Renault Laguna II

Renault Laguna II sets the trend in D segment of market

Watch out 3-Series, C-Class and A4 – the Laguna II is loaded to the hilt with sufficient standard equipment to make buyers sit up and take notice.  Not only that, it beats you in the safety stakes -  this is the first car ever to have achieved a full five star rating in the European  new car crash assessment programme (NCAP), beating even Volvo. Could Renault thus lay claim to the safest car in the world?

In decades past, Renault has had a strong following in SA. Upon its return a few years ago, it immediately found new favour amongst a new  generation of buyers who embraced the versatility, high spec levels, outstanding quality and inherent safety built into the latest generation models.  A quick gander at the sales charts will prove this point with Renault actually edging ahead of such a well established brand as Nissan earlier this year.  The reasons are clear; South Africans were given a taste of what Europeans had been enjoying for some time. ABS, airbags, aircons and electric widows as standard equipment in compact hatches were luxuries we were unaccustomed to, not to mention luxury family transport on a compact wheelbase like the iconic Scenics. 

Enter Laguna II, developed in 42 months at a cost of R7.8 billion, which will undoubtedly do the same – if not for its sexy styling (especially the rear three-quarter view) then for its interior roominess and host of trendsetting equipment in this class. Nothing earth shattering, mind you (apart from maybe the talking computer and the optional DVD player), but equipment that is fitted as standard, where on most of its competitors you have to fork out a bundle to have them optionally fitted.

Laguna II is the most advanced car ever produced by Renault and is already a big success in Europe, and  with sales volumes never before achieved by Renault, is now the third best seller in its class. In SA, the Laguna II will take on the D segment of the market, which accounts for 15.4% (or 36 500 units) of the overall car market. The D segment has traditionally been dominated by the German trio, but Renault’s aim is to take 2.7% of this market and assume the fifth position.

Three engine options will ultimately be available, with the possibility of a fourth 1.9 litre turbo diesel once the Laguna has established itself in the market. In the interim, two multivalve motors – a 1.8 litre DOHC four cylinder petrol delivering 89kW and 170Nm of torque and a 3.0 V6 quadcam unit producing 152 kW and 285 Nm of torque are available. The 1800 is only available with a five-speed manual box while the three litre unit is equipped with a 5 speed adaptive automatic box with flickshift. Flickshift is Renault-speak for Steptronic, Tiptronic, Tippshift, Touchshift and whatever other terms the various manufacturers use for their fully automatic gearboxes with clutchless manual functionality. According to Renault, 1.8 litre Lagunas need 10.8 secs for the 0 – 100 km/h dash and can reach a top speed of 201 km/h while the V6 models will do it in 8.1 secs and reach a top speed of 235 km/h.

A 2.0 litre four producing 101.5 kW and 188Nm with the option of a five speed manual or four speed auto box will become available soon.

The only real visible distinguishable features between the various models are the wheel sizes and alloy design, as well the colour of the door and hatch handles (body colour or not).

The suspension setup is a standard MacPherson arrangement in the front, while an H-type torsion bar is used in the rear, all constructed using leading-edge weight saving technology. More weight is saved by the use of aluminium for some body panels and Noryl deformable plastics for the fenders. Some 90% of the Laguna’s weight is made from recyclable materials.

In terms of safety, Laguna II really shines. It is the first car ever to have achieved a full five star rating in the stringent European NCAP safety programme, scoring 33 point rating out of a possible 34. It comes with a full range of passive and active safety equipment as standard, such as eight adaptive airbags (including window bags), electro-chromatic rearview mirrors inside and out, xenon headlights (on Privilege), Isofix child safety seat mounting points, tyre pressure monitors, and – thanks to four-disc ABS brakes with BAS, EBD, hazard warning and ESP – the stopping power and braking distance of a Porsche.

Another fascinating piece of standard technology, until now only to be found on much more expensive machinery,  is a keyless entry system  which Renault calls Carte Renault. Laguna II has a credit card type device with remote locking/unlocking functionality that slots into the dashboard. Starting and shutting down the engine is by the mere touch of a button. And it makes servicing easy as all essential data on the car’s diagnostics is stored on the card. A dealer simply slots it into a computer and it tells all that needs to be done in the workshop.

Equipment includes all the bells and whistles – cloth on Expression and Authentique models; leather on Privilege; powered everything; aircon/climate control (depending on the model) with toxicity sensor and individual driver/passenger controls; cruise control on automatics (with speed limiter); eight-speaker sound system with CD and steering mounted satellite controls; screen-printed antenna for the radio; heat reflective windscreen and a myriad of storage spaces, the one in the centre console large enough to accommodate a laptop computer.

Authentique adds side window blinds, cupholders and storage compartment in the rear armrest and height adjustment for the drivers seat. Privilege adds rain sensor wipers and park distance control, electric adjustment for the driver’s seat, folding mirrors, xenon headlights and headlight washers. Incidentally, build quality and finish is equal to anything from Germany.

All Laguna IIs come with a three year/75 000 km maintenance contract, 3 year/100 000 km warranty, and six year warranty against corrosion. Service intervals occur every 15 000 km.

Introductory prices (November 2001):

1.8 Authentique manual – R169 900

1.8 Expression manual – R178 900

3.0 V6 Privilege – R259 900

(Prices for the 2.0 and diesel tba)