Renault has a stunning looking car with the Laguna Coupe but looks can be deceiving!
Renault is on a roll at the moment with two very pretty coupes; the Megane and Laguna. Coupes are all about style and presence and the Laguna has both in spades. The French coupe is a very handsome machine and clearly a homage to Aston Martin styling.
The rear end is pure DB9 and why I love the fact it looks so good, it is hardly original. Car companies pinch bits of design from each other all the time, remember the second generation Hyundai Coupe that was blatantly a tribute to Ferrari, albeit for a fraction of the price. So we’ll let Renault away with it this time.
Coupes should also be a little silly and sacrifice practicality for the ability to turn heads. The new Laguna Coupe does just that. The interior is surprisingly spacious but the car is a strict four-seater. There is a reasonable boot and split folding rear seats should you need to carry more than a smile.
Sadly the special feeling you get when you see the car on the outside all but vanishes when you get behind the wheel. The dash is dull and straight from the stock Laguna and that means the buttons and knobs that operate the secondary controls are small and fiddly.
Another annoying thing is the tricky Bluetooth set up and stereo controls. Despite the handy steering column mounted controls the sound system is a challenge to the logical mind. To put it in context I test drive around 300 new cars a year and seldom have to read a manual to find out how to operate a stereo but I had to read the Laguna’s!
The coupe was launched in Europe in seven versions and two trim levels. The launch engine range included two petrol units namely a 200bhp, 2-litre turbo, 194 CO2 g/km and a 3.5 litre 240bhp V6 with 238 CO2 g/km (a very unlikely proposition in Ireland) and two diesels starting off with a relatively clean 2-litre 150bhp dci (157 CO2 g/km) and a 3-litre V6 dci with 235bhp and 192 CO2 g/km.
My 2-litre petrol test car was nippy enough but the four-cylinder engine proved a little rough and slightly noisy for such an elegant looking car. The steering was sharp thanks to a quick gearing and ride comfort was good.
Higher models in the 'GT' range get a four-wheel steering set up called 4Control (remember Honda pioneered this technology with the Prelude). Launched first in the Laguna Hatch GT 4Control allows the rear wheels to help steer. At low speed the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front to help reduce the turning circle and aid parking. At higher speeds the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front but of course to a much smaller degree.
All the usual toys are available but as large Renaults tend to have very poor residuals and if it was my money I’d spend the bare minimum to get in to the coupe and resist ticking any boxes on the options list.
Laguna Coupe is a super looking car and that’s all.
Michael Sheridan
