spoke leather steering wheel signed "Baccara".

The shades available are Arabica Brown, Tungsten Gray, Bordeaux Black Sherry", all decorated with a double gold-colored side stripe.

Other colors such as Tyrol Green 999, Prussian Blue 447, Black 676 and Persian Red 777 without forgetting the Bleu Sport 449 for the Turbo were offered almost until the end of marketing.

A station wagon project from the Heuliez company based on the limousine was proposed to Renault, which refused it.

The R25 was exported to the United Kingdom from the beginning of 1984, where its hatchback body style helped it to stand out compared with conventional saloons.

For the United Kingdom, the pre-facelift range included TS, Monaco (being a special edition with metallic brown paint, Monaco badging on the boot and C-Pillar insert panels, Leather interior, and some other changes from the TS spec), GTX, V6 & V6 Turbo.

The Renault 25 was the basis of the car platform for the Canadian-built, full-sized Eagle Premier that was developed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) and introduced in 1988.

[11] When introduced, the car was branded as the Eagle Premier, subsequent to Renault selling its 47 percent stake in AMC to Chrysler in 1987.