I've been a pretty happy owner for nearly 2 years now and it's without a doubt, one of the best mid-size family wagons that I've owned. This is now my second Renault Laguna that I've owned, my first was a Laguna Privilege 3.0L V6 Wagon. With Renault now becoming more of a mainstream brand in the Australian new car market place with it's expanded dealer network and now an extensive new car warranty backing of it's current models, owning a second hand Renault now doesn't become so daunting for first time owners, like it once was 10 years ago.
The 2.0L Turbo Diesel (dCi) engine is powerful and very economical, especially on long trips, where you can easily get over 1,000km on a single tank and the 6 speed auto transmission is smooth and responsive, with hardly any lag that someone might find in other diesel powered passenger cars.
Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km and being a European car, yes, the services are a little more expensive than what you would normally pay for one of the Asian competitors like Mazda and Subaru, but when you think about it, it's a small price to pay when you're paying for a service that only happens once a year.
While the handling and ride of the vehicle is great, it's also very practical with heaps of room the in the rear. The rear seats also fold flat with ease, increasing the load capacity to fit the most bulky of loads. The load level is low, also making it easy to load items.
Interior space is ample, with plenty of head and leg room in the front and back and the part leather part suede seats are also very comfortable. The cruise control is easy to work and it also comes with front and rear power windows, rear blinds for the back passengers, auto headlights and wipers and there is also an auto dimming rear view mirror.
What's missing?? We'll there's no bluetooth and SAT NAV, both of which doesn't really faze me, as I'm happy to let the phone keep ringing and go to message bank and I'd rather take directions from a road book. I love music, so the fact I can't hook my iPod up to listen to my favourite tunes annoys me. There's also rear view camera, but the car comes standard with rear sensors, so that's no big deal either.
All in all, I'm very happy with this car and would recommend this car to anyone else. I'll also be more than likely heading back to my local Renault dealership for my next ride, which won't be too far away!