Comments on: 2008 Renault Laguna First Steer

By: Bradford

Bradford — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:55:05 +0000

Well the Laguna is here – Been for a test drive – Drives really nice and a few mod cons inside i.e push button handbrake – new dash layout. I have to say I was a little disappointed when I saw it, not as good looking as the Laguna 2. Looks a bit like the old Renault 19 plain and boring. On the price issue I think they should bring the prices down by about $5000 then would consider going out and buy one. At this time in moment may settle for the Mondeo XR5.
To make the Laguna successful in Australia they will have to price the cars as same as the Mondeo and Mazda 6.

By: Jeff Byerley

Jeff Byerley — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:56:09 +0000

New model looks ok.I had previou V6 model. One of the better cars I have owned. 8.8L per 100k overall. Totally reliable over 39k’s apart from needing 2x coils replaced.
Resale kills them in AUS.
Only sold it because of midlife crisis, and bought Clio Sport.Great car but with 2 doors it would not fit the bill.Most fun you can have in a car with the wheels turning!.
Get annoyed by car tester’s always referring to “quirky French cars”, usually in relation to the auto boxes.
I now have a new Civic auto, and in my opinion its box is more quirky!.
Only thing is that I will be able to sell the car tomorrow if I want to, because other people think they are great. Which is the only reason I bought it. Sad isn’t it?. It is a good package overall but in things that matter to a driver,such as engine response, smoothness, handling etc. the French can still show the Japs how to do it!.
Funny that when you go to the UK, the ratio of French cars to Jap cars is reversed to that in Australia.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:59:39 +0000

I think it’s beautiful!! I love the new Laguna and been waiting for it to finally come to aus. the pricing may be steep but this car has way more elegance and class of a 6 or mondeo for example. the interior is particualrly beautiful too!! its a great car, although renault have never sold well in aus and i think its coz renault australia always wait for a couple of years before they launch the cars here!! (clio for example)

good car but :)

By: D

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:34:18 +0000

B///M3,
Re: it seems that diesel engines are not even turbocharged. Fail again!

Renault are leaders in diesel engines – their diesels have to be the quietest out there (from listening to them in traffic and car parks). All their dCi engines are turbocharged: http://www.renault.com.au/dci/

I think the new Laguna looks good too, but have similar concerns about pricing.

By: Phillip

Phillip — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:56:57 +0000

I really like the look of the Laguna from the front, but when I saw one in the flesh I was very disappointed. From a side view, the door handles don’t seem to follow the same line.

Yes you could have a Mazda 6 for much less, but to be honest, Mazda are beginning to become a victim of their own success. Because there are so many around, the new 6 already looks old to me.

By: Darren W

Darren W — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:27:01 +0000

Why not release the 82kw 1.5 turbodiesel? A combined average fuel consumption of 4.9 litres per 100 km would be a good selling point (especially if they can price it at under $38, 000)

By: No Name

No Name — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:18:37 +0000

Hey chucky – its the same price here mate (UK) or thereabouts. VW’s seem to be cheaper in Australia, I guess they want to take Toytas market.
So you prefer the local built cars rather than Euros, don’t know where the unreliable buit comes in, I’ve always driven Euro boxes and have rarely been let down. I think the last tie was in 1989 in a Ford Escort, and that was only after the battery had been poorly fitted by a non-franchise dealer. So you wrong about reliability.

By: Jez

Jez — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:15:00 +0000

This is one of a few bew French cars that doesn’t look like a frog. Amazing!

By: Chucky

Chucky — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:52:34 +0000

Renault have no freakin clue when it comes to pricing in this country. When they first relaunched here they were aiming to be the number one European car manufacturer in Australia, but they failed miserably.

I hate how Europe thinks that they can sell their cheap unreliable overpriced tin boxes here and market them as Premium products. In most other countries they are on a par in pricing with their Japanese counterparts, but here they think they can screw us over.

By: No Name

No Name — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:51:31 +0000

Hope its built better than the previous version. The 2.0litre Initial we had for a year was the worst car I have driven in years. Bits broke all the time, engine ran lumps at idle. Not even Renaults main dealer could fix it. We were not isolated either. Renault realised they needed to up the game so this version is apprently better built and comes with a 100K mile warranty in the UK.
As for the look on this version, having seen a few I’m not personally keen but sadly I experenced the previous version so i’m a tad biased. Sorry folks not for me.
Also Captain I not so sure that Renault do the best diesels, my vote goes to Peugeot or BMW then VW/Audi.

By: o

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:17:39 +0000

3 reasons for buying over a 6
1.the interior in laguna is much better.
2. diesel
3.46k for the top spec mazda is a little ambitious considering the modeo is 41k

By: TP

TP — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:12:08 +0000

ROFL take over Mazda 6… maybe if the world was constantly blind off their faces

By: Duck

Duck — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:01:12 +0000

Nice interior ^ agreed! But the exterior in my opinion is hideous! Yuck! :(

By: o

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:47:12 +0000

what an interior. better then any bmw or merc or even audi in my opinion. and personally i love the look and would take this over a mazda 6 or mondeo [until new C5 comes here]

By: Mr T

Mr T — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:39:19 +0000

I think it was ‘Test Drive’ that said this car looks stunning… that program is on the manufacturers payroll, have not said ONE bad thing against a car ‘Test Driven ‘(I always thought one part of a test drive was being critical)

By: Captain Mainwaring

Captain Mainwaring — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:37:52 +0000

This really is an unfortunate looking car. Just look at the side-on shot showing the abbreviated back end and prodigious front overhang. At least its predecessor had some character, this one has nothing.
These guys need to stop trying to sell such dross in this part of the world at the silly prices they charge. Mazda6 has it all over this thing, even without a diesel (and the Renault diesel is far from the best example of its type anyway).

By: B///M3

B///M3 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:26:58 +0000

C’mon fellows, you’re acting like a couple of school girls, we’re not here to critisize anyones’s typing and grammar skills, we’re here to read and discuss cars.

As for this new Renault, usual awful design, the headlights look as if someone sneezed when they drew it up on the board, and it seems that diesel engines are not even turbocharged. Fail again!

My $0.02

By: Foggy

Foggy — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:19:12 +0000

So, back to the Laguna then!

I don’t think it’s bland at all…. in fact I’d rate its looks slightly ahead of the Mondeo.

I do however think that Renault Australia are being too ambitious with the pricing, especially considering the recent pricing history of the old model and the $15k price drops. I can sort of see a pattern emerging.:(

By: GhisGT

GhisGT — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:23:23 +0000

Thanks for the honest reply. I do apologise, the first post was a bit harsh when you put it in the context that you have done.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:16:44 +0000

GhisGT – you sound like a passionate man, as are all of us here at Car Advice. Most of us work until 1 or 2am each night, so small errors do sneak in from time to time. Sorry about that, as we hate typos as much as you.

We also post more content than most other auto sites and generally ahead of the pack, so the pressure is always on.

Nonetheless, we shall endeavor to lift our game in that area.