New Renault Laguna

AlanD

Has anyone driven the new Laguna? What's it like compared to the old one? I've driven the old 1.6 petrol one and thought it was a bit wheezy with not enough power. Is the same 1.6 petrol used in this Laguna? And what's the 120bhp 1.9 dci engine like?

All opinions appreciated....

A

BrianD3

The 1.6 petrol is pretty much the same as before but with 5 bhp extra (115 vs 110) In terms of being wheezy, the car is not fast but I don't think it's as as slow as people make out. It may feel slower than it really is thanks to its refinement and smoothness. The Laguna 1.6 puts out about the same power as most 1.6 litre family cars and is not far behind some 1.8s plus the renault is a bit smaller and lighter than some of the cars in the class.

In terms of looks I think the facelifted car looks worse than before with the chrome strip at the front looking out of place. Equipment levels are even better than before though. IIRC alloys are now standard on all models.

AlanD

I agree with you, the new look isn't as nice as the old one. But in some colours I've actually thought it looked well. The spec levels impress me alright and I like the built for cruising/comfort idea.

I wonder will the reliability of the car improve with this one though. The last cars had lots of electrical faults. No doubt some people had no problems though.

BrianD3

Reliability and build quality is supposed to be improved alright.The car is basically the same as the old one which was introduced in 2001. After 4 years on the market most of the teething niggly problems *should* be mostly sorted.

Even though there are lots of reports of problems with the old one, I'm one of those owners who has had almost no problems. In 80 k miles I've had just one minor electrical problem which was fixed under warranty.

aodh_rua

A friend of mine has a '02 Laguna. The timing belt went at under 40k miles (half the design spec) and he's had a great deal of trouble getting satisfaction out of the dealer and Renault Ireland. I suppose the lesson he's learned is that Renault's support isn't the best.

AlanD

thanks!

this is kind of related, but can you get xenon on the new laguna? Actually, can you get xenon's on the megane sports saloon?

bazz26

I think the Laguna is starting to feel it's age imo, even with the face lift, the front has come into line with other Renaults but from the side it is starting to look a 4 year old design imo. I'm not gone on the bits of crome either that wrap around the front, looks very American to me. I'm not very convinced about French electrics either, my opinion is that the less electrics/gadgets in a French car the better the car it is. The one good thing I have noticed is that Renault like most French car manufacturers still make very comfortable seats.

Have seen some spy shots of the Laguna III and first impressions are that it looks good, should be interesting when it is launched in 2 years time.

BrianD3

I think the facelift is a step backwards alright. The rear lights look worse, the front lights look too small and "piggy", the whole front is blander and less distinctive, the chrome strip looks wrong esp on dark coloured cars. I'd still buy one however

The pre facelift car may be looking a little familiar now but IMO it's still a very good looking car in the mid size segment. I think the pre facelift car looks better than the 3 series, A4, C-Class, Saab 9-3 plus the Passat, Mondeo, Vectra, Avensis, 407, C5, Primera. All IMO or course

stratos

Why would anybody buy a French car ?

AlanD

stratos wrote:

Why would anybody buy a French car ?

Well, I've driven Peugeot's for the past 11 years and have not one ounce of trouble with them. I've had a 405 turbo diesel, a 206 gti, a 206 CC 2.0 litre and now a 406 diesel. All trouble free.

Maybe it's the PSA cars that have the better quality over the Renault cars. Although the Peugeot 307 did have it's electrical teething problems when it was launched. Apart from that, they've been relatively trouble free.

JohnBoy

My dad got one of the early ones.

he had the tyres replaced by the dealer at 11K miles cos the handling was poor on smooth surfaces, apart from that it's had oil changes and a set of rear pads (seemingly they are quite poor in them and don't last)

63K miles on it and he's actually selling it at the mo if anyone is interested.

I do think the 1.6 is woefully weak in low down torque though, admittedly i drive a diesel but I do a fair bit in petrols too.

I've driven a 00 1.6 avensis (non vvti) recently and it would piss all over the laguna in acceleration terms, terribly boring otherwise though

to get any sort of decent performance out of it you have to rev the living daylights out of it, at which point it starts to drink petrol.

as for french cars in general, build quality can be patchy, they're not bad cars, ok they're not japanese, but in my book that's a good thing. you can get horror stories from merc drivers too.

I've owned rover, peugeot, vw, peugeot, renault and ford in that order. the best is clearly the ford, but then again it's also five years newer than the newest of the others and I'm not sure how a ten year old 180K mile focus would compare with a similar aged the 405s I had


oh, and I think the new grill looks cack