Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £15,990 to £23,450
Refined petrol engines, torquey diesel, predictable handling, precise steering.
Not hugely fun to drive, poor residuals, pricey, uninspiring looks.
You'll probably go for the diesel even if it is a bit noisy. It's much better than the basic Laguna. There are better rivals, but the precision of the four-wheel steering might lure you.
When the new Laguna broke cover in 2007, the response was tepid. Even designer Patrick le Quement described the design as 'conservative', when it was put to him that this latest-generation family hatch was, in fact, rather dull.
You might well be disappointed with the looks of the GT Sport Tourer, but it's no worse than others in the class, such as the Peugeot 407 estate. Renault describes the GT's styling as 'distinctive' but even with wider 18-inch wheels, lateral air intakes in the front bumper, a bigger front grille and a black background to the headlamps, it's still underwhelming. Inside, there's extra frippery - there's a flat-bottomed steering wheel, sporty seats with GT logo, alcantara leather upholstery and red needles on the dials.
Dynamically, the GT Sport Tourer is far better than the basic Laguna estate. There's two new turbocharged engines: a two-litre petrol and two-litre diesel. The diesel offers 180bhp and 295lb-ft of torque at 2000rpm and the petrol delivers 205bhp and 221lb-ft of torque at 3000rpm.
The GT also includes Renault's new Active Drive Chassis and four-wheel steering. It all sounds nice and fancy, but the aim is to make the car more manoeuvrable around town and more agile on the open road.
At speeds of up to 38mph, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front wheels - up to an angle of 3.5 degrees. With four-wheel steering on the Active Drive chassis, Renault says the GT has a 10 per cent smaller turning circle than its equivalent two-wheel steering models and it is, in fact, the same as a Clio's. The steering wheel only requires 2.2 turns to go from lock to lock. There are few downsides with the system. It adds a total of 19kgs to the kerbweight and £750 to the cost.
The Renault Laguna GT Sport Tourer will set you back £22,000, which is a little pricey compared to equivalent rivals.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Renault Laguna
wrote on 14 09 2007
wrote on 12 09 2007