Renault Laguna test drive since 2007 hatchback

Beaujolais nouveau

Bozhole Nuvo is so called the holiday of young wine, which annually starts on the third Thursday of November. The new generation of Renault Laguna was ripening just by this time, but unlike the wine, Russian gourmets had to wait more than six months, since cars are still slower than a green drink.
However, it is hardly worthwhile to blame the French of sluggishness. With this car, they were going to compete for the championship in the classroom, and in such a situation they simply need an objective perception. But at that moment it was, in fact, it was impossible: the new Mondeo only entered the market, and the other bestseller Mazda6 was already at a low start. Maybe it was worth waiting, at least now Laguna III will be able to fight competitors almost on equal terms.
And almost not a reservation. The parallel between the novelty and young wine is not accidental. The car is made with taste, but it is clearly not enough for tart and maturity. Even visually. The French themselves called the car style a variation on the topic GT, but here you can argue with them. Of course, this car is moderately sports and muscular, but not thorough. The same Mondeo looks much more respectable, and Mazda6 is more dynamic. Even the Citroeon C5 compatriot became courageous in German ... at the same time, Laguna remained traditionally French, filigently spelled out, but nothing more.
The same is inside. The quality of the assembly and materials at a rather decent level, but the deliberate minimalism in the design here looks pale, at least against the background of the latest developments of competitors. The front panel is moderately massive, quite decently designed, but in practice the driver accustomed to more advanced interiors will feel a clear drawback of equipment controlled by him. The situation would save a full-color LCD monitor of the European version looks more subscent, but in our case, only a standard radio and a compact climate control unit are located on the central console. For a less prestigious megane, such a set would be just right, but in a relatively dimensional Laguna, so much free space at first even depresses.
There are no complaints about ergonomics. As, however, there were no them to the predecessor. The front seats do not abound with special delights, but they are quite friendly to the bodies of passengers, which, given their traditional rigidity, the French managed almost the first time. The adjustments are enough for any driver, but you should not get carried away: the rear riders will be against it, since they may not be enough space for their legs. The same deficiency of space is observed above the head ... In the average version, the same two full -fledged seats and a formal middle roller for the third rider are observed from behind. This is not to say that the provided level of comfort will please him, but he will not grieve much either: given the size of the car, everything is within the normal range.
But the trunk clearly exceeded this norm, at least visually. The French here did not change the traditions and presented the model in the standard appearance for her, well disguised as a hatchback sedan. They did not change traditions in terms of security. In particular, as a protection for lateral strikes for the first time in the world, engineers used a double side airbag, designed to protect not only the chest, but also the pelvis. As a result, the car once again broke into the maximum 5 stars, significantly overtaking the predecessor.
However, in practice, most buyers will not want to check this technical feature of the model even in a dream. As for practical classes, there is nothing new. The Frenchman has an extremely sensitive brake pedal. You can only touch it, otherwise the braking is too sharp. The clutch pedal also deserves the same reviews, however, there are more complaints about it. In addition to traditional ease, it will also have to get used to it. The box works like a clock: the gear rates of the new 6-speed mechanics are selected almost perfectly. At least if we talk about her work with a new 2-liter gasoline engine. The power characteristics of the engine do not affect only 140 horses. However, while maintaining a rather powerful and flat thrust, the Renault motorists managed to achieve a very impressive economy of 8 honest liters per hundred in combined mode. True, a new 6-speed mechanics can be the fault of this.
Estimates deserves the chassis well. On the road, the new hatchback turned out to be very agile and quite stable, although the rolls in corners could be less. On the other hand, this practically did not affect the smoothness of the course, so the average level of comfort to passengers will be provided almost always. What, in fact, is expected from a typical workhorse, which is the new Laguna.
Vladimir Zhidkov
Photo by the author
 

Source: MKOMBILA magazine [July/2008]