Test drive by Renault Laguna 2001 - 2005 hatchback

Firestarter

For twenty minutes now I have been standing, looking at her, and I can’t take my eyes off ... I understand that I look like a complete idiot from the side. And what has to go for a long time, that they have been waiting for me for a long time to imagine her, to say the parting her and send us on this short journey. But I can’t force myself to take this step. Probably, I'm just afraid of his irrevocability. After all, while she still does not know that I am exactly the one she is waiting for, I look at her as an outsider, unfamiliar to her, she does not notice me, does not think about me, does not pay attention to me.
Probably, at a subconscious level, I expected something similar from Renault from the moment when I first saw the photos of Initiale. Because Initiale was too bright to just become part of the story. This dynamic silhouette was supposed to be embodied somewhere, and, probably, first of all, it was thought about a large representative car, which, in fact, was initiale himself. However, then all the minds were occupied by the futuristic Avantime, then the avant-garde Vel Satis suddenly appeared, and at some point it seemed to seem to be forgotten about Initiale. Perhaps this is unforgivable, but in the bustle I missed the novelties of the Parisian, 2000, a car dealership, I just heard that I made a debut of the new Laguna, but did not even see photos. And the first I saw, and immediately alive, the station wagon. Laguna-universal I madly liked it, especially the interior and unusually elegant dashboard in its conciseness, outlined, outlined, without the slightest hint of excess lines.
And now in front of me is already a Laguna-hatch-bek. The salon is comfortable, light and spacious only rolling in the back the roof slightly limits the passengers of the rear seat in height. Device panel work of art! And it is very good that this is an inexpensive equipment: the noble laconicity of the panel does not violate the abundance of additional buttons. And the console cover on the road can be kept closed by controlling acoustics from the remote control under the steering wheel. There are many different unexpected amenities. Under the front seats are boxes for trifles, and I have not yet met such witty boxing in the central armrest. Under the upper hook cover there is another one, with a molded recess under a mobile phone and a small round hole, and at the bottom of the box a standard rosette of 12 volts. That is, you can, by putting the phone on the top floor, connect it through the charger to the on -board network, passing the wire into the hole. Witty!
Although the space behind is enough for me, a long -legged, we plant our kindergarten in the back seat, drowned in the back of the headrest seat, the kids are just right. I’m not afraid to leave them here alone: \u200b\u200bthe castles are not necessary to look for children's locking, it is centralized (!), And the windows, although they are blocked by the same button, are equipped with a birth control system. Now we are sitting down adults. It is very convenient for me here, despite my non -standard growth. As flat as a table, the highway runs from the city to the southeast, past the villages picturesquely scattered along the surrounding hills. Laguna easily takes a high pace set by the constant inhabitants of the extreme left strip: contrary to expectations, a 1.8-liter motor has a sufficient margin of traction, allowing him to accelerate during overtaking. But when touched, it rests, requires revolutions! But at 2000, the zone begins confident and even to the very top.
At high speed, Laguna is very stable. Neither the rumor of tires, nor the whistle of the dissected air, do not penetrate into the salon. And along with the equanimity of the progressive movement, this creates a feeling of extraordinary comfort of the journey, not always characteristic of and much large cars. Even in the city, we appreciated the magnificent smoothness of the course, but was afraid that it would be rolled in the back seats, especially with a loaded trunk. But this does not happen, Vive Les Ingenieurs Francaisses! The highway goes further south, and we turn off, and after a while our track narrows up to two lanes, one of which is oncoming. Typical for Central Russia, this road was once a flat concrete. Then, already dilapidated, it was covered with a layer of asphalt, and now in some places the asphalt has left the concrete base, forming huge bald spots. However, this does not affect our comfort much: the suspension works perfectly, without missing the body, neither strong blows nor unpleasant vibrations.
The road rises to the hills, then descends into the lowlands. The motor would cope with this without difficulty, but heavily loaded, not the first freshness of KAMAZ, in the clouds of a brood smoke storming each rise, make it reduce speed. 1.8 liters are still not 2.5, and our load is not so small, because we are five, and although three out of five children, the trunk is loaded under the lid. So when overtaking a stylish lever of the gearbox, you have to contact constantly. Oh, this traditional long -term clutch pedal for Renault! And the wide brake pedal, apparently, is the same as on cars with an automatic box, sometimes no, no, and it will catch when you remove the leg from the accelerator pedal. At high speeds, the voice of the motor is heard in the cabin, but the sound is black, and the perky, sports timbre of the exhaust raises the mood.
The crossed terrain ends, and the road creases along the steppe, far away around the village and villages. The wind became lateral for us, and, oddly enough, it is well felt on the steering wheel of a small one, but a noticeable effort needs to be counteracted, otherwise the car is slowly taking away from the course. The steering wheel here is generally very informative, sometimes even too much: hands feel not only the steepness of turning, but also road potholes, and the curvature of the profile. Laguna reacts to the turn of the steering wheel with a slight delay, but the rolls are small. But our car has 16-inch wheels, and I already know from colleagues that 17-inch with 45 percent profile tires, adding an acute car in reactions, do not at all make it a great suspension here!
Already in the dark, we enter the city and slowly move along the lit streets, now and then letting the numerous pedestrians on a festive evening. The intersections, battered asphalt of driveways from childhood ... Children chew joyfully: at the entrance to the courtyard there is a grandfather and shakes his head reproachfully, looking at the car. Hello, father! ..
Text Ivan Petrov
Photo Alexander Nozdrin
 

Source: Cars