Last week in Austria i saw an old espace 1st generation as scrap in someone's garden. There was something as "quatro" written on the back.
Is this a 4wd espace?
Yes, it sounds like the Espace Quadra which I have. It looks the same as a standard 2WD but it has permanently coupled 4WD. The gearbox has an extra output at the back, a carbon fibre propshaft to the rear (first mass produced carbon fibre part on any car by a major manufacturer) a viscous coupling and the rear differential.
The Viscous coupling is a sealed unit and very expensive and it has a limited life - maybe 100,000 miles, but it also varies with use - between a friend and myself we have had five Quadra with different mileages and one with low mileage had seized whilst another with higher mileage was still good. (so you cannot just put it down to mileage)
I know a lot more about them now so if anyone wants more details just ask.
Roy