Refined Laguna introduces svelte new look

It's hard to pick the old Laguna from the new one at the rear. Tail lights are different and the hatch has been restyled, but the big money has been spent on the frontal styling of the new car.

Most of the older car's styling cues around the C pillars and rear flanks have been retained, but the front end has lost that Megane-style split grille look.

The new style comprises a narrow slot for a grille and multi-reflector headlight clusters integrated with the styling of the bonnet and quarter panels.

Whilst the new front end refreshes the car, the key factors in the rebirth of the Laguna were environment, safety, cost of ownership, durability and reliability.

Engines for the new Laguna will be a super-frugal 1.5-litre turbodiesel, a 2.0-litre turbodiesel and a 2.0-litre DOHC petrol four, jointly developed with Nissan. The petrol engine will also be available in turbocharged form.

Other than that, mechanicals for the new Laguna are carried over from the old model, albeit with some tweaking.

Both the steering and suspension have been revisited by Renault's engineers. The steering ratio has been improved for more direct response and the ride quality is said to be a step forward from the older car's.

Renault suspension engineers have achieved the softer ride quality by re-tuning the dampers. Laguna's handling and road-holding are both enhanced too, with roll resistance increased by 20 per cent at the front and 50 per cent at the rear.

Safety is always a major item on Renault's agenda for any new car and the Laguna is no exception. Dual phased side impact airbags in the Laguna feature protection for the thorax and pelvis, deploying in accordance with the severity of the impact.

Active safety has climbed a notch also, with revised ABS calibration and a new braking system that is more fade-resistant than the Laguna's major competitors. Emergency Brake Assist and an electronic stability program are included in the vehicle's specification.

Extra sound insulation in the engine bay and a higher capacity compressor are among the changes to the Laguna's comfort and convenience features.

Renault now claims the new Laguna with Diesel engine is the benchmark for 'acoustic comfort' in its market niche. To achieve this result, the engineers set about reducing wind noise and noise from the road.

The work on the air-conditioning system was prompted by the results of two surveys of American consumers by Nissan in 2001 and 2002.

Nissan and Renault cooperated on the development of the new system, which will be spread across multiple models from the two companies.

Other changes include an upgrade for the keyless entry system and a parking brake assist system. The wagon adopts a system that provides a flat floor for loads with the push of a button.

Durability testing for the new Laguna took 120 pre-production cars over six million km of harsh road surfaces. Countries selected for the testing were Argentina, Australia, Malaysia and Russia.

Renault claims that the Laguna is more robust and reliable than before, whilst tipping the scales 15kg lighter.

The new Laguna makes its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and local deliveries are expected to commence around the middle of next year, according to Craig Smith, Marketing Communications Manager for Renault.

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