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Renault Laguna
seduces with technology |
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| If you can't tell when it's raining and your basic driving skills are a bit shaky, Renault's new Laguna II will take care of you. If you can't tell when it's raining and your basic driving skills are a bit shaky, Renault's new Laguna II will take care of you. The top of the range new Laguna Sports Tourer Initiale has got so much high technology it will turn on the windscreen wipers when its systems detect the first spots of rain. The Laguna has a radar system that beeps out a warning if you are reversing dangerously close in a tight parking spot. If you have left the handbrake on, a recorded voice will say "Hand brake on!". The Laguna II is a technology fest. Not all of it crucial for sure, but many standard bits of high-tech help make this a very safe car. Technology overload serves another important purpose for Renault. Must-have technology gives it a chance to sell cars in this part of the market against the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi and shortly Jaguar too. As well as the gimmicky rain detector and reversing helper, the Sport Tourer has anti-lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution, electronic brake assist (to maximise braking power when the computer detects that this is what the driver wants but is not strong enough to accomplish) and an electronic stability programme which will intervene when the computer detects a likely skid. Best safety If this is not enough safety for you, the car recorded the best ever performance in recent European crash tests. Before you even get into the Laguna, you are made aware that this car is attempting something different. It has no ignition key. You get a smart card - just like a credit card but a little more meaty - which you put into an aperture on the dash board. To fire up the engine, there's a starting button. As the engine starts the systems come alive and reports to you. This is mostly a waste of time except for one innovation - the computer reads out the tyre pressures and if they are at acceptable levels, tell you it's safe to drive off. Tyre pressures are such a criticial safety factor it's a wonder nobody has been able to accomplish this before. Full marks to Renault for this. The Sports Tourer Initiale, an estate car by any other name, has a memory system for seats and wing mirrors which allow each driver of the car to set their preferences. In theory this means that each regular driver can fix seat and mirrors so that when the card is inserted the computer will move seats and mirrors to your individual needs. Unfortunatley, even after hours of studying the handbook, this never worked, although every time the car was locked, the seats and mirrors returned to base settings. Every time you returned to the car, the seats and mirrors had to be reset. Tiresome. The Sports Tourer is a great motorway mile-eater and will waft five people with tons of luggage - up to 1,500 litres of space - in great comfort. Switch on the standard cruise-control and the individual (for the front two passengers at least) automatic air conditioning and enjoy. On rougher roads at slower speeds the suspension is thumpy, but if the weather's fine, you can pull back the double sun-roof for maximum exposure. More Hollywood than Kensington The leather interior was more Hollywood than Kensington. The smoooth, quiet engine was let down by a buzzy dashboard and rattly interior. If you're feeling energetic, you can switch the automatice gear box into clutchless manual and change up and down when you want to. If you get lost, the standard satellite navigation system will get you back on course. The speed limiter will make sure you never see the flashing lights of a police camera trap. The 3 litre V6 hits 0-62mph in 8.3 seconds, maximum speed 143mph. Renault claims urban fuel consumption of 18.7mpg, motorway 37.6mpg, overall 27.4. This compared with my test returns - about 50% motorway/50% town driving - of just over 24mpg. And here's the best news of all. The on-the-road price is £22,895, inclusive of everything.
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