New Renault Laguna hatchback review

The five-door hatchback line-up is by far the best-selling body style for family cars of this size but the popularity of estates is growing.

Currently some customers buying cars of this size look on a hatchback as being more suited to a smaller class of vehicle, hence the re-kindled interest in estate cars.

Four-wheel steering performance models and a Laguna Coupe, together with further engine options for the range, will be added by Renault to the Laguna range during this year.

Engines

‘Going-with-the flow’ of the majority of sales, my new Laguna test model was a five-door hatchback, a 2.0-litre Dynamique dCi 150 costing £18,400. Laguna hatchback prices start from £15,990 and rise to £23,400, while Sport Tourer estate variants start at £16,940 and rise to £24,350.

Diesel powered models of both the hatchback and Sports Tourer line-ups are most popular because of the bias towards high mileage business users. The range has the option of two petrol and three diesel engines and three of these engines are new, the 2.0-litre petrol 140bhp, the 1.5 dCi 110bhp and 2.0 dCi 130bhp turbodiesel units.

The small 1.5-litre dCi unit with 130g/km CO2 emissions will particularly appeal to heavily taxed company car users. The 2.0-litre 170bhp turbocharged petrol and 2.0-litre 150bhp dCi turbodiesel engines are carried over from the previous generation Laguna models.

Renault says they have placed significant focus on giving the new Laguna models improved driving pleasure, improved steering, ride and handling.

Safety

A new three-year/100,000 warranty is standard for all models and they have achieved a Euro NCAP five-star rating, with one of the highest ever scores recorded, 36 points out of 37. The Laguna has six airbags as standard, plus new thorax airbags as an option.

An Electronic Stability Programme is standard on all models as are anti-lock braking, air conditioning, alloy wheels, electric door mirrors, electric front and rear side windows, traction control and high specification CD and stereo radio.

Specifications

There are for trim levels for both hatchback and Tourer models; Expression, Dynamique, Dynamique S and Initiale plus a wide range of single options and three option packs.

Most of all customers will be, I think, impressed by the sharp new styling of the latest Laguna. It is a significantly larger car in keeping with the general move by most mainstream manufacturers in this sector to provide more space and better equipment at more or less the same price of the smaller models they replace.

The Laguna looks an elegant and imposing car now giving it significant road presence, which makes it look a more desirable and expensive vehicle edging towards the premium brands of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in this sector.

Interior space

However the long and sleek bonnet and low roofline eat into the interior space. The new Laguna might be 4,693mm long, 1,811mm wide and 1,445mm taller but it isn’t as roomy as the latest Mondeo. There is enough shoulder room front and rear with good front legroom but in the rear legroom is tight and headroom suffers because of the sloping roof.

The load area space is reasonable but again not as large as the new Mondeo. The rear seat backs fold down to increase the load space further and a near flat load floor is achieved. The low body waistline allows for large glass areas so visibility to the front and sides is good and the car has an airy feel.

The steeply racked rear tailgate and the design of the rear window restricts rear visibility a little.

The layout of the dashboard and centre console is neat with easy to find and use controls and the trim surfaces look high quality. It takes a while to get used to the offset pedals, a usual complaint for most Renault right hand drive models.

I’m not going to dwell too much on the performance of the 2.0-litre 150bhp, 251lb ft turbodiesel engine. It is well known. It pulls strongly under acceleration, it is very quiet for a diesel but it is not very flexible due in part to the high fifth and sixth gear ratios and requires considerable use of the gearbox.

Running costs

Official performance figures show the Laguna to have a top speed of 128mph and 0-62mph is covered in 9.5 seconds. In the combined cycle this Laguna is supposed to return 47.1mpg but my test car got nowhere near it at only 37.1mpg.

CO2 emissions are 158g/km giving it a Vehicle Excise Duty rating of Band D meaning £140 road tax a year. Company car drivers will pay 21% in Benefit in Kind tax and the insurance group rating is 9E.

Ride and handling

In true French style the suspension is configured to give ride-comfort rather than sharp and responsive handling. This is ideal on motorways but the ride soon becomes unsettled and the suspension does not easily absorb the bumps, ripples and potholes commonplace on our British roads.

Noise intrusion into the car from both wind and tyres is relatively low so the being a passenger is a generally a pleasurable experience.

The new Laguna hatchback has much going for it, particularly its looks and quality. It does fall short in a few areas to some of its very good rivals in this sector. However owning up to owning a Laguna might, for some, be preferable to saying ‘I’m a Mondeo man’, or woman.

MILESTONES

Renault Laguna Hatchback 2.0 dCi 150

Price: £18,400

Engine/transmission: 2.0-litre, dCi direct injection turbodiesel, 150bhp, 251lb ft of torque, 6-speed manual gearbox

Performance: 128mph, 0-62mph 9.2 seconds, 47.1mpg (37.1mpg actual), CO2 158g/km, VED Band D £140

Company car tax: 21%

Insurance group: 11E

For: Smart styling, very well equipped, excellent quality and overall refinement, very safe, appealing to own.

Against: Lacks sharp handling, unsettled ride over many road surfaces, not as frugal on fuel as official figures suggest

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