Renault Laguna Estate 2002 Review

Translate the European term Estate into Australian motoring vernacular, and you end up with station wagon. It's a tag that doesn't exactly conjure up sleek and stylish images and whose appeal is likely to attract suburban accountants with assorted children and canines. Practical and useful transport, so to speak.

But with the rise and rise of the four wheel drive in Australia and the people mover in Europe as the practical and versatile transport of the 21st century, the humble station wagon has undergone a transformation. Or at least those coming out of Europe have.

No more are they staid, conservative load luggers but rather stylish wagons that drive like sedans with the added bonus of a bit more boot space.

Renault's new Laguna Estate is one such example. The car was launched in April along with its hatchback sibling, and until the larger luxury Vel Satis arrives next year, it is the French car-maker's flagship. With sticker price starting at $50,990, the car's direct competitors are obviously its French compatriots, Citroen C5 and Peugeot 406, and other premium European wagons such as the VW Passat and Alfa 156.

From the outside, the car is a stylish, well packaged, mid-sized wagon and as you slip into the comfortable driver's seat, the interior continues to please. It is well finished with plenty of space for front and rear passengers and, although it eschews a load lugger style in favour of sleek sporty lines, it still offers plenty of space behind the rear seats for luggage. With 20cm added to the overall length of the hatch, the capacity of the Laguna Estate stretches from a minimum of 475 litres to almost 1500 litres.

Just one engine is on offer at present, a 3.0-litre V6 to drive the front wheels. With 152kW of power and 285Nm of torque, it is more than adequate to get the car up and off the line and is one of the smoothest and most refined engines in its class. It has a good strong mid-range for easy overtaking and responds well to a bit of right foot pressure.

The same cannot unfortunately be said for the standard five-speed automatic transmission. This is the car's biggest letdown with very noticeable shift changes and a computer control that appears to get easily confused as to what gear the driver wants. There is a sequential manual override that does offer more control, but it is slow to react to flicks of the gear lever and hardly worth the effort.

Handling is as expected from a European car - solid and confident with little body roll through corners - although the steering is definitely tuned for comfort being quite light - especially at parking speeds - and offering minimal feedback.

The suspension offers very good ride comfort, and overall levels of noise, vibration and harshness are very low, once again marking this as a comfortable cruiser rather than a sports wagon.

The level of standard equipment and technology is that usually associated with cars further up the price ladder. Most obvious on the high tech front is the credit card key that slips into a slot in the dash and, once connected, allows you to press a starter button and fire the engine.

In addition to providing the car's computer with the right codes to unlock the immobiliser and steering lock, the card can also store data such as fuel and oil levels, distance to next service and odometer readings, all of which can be downloaded into a PC.

Despite its entry level status, the Authentique we tested features no shortage of creature comforts including a six-speaker radio CD player, cruise control, power windows and mirrors, and a dual zone automatic climate control system.

Safety is also a strong point with the car being the first to earn a five star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test, which included passing a side impact "pole test". Euro NCAP, like the local NCAP tests, aims to provide independent assessment of new cars' crash worthiness and ability to protect their occupants.

In addition to the active components of the traction control, ABS, solid chassis and very strong passenger shell, the Laguna also features dual-stage inflation front airbags and side airbags for driver and front seat passenger and head curtain bags that extend along the length of the roof line.

As an upmarket wagon that exudes style, the Laguna is also a very pleasant car to drive and, if you are in the market, is well worth looking at. Convince Renault to bring out a manual, and it could be a class leader.