After the quiet (and some say forgettable) Laguna bowed out more than three years ago in 2005, Renault has not had a contender in the mid-size saloon segment. This comeback had better be something good, if Renault is to make up for the lapse.
The first thing Renault seems to get right is the price. The standard Laguna is going for just under $100,000, putting it in a good position against the likes of the new-in-town Citroen C5, the still quite fresh Ford Mondeo, and not too far from the Japanese entrants.
The Laguna hasn’t been stripped of contents to make the price either. It comes packed with electric and remote controls for every conceivable feature, including an automatic parking brake as well as generously sized alloy wheels and xenon headlights – just the things its targeted buyers will appreciate. Forking out the extra dosh for the Premium model adds the panoramic glass roof, which happens to restrict headroom.
As a successor to the R21 (from the days when Renault used numbers to name its products), the Laguna maintains the characteristic liftback body style. This translates to a very useful boot that’s both generous in dimensions and very easy to use.
Coupled with the rising beltline, plunging shoulders and a long wheelbase that projects a very planted stance, the Laguna’s silhouette is more coupe than hatchback.
The cabin is not the most radical design (not after the spaceship-like Grand Espace), again a nod to its target audience’s taste. The overall styling manages to carry the same flavour of breezy feel to match the car’s exterior.
The instrument pack, in particular, serves as an excellent example of clean design, with simple chrome detailing lining the dials. The digital display is a useful feature.
Renault says that it made the Laguna to be something of a gem in the dynamic department. The spiel in the press pack elaborates such details as thick anti-roll bars, engineered suspension and a quick steering rack.
The car does seem pleasantly eager to hold on in the bends, and it leans very little in the corners. But it lacks the adjustability and fluidity to be truly engaging. The ride is more on the firm side, but it’s not too big a sacrifice for the grip levels that the car musters. In all, the chassis runs rather close to the standards set by the Mondeo, which is something of an achievement.
Now, we come to access the 2.0T engine. Compared to the Grand Espace, the Laguna’s turbocharger features a twin-scroll design that goes a long way to reduce spooling-up time. In the lighter Laguna, the engine is so free from turbo lag that it feels more like a big-displacement, naturally aspirated engine than a boosted 2-litre.
When stretched, the engine does let out a muted humming note as it passes the halfway mark on the tachometer. But extensive sound insulation means that you have to be actively looking for the noise to notice it.
With 270Nm of torque on tap, the Laguna is effortless to pilot in daily motoring. Often, it takes no more than a depression of the accelerator to let the wealth of oomph shovel the car forward. Rarely is there any need for the 6-speed automatic to kick down.
The gearbox, which is built by Japanese firm Jatco, features adaptive shift programming (to suit the driver’s style and road conditions) and active downshifting for engine braking. But it does without the jerky gearchanges that plagued the earlier 4-speed “proactive” transmission serving the older Renaults.
So it turns out that the Laguna is something of a revelation, as it mixes strong engine performance with capable dynamics and a rather attractive design package on the whole. And in its cool, understated way, there is no “2.0T” insignia anywhere on the body to give you any ideas. 
