Category: Large Family 
Price Range: No data available
Quiet, smooth engines, good interior design and materials.
Not dynamically the best, quality and reliability concerns, short service intervals for 130bhp diesel.
Average car in a competitive class - good at most things, but outstanding at none.
In terms of dynamism, the pre-facelift Laguna wasn't at the top of the class and, despite some chassis improvements intended to increase road-holding and give better road feel, it still isn't. What it still does well, however, is ride extremely compliantly, while steering is smooth and accurate, if not overtly responsive or feelsome.
The 2.0-litre 205bhp engine gets a unique suspension set-up, lowered by 10mm and with stiffened springs and dampers. It's a remarkably successful modification, giving the GT, as it's badged, a more agile, poised feel, without forsaking the ride quality.
As a result of the 2005 revisions, there's a new GT-spec 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, developing 205bhp; the 1.9-litre turbodiesel is available in uprated 130bhp form in addition to the 120bhp version; and there's also the new 2.0-litre dCi (150bhp, and, from spring 2006, 170bhp). The petrols are generally smooth but otherwise unremarkable, but the diesel units are particularly quiet and refined, with a broad spread of power.
For the petrols, the base motor is now a 2.0-litre with 135bhp (0-62mph in 9.8secs, 35.7mpg, 187g/km of carbon dioxide); there's a 170bhp 2.0 turbo (0-62mph in 8.4secs, 33.6mpg, 198g/km); and the depreciation-heavy 210bhp 3.0-litre V6 (auto only, 0-62mph in 8.0secs, 28.5mpg, 237g/km).
The new 205bhp 2.0-litre turbo comes only in GT specification, which includes suspension alterations to make the driving experience more dynamic (largely successfully). It pulls the Laguna to 62mph in 7.4 seconds while returning 32.8mpg and 200g/km; it's smooth, there's little lag and it sounds pleasant, too.
The diesel range starts with a 95bhp dCi 1.9-litre, hauling the hatch (there's no estate option on this one) to 62mph in a lethargic 13.6 seconds: however, it is Euro IV-compliant, returns 47.9mpg and emits 157g/km of CO2.
For 2006, Renault has dropped the 1.9 dCi (120bhp), which did not meet the Euro IV emissions standards, but the 130bhp has been modified: quiet, with a broad spread of power and torque, it completes the 0-62mph sprint in 10.2secs, returns 50.4mpg and emits 152g/km. Its service intervals are disappointingly short, though, at 9,000 miles.
