Following its recent struggles, in particular with sliding fleet registrations and the critical response to the new Laguna, there are signs Renault might be getting its act together.
The new Megane, launched at the back end of last year, is certainly an improvement on its predecessor, and following close behind it was the best-looking Renault in a long time.
The Laguna Coupe is an undoubtedly pretty car, reminiscent of the way Peugeot managed to spin the stunning 406 Coupe off the back of a mundane mainstream model. But we wanted to find out if there’s real substance behind the obvious style, which is why the Laguna Coupe is the latest arrival onto our long-term fleet.
As far as choice of model goes, it was a fairly straightforward decision. Only one of the five engine options gets below the new 161g/km capital allowance boundary, so it’s the 150PS 2.0-litre diesel that’s in the BusinessCar car park. The others, 180PS 2.0 and 235PS 3.0 diesels, and 205PS 2.0 and 240PS 3.5 petrols, are all well over that CO2 point.
The 150PS diesel is only available in the lower of the two trim levels, but still gets 18-inch alloys, Bluetooth, climate control, sports seats [1], rear parking sensors and Xenon headlmaps. If we’d been able to spec the GT trim, leather interior, cruise control and keyless entry would also have been on the bill.
However, our car comes in with a P11D of just £21,400, which isn’t bad at all for something with the looks of the Laguna Coupe.
The options list is fairly short, with a choice of seven items. Of that we’ve taken two, the pearl-blue metallic paint at £395 and, for convenience sake, the satnav system at £975 [2]. The latter will get a full work-out over the next six months to decide if it’s worth nearly £1000. The only other five items we could have specced were heated front seats, chrome exhaust pipes, tyre pressure sensor, keyless entry and cruise control. The last in that list would have been nice, particularly as we’re hoping the car will be in its element as a long-distance cruiser. It’s worth noting the £18,720 Laguna hatch does get cruise as standard, but not the climate control, parking sensors or 18-inch alloys – it gets 16s instead – fitted to our car.
Which is interesting, because it may be that extra couple of inches [3] that’s contributing to our early concern about the Laguna, or at least not helping it. The ride quality appears, on early trips, really unsettled, and it’s a problem we experienced with a 180PS Laguna Coupe we’ve previously sampled. It’s something we’ll report more on over the next six months.
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