Faults:

Both front electric window motors have become wet. The passenger side one was cleaned and works again, but the driver's side one short-circuited and set itself on fire. Fortunately, the whole family was in the car at the time, including our 11-month-old daughter, so we could flag down a bus and borrow their extinguisher to put the fire out before it spread to the rest of the car. The door was replaced and the car cleaned.

Rear window brake light had to be replaced.

Baggage compartment (electric) switch doesn't always work. Can be opened from the inside with a screwdriver.

Cold starts are a problem.

Passenger door loudspeaker stopped working.

Driver's seat is coming loose from the floor.

General Comments:

Comfortable to sit in, and a good-looking car.

Bad performance. Poor fuel economy. Loads of body roll in curves, and too much sway on the straights.

Because it's a bifuel car, the service interval is 10,000 km (around every 6 months). This is expensive.

Faults:

Had to replace battery.

Adjusted steering wheel - balance of front wheels. (my fault, I hit something when I drove...)

General Comments:

Very roomy inside with nice quality materials. Easy to adjust to a good drive position.

Very comfortable to drive. Soft and smooth. Could be even smoother, I have 16" alloy wheels, but still smoother than most german cars.

Easy on the ear, low noise. A bit low geared so some engine noise comes on the motorway, I would welcome a higher 5th gear - or a 6 geared transmission.

Clutch feels a bit "on and off", and not as smooth as my previous Laguna.

Good heat in the winter, nice ECC - climate control for the hot summer days. Well equipped with cruise control and electric windows. Driver's seat with adjustable lumbar support, a must for me.

Good fuel consumption, high mileage. Low running costs.

Feels reliable.

Faults:

Had to replace battery.

General Comments:

I really like the styling, it looks so good. Quite sporty in apperaance, despite being a station wagon/estate.

Interior feels good, great to touch and feels like it is of higher quality than in my previous Laguna Ph2 from 1999. Colours are easy on the eye, controls and ergonomics great.

Equipment level is high, with automatic wipers, cruise control and speed limiter, climate control, electric windows in all doors. Standard stereo seemed a bit poor at first, but when I added the Renault original iPod adapter, the sound that comes from my iPod through the factory stereo is simply great.

Seats are well formed and driver's seat has an adjustable lumbar support. They are not as soft as french seats used to be, they feel comfortable when on a long journey.

Riding and handling is great, it runs smooth and I like the relaxed and stable steering. It's not so communicative, but then this is not a sports car. I enjoy driving this car, I feel relaxed.

The 1.6 16V petrol engine has enough power for fast overtakes, but I am a bit disappointed with sound levels. It revs 3000 rpm in 100 km/h and that is a bit high, so the motor is a bit noisy - but road and tyre noise is very low and the car feels very solid built together.

Interior space is average for this size of car, neither better nor worse than the competition (Focus, Stilo MW, Opel Astra).

I like this car, but I would welcome a 6th gear or a higher gearing to the 5th - to lower the engine sound at motorway speed.