FIRSTDRIVE RENAULT LAGUNA COUPÉ: With Renault's new two-door Laguna coupé, Alisdair Suttiefinds out if its claims to rival Audi and BMW ring true
RENAULT HAS a patchy history when it comes to svelte coupés. It tried to hoodwink us into thinking that the Espace-based Avantime was an alternative to the likes of the BMW 3-Series Coupé and Mercedes CLK. The sales results speak for themselves where the Avantime is concerned and it's now a rarity and curio.
For its new coupé, Renault wisely sidestepped the MPV as a base, and instead opted for the Laguna hatch. No great looker itself, the Laguna loans its underpinnings to a sleek two-door model that's on sale at the beginning of January.
Renault design boss Patrick Le Quement is responsible for the shape of the new Laguna Coupé, and it's clear that he has been influenced by some of the best cars in the business.
Home in on some of the details, and you could even be looking at an Aston Martin or Jaguar. That, however, is where the comparisons with upscale coupés end. Yes, the Renault offers reasonable space in the rear seats for children and short-hop trips for adults, and it's even got a reasonable boot, but that's hardly the stuff of coupé buyers' dreams.
No, they want looks and a sporty drive. Renault has the looks side of things sewn up, but how does it fair on the driving front? There's no straightforward answer, as Renault offers two variants of the Laguna Coupé: a standard model and the GT that comes with the French firm's 4Control four-wheel steering system. The GT set-up is the same as on the Laguna GT hatch, and allows the wheels a very small amount of steering to help tuck the car into corners.
The 4Control system may sound like a gimmick, but it endows the Coupé with surprising agility and grip for a front-wheel-drive car. Even in tight turns, the Laguna Coupé grabs hold of the road and won't let go unless the driver deliberately piles in too hard.
In that situation, the standard ESP brings things back to the sensible side of fun. It's just a shame Renault has not found a little more feel in the steering to complement the handling.
Top of the range V6 engines are the 235bhp 3.5-litre petrol unit and a new 3.0-litre turbodiesel with 232bhp. Despite slightly less power, the diesel-powered car is the quicker, and covers 0-100km/h in 7.2 seconds, 0.2 seconds quicker than the petrol car. More importantly, the diesel feels much better suited to the Laguna Coupé's grand touring take on the coupé theme.
Where the petrol feels as if it's short-changing its driver in the performance stakes, the diesel rewards a relaxed attitude over long distances.
There are other key areas where the diesel has the upper hand. It's more refined, economy is significantly better at 7.2 litres/100km - in comparison to the petrol's 10 litres/100km - and the diesel's low- and mid-range heft hides the shortcomings of the six-speed automatic gearbox that's standard on both. In the petrol V6 model, the automatic gearbox takes too long to react either to kick down or manual override. These faults are not nearly so obvious in the diesel.
One other key area where the diesel V6 has a slight advantage over its petrol frère is ride comfort. Both V6 GT models are let down at low speeds by a jitteriness working its way through to the cabin, but at higher speeds the diesel settles into a comfortable medium between sporty and supple.
The petrol version, however, never finds that balance and jars its passengers on even the smoothest roads.
Hopefully, the smaller petrol and turbodiesel engines will take their lead from the V6 diesel. These smaller engines will make up the bulk of Irish sales, and buyers can choose from a 201bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol or 148- and 176bhp versions of Renault's excellent 2.0-litre turbodiesel.
Only the least powerful diesel and petrol 2.0 Turbo 205 will be offered in standard trim. They come well equipped with climate control, automatic lights and wipers, CD stereo with MP3 connector, rear parking sensors, 18-inch alloy wheels and eight airbags as standard.
Buyers can also order an extra pair of airbags fitted to the lower cushions of the front seats that prevent their occupants from sliding forward and under the seat belt in the event of a collision. GT specification adds the 4Control chassis, an electric parking brake, leather seats and keyless entry and ignition.
Renault has found plenty of space for the front passengers. The driver has loads of steering wheel and seat adjustment, though it's a shame the dash isn't more inspiring to look at. A giveaway that this section of the car is lifted wholesale from the hatch is the door locking button on the centre console, which still shows a four-door car. Only a touch of aluminium trim lifts the dash above that of the hatch's.
The lacklustre style of the cabin is shored up by decent build quality, but this is not enough for the Renault to compete with the best in the coupé class.
Audi, BMW and Mercedes all make two-door models a cut above the Laguna Coupé. Compare the Renault with the Mazda RX-8, Volkswagen Scirocco and Peugeot 407 Coupé and it makes much more sense, though we suspect that history will record the Laguna Coupé as a mild diversion rather than a standard bearer.
Factfile: Renault Laguna Coupé
2.0 dCi 150
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo diesel
Peak power: 148bhp @ 4,000rpm
Performance: 0-100km/h: 9.5 seconds
Top speed: 210km/h
Emissions: 155g/km
Fuel economy(combined): 5.9 L/100km
Price: Coupé - €35,990 Monaco - €40,490
2.0 dCi 180
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo diesel
Peak power: 176bhp @ 3,750rpm
Performance: 0/100km/h: 8.5 seconds
Top speed: 222km/h
Emissions: 172g/km
Fuel economy(combined): 6.5 L/100km
Price: GT- €47,490
2.0 Turbo GT
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo petrol
Peak power: 201bhp @ 5,000rpm
Performance0-100km/h: 7.8 seconds
Top speed: 232km/h
Emissions: 194g/km
Fuel economy(combined): 8.2 L/100km
Price: €47,490
3.0 V6 dCi 235
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel
Peak power: 232bhp @ 3,750rpm
Performance: 0/100km/h: 7.3 seconds
Top speed: 242km/h
Emissions: 192g/km
Fuel economy(combined): 7.2 L/100km
Price: GT - €60,990