Category: Large Family 
Price Range: No data available
Beautifully refined petrol engine, predictable handling, classy cabin, precise steering.
Not hugely fun to drive, poor residuals, pricey, uninspiring looks, diesel is a bit noisy.
A far superior Laguna. It's easy to drive and the four-wheel steering is a success. It's good, but not engaging.
The first thing you do notice about the GT is how precise and how wonderfully able the steering actually is. This is Renault's technological boast and it would be churlish to say that the French manufacturer hasn't delivered. The difference in steering feel between that and the standard two-wheel steering Lagunas is vast. Renault claims it's very rare that you'll turn the wheel any more than a quarter turn, but we did that regularly on twisty Corsican roads.
It's agile: there's so much grip available that you have to be pretty lairy before the traction control kicks in on dry surfaces. Body lean is kept nicely in check you generally feel confident about exiting corners with your foot hard on the throttle and staying in control.
However, this isn't going to woo the tail-happy crowd. The front-wheel drive combined with the four-wheel steering means oversteer is a rarity. The ride, meanwhile, is just right: the four-wheel steering makes the Laguna handle so well that there's little need to make the suspension overly firm. In fact the GT is so unflustered on the road that, it's, well, a little boring. Sometimes it's hard to get excited about it, even if you are swooping down a beautifully twisty and challenging B-road.
The diesel offers 180bhp and 295lb-ft of torque at 2000rpm and the petrol delivers 205bhp and 221lb-ft of torque at 3000rpm. Both engine variants are decent performers. The petrol version is by far the more desirable engine of the two: its power delivery is George-Clooney smooth and you don't have to push it hard to get it up to speed. It'll whisk you from 0-62mph in just 7.8s and really it's no bother throughout the rev range. The engine note seems almost sedate, and as such it gives you the impression that you're going much slower than you are. It is quite extraordinary.
The diesel is quite noisy but it's punchy and its power delivery is almost petrol-like. Thankfully, you get no lurching forward when the turbo kicks in and there's easily enough mid-range torque to overtake without having to drop a gear.
