The most recent incarnation of the upper medium Laguna has never been a huge success for Renault; in November 2010, three years after if first hit the road, the brand introduced a facelift no doubt hoping to improve customer appeal.
Visually, there’s little difference, with the car receiving a new nose, including grille and front bumper. The engine line-up is the most notable change, with all now rated as Euro5 to comply with EU legislation. They are also more fleet-friendly; the 1.5 dCi 110 tested here emits 120g/km CO2, meaning it falls into the lowest benefit-in-kind bracket of 13%, at least for the time being.
Renault has simplified its trim range, which now consists of Expression, Dynamique TomTom and GT Line TomTom, and also introduced four-wheel steering, ‘4Control’, on the dCi 180 engine. The brand says the revised car offers savings of up to £1855 across the range.
The Dynamique TomTom 1.5
110hp diesel is an impressive engine – sluggishness was expected on a car this size, but instead, it is plenty powerful. It also has good steering, although the body roll around corners isn’t up to the same standard. Spec includes automatic parking brake, cruise control, heated and folding door mirrors, rear parking sensors and, tellingly, an integrated TomTom satnav.
Compared with the ubiquitous Ford Mondeo, the Laguna has a slightly cheaper P11D price at £20,020 against £20,390 for a 1.6 115hp TDCi Zetec, but add in the Ford’s stronger residual values (29% versus 24%), the Mondeo is the better value choice, costing 48.6p per mile compared with 50.4p for the Laguna.
The updated car definitely has the eco credentials to now compete in the CO2-led fleet market. Whether it has the styling credentials to match is another matter.
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