Renault Laguna Privilege 2002 Review

Laguna territory - the prestige 50s - is perhaps the most crowded section of the Australian new car market, with more than 20 basic models for Aussies to choose from. Don't believe us?

Let's start with the Aussies: There's the Holden Calais and Statesman, the Ford Fairmont Ghia and Fairlane, Toyota Avalon and Mitsubishi Verada. Then there's the Japanese makers: Nissan Maxima, Honda Accord, Subaru Liberty, Lexus IS300 and ES300. And don't forget the Europeans: BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-class, Citroen C5, Alfa Romeo 156, Jaguar X-type, Peugeot 406, Rover 75, Saab 93 and Volkswagen Passat. And I'm sure to have missed some, but you get the point.

Against this baffling large mountain of motoring metal, Renault's trump card is to keep it simple. The Laguna is available in two bodystyles; hatch and wagon, which the Renault dealer will tell you is actually saloon and estate. Whatever, they've both got five doors.

The Laguna's major claim to fame is that it scored a perfect five stars in the European New Car Assessment Program crash testing, which scores a car's ability to protect occupants from harm in frontal and side impact collisions. The Laguna is the first car in the world to do so.

Buyers have no choice with engines or transmission, it's 3.0-litre V6 automatic all the way - though a smaller 2.0-litre, four cylinder version is not too far away. There's three different Laguna versions, each carrying a varying amount of equipment, and ranging in price (at launch) from $46,990 to $57,990.

All models share Renault's distinct styling flair. That sharply pointed nose, steeply raked windscreen and smooth, flowing lines ensure your Laguna will often be the topic of neighbourly driveway conversation. No conservative shrinking violet here, but a car determined to stand out from the crowd.

In this instance we've tested the top of the range Renault Laguna Privilege LX which comes with enough equipment and features to keep button fetishists in squeals of delight for months.

For starters there's the remote central locking, activated by a slim keycard. This keycard then slides into the dash to disable the immobiliser, and a push of the starter button - hidden behind the steering wheel - fires the V6 into life. The keycard can also store information like drivers' seat position and mirror settings.

The Laguna's cabin gives the impression of plenty of space, using light colours and clutter free arrangement to enhance the cabin room offered by the physical package. Electrically adjustable leather seats are standard, as is climate control air-conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, mutli-function trip computer and sunroof.

Rear seat passengers won't complain as there's enough leg and headroom in the back to get comfortable, and the luggage area comes close to rivalling the Grand Canyon for size, aided by the extra height the hatch-style lid allows.

Laguna's 6 speaker stereo is elegantly concealed behind a tilting lid, which also hides a storage bin. The radio has the same hard to decipher fascia and buttons as all other Renault models in Australia, but has no problem pumping noise once you figure out how to use it. A 6-stack CD player is standard on the Privilege LX model.

Steering wheel-mounted cruise control is standard, posting your dialed-in speed in big digital numbers on the trip computer - perfect for these big brother speed camera times we live in.

Our initial complaints about the Laguna's drivetrain - expressed in the launch story (read it here) - stand. The engine is an undeniably smooth, if unhurried, performer, accelerating cleanly and effortlessly from standstill.

The 5-speed automatic gearbox - with tiptronic style shifting - is very poor. Sometimes smooth, sometimes so hard to detect, other times it bangs through harder than a Tyson left. Over-reving is another all-too-common trait, as is unecessary changes.

Busy morning traffic on Melbourne's freeways clearly highlights the Laguna's Achille's heel. Every time our foot returned to the throttle for that gentle injection of power needed to keep with the flow of traffic, the gearbox changed down, the revs built, and the car took our softly toed suggestion as a kick up the butt. No matter how gently we tried to reapply the throttle the gearbox took it as a signal to change down.

And then there's the fluffed changes. Without any reason, or common trigger that we could find, upchanges often banged through, sometimes over-revving first. Other times the gearchanges were so smooth as to be almost undetectable. Just why this occurs we don't know, but the three vehicles we drove at launch, and the one tested here for a week all exhibited these signs, so it's not a glitch.

Perhaps we're focusing too much on what is really only one problem in the Laguna's otherwise blot-free copybook. But it's a case of the Laguna only being as strong as its weakest link, and in a very crowded prestige market, there's too much choice for buyers to have put up with a grumpy gearbox.

The ride quality is right up there with the best, isolating occupants totally from smaller road irregularities. It's perhaps one of the best luxury rides in its class, and ties it in with a decent serving of stability if you start to hurry, though the luxury tuning bias will allow some bodyroll if the road gets twisty.

It's hard to fault the brakes, discs at all corners, and aided by ABS and emergency brake assist - which detects a panic stop and applies maximum pressure to the brakes. There's little wrong with the steering also, which is light and easy to turn at parking speeds without eroding higher speed stability.

Overall the Laguna is a well packaged medium-sized prestige motor that presents a very strong case to buyers. Its plusses are many, including that incredibly long features list that the others will have a hard time matching. It's just the argumentative auto 'box that takes some of the shine of what is otherwise a truly polished performer.