Renault Laguna Sport Tourer (2001 - 2007) 2.0T 16V Privilege 5d (02) (2003/03) Owner Review

What does this car say about you?

Middle-aged (although I need an estate to carry band gear about!).

What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

They seem to quite like it. It's a good-looking car for an estate, comfortable, and quick.

Would you buy this car again and why?

Absolutely not. It's a money pit.

What are you likely to buy next?

I have no idea. As far as I can see, all modern cars are unreliable junkheaps; ever since they started putting all the electronics in it seems that no cars can be trusted to work properly!

Type of dealer you bought from?

Independent

Did you buy this car new?

No

What price did you pay?

£7,000

When did you buy the car?

September 2006

Did you get a good deal and why?

Seemed like a good deal at the time, but ended up not being. It was quite low mileage and we were naive enough to believe the dealer when he said it didn't need a service due to the mileage. It turned out later on (when the aftermarket warranty company whinged) that it should have been serviced due to the time since the previous one. In fact, the time period (2 yrs) had expired a week or so before we bought it. Partly our fault of course, but a trustworthy dealer would've made us aware of that at the very least.

Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

Price/Performance ratio seemed good, and we'd had a relatively trouble-free 1997 Laguna for a good few years by then.

What was the dealer like?

See comments in the "did you get a good deal" bit. Basically, as it turns out, untrustworthy scumbags.

What's it like to drive?

The performance is basically brilliant as you'd expect (within reason) for a 167bhp estate, although it's a bit gutless below 2000rpm. It's very nice and smooth on straight roads, but doesn't go round corners very well; the suspension is way too soft for that. It's definitely built for comfort rather than handling.

What's it like to park?

Pretty good. It's got rear parking sensors so those are really useful (need to be careful though because, it being French and electronic, they're bound to fail at some point).

Have you had any problems with the car?

Oh yes! Shortly after we got it the common laguna "failed clutch master cylinder" happened. It got replaced under the (aftermarket - Auto Protect) warranty at the same time as they garage fixed a problem with the flywheel sensor that needed cleaning in order for the engine to start. Shortly afterwards we had a failed driver door lock, which was when we hit the "warranty not valid due to servicing issues" problem. Also had rear door lock replaced due to it just breaking, exterior air temperature sensor has been replaced, rear axle bushes replaced, track rod end replaced (various mechanical parts that you would expect to last longer than the 60000 miles they'd done!). Other issues have been problems with the tyre pressure sensors, and the usual switches dropping off on the keycard.

What's most practical about your car?

The boot is good (although not as good as the Mk 1 Laguna hatchback, other than the height at the back end), and it's very comfortable.

Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

There are some things I really like about it; the cup holder in the fascia is great, I love the opening window in the tailgate (it makes loading easier), and the dash-mounted single slot CD multichanger is cool.