I wonder if a part of their reliability issues has anything remotely related with the steep drive shaft angles than with the Renault engine itself. If you compare Renault's drive shaft angle its more horizontal. I guess the RBR designers wanted the gear box as low as possible to the ground so they jammed it down there then were forced to run the shafts angled upward toward the wheels.
Anyone can link some RBR rear views and Renault rear views for a comparison?
edit: not to worry, i got some here, notice the different drive shaft angles?
anything detrimental to running the shafts at a steep angle, or having the gear box parts so low to the ground? (could be the reason every time vettel runs a kerb he destroys the engine)