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Estate
Renault calls this version of the Laguna a ‘Sport Tourer’, not an estate, which leaves no doubt that its looks are more important than its overall load space. Even so, it carries a fair bit and it’s packed with thoughtful details, such as a rear window that opens separately from the rest of the tailgate.
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Inside, it’s pleasantly trimmed. The cabin feels roomy, helped by its big windows, although the poor view to the back makes reversing tricky. The Laguna led the fad for replacing conventional keys with a credit card-sized slab of plastic. It looks intriguing, but the card is too thick to carry in your wallet easily and it still needs to be slotted into the dash before the car will start. So it's more of a gimmick than a benefit. The car rides smoothly and drives nimbly enough. However, it never displays the sharpness and feedback you’ll enjoy when driving a Mondeo.
Running Costs
Heavy depreciation from new makes a used Laguna a bargain, while its top-flight safety helps keep insurance groups low. However, the car’s reliability isn’t anything to write home about, so buying an older one brings the risk of frequent garage bills. And those bills can be quite high. Some ordinary jobs are long and complex, although routine spares are fairly priced. On the other hand, servicing costs are average for a family car, and on-board sensors determine how far apart the services are. It’s possible to stretch the gap between routine visits to 15,000 miles and beyond if you drive carefully. Most Lagunas fall within insurance groups 9-11, which is reasonable, although the 3.0s are in group 15. Fuel economy is strong, too, with the 1.9 130 diesel achieving up to 47mpg overall and 57mpg on a long, gentle run. The 2.0 manages a reasonable 34mpg maximum overall and 44mpg on a run, but only 25mpg in town. Worst of all is the 3.0 that drinks petrol, struggling to manage 19mpg in town and only 28mpg overall.
Hatchback
In a word, comfortable. The Laguna rides the lumps and bumps beautifully both in town and on the motorway. Yet it’s also crisp through the corners, and the firm body control ensures it's stable at all times. It’s not terribly engaging, mind you the steering is too vague for that but it’s competent. Motorways are the Laguna's ideal home. Long distances disappear effortlessly in hushed comfort, helped by the good driving position, excellent provision of creature comforts and, apart from smallest, smooth, willing engines. The cabin isn’t the roomiest, though. Tall people will get a gentle head massage from the roof lining, and those in the rear struggle for foot space. The payoff, however, is an impressive, rectangular luggage area that can be extended by split/fold rear seats. As well as luxury kit, the Laguna is packed with safety features that helped it to a maximum five-star rating in its Euro NCAP crash tests.
Running Costs
Overall, running costs are pretty average. Servicing bills are typically higher than for a Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Vectra, and significantly dearer than the Peugeot 407’s, but cheaper than the Laguna's other rival, the Citroen C5. However, if something goes wrong, it isn’t likely to be that cheap to fix. Figures from a leading warranty company suggest the norm for repair costs is roughly 50% higher than for the Mondeo, Vectra and C5. In addition, some owners find front tyres wear quicker than expected. Insurance is more modest (group 9 for the 120bhp 1.9 dCi, rising to 15 for the 2.0T GT), and fuel bills are positively bashful. Our favourite car, the 150bhp 2.0 dCi diesel, yields an official 48.7mpg combined average, which is slightly better than the 130bhp 1.9 dCi and slightly worse than the 120bhp 1.9 dCi. The petrols range from high-30s to the gallon for the 1.6s and 1.8s to high-20s for the V6.