Faults:

A new tyre was needed when I picked the car up - replaced for free by the Renault garage, which is a good thing as Continentals are around £100 a corner in this size.

The only real problem has been with the oil level sensor, for which the car is currently in the garage. For some reason, the car decides to tell me that I have no oil in the sump, whereas a visual inspection reveals that this isn't the case.

Drivers seat creaks a little, but this is expected because of my slightly unusual driving position (I'm over 2m tall...)

The car only came with one card - looking at around £100 for another one.

General Comments:

My beloved old Laguna (Mark I Phase II on a 1998 S plate) was getting a little long in the tooth. 117k miles, and although the bodywork was pretty good, it was almost time for a new clutch / cam belt / aircon service, which combined would have cost about the same as the car was worth.

I took out a few cars, and wasn't impresed (Saab, Vauxhall, Ford). I then decided to see what the 210bhp V6 was like.

I can honestly say that I fell in love with this car! The equipment is fantastic - easy to use, well placed and genuinely useful (apart from that hazards button - very easy to press by accident).

In automatic mode, the acceleration isn't as harsh as you might expect with 210 horses under your right foot - but knock it into semi automatic mode, and you can really feel it pull! The characteristics of the 24v engine are actually quite awe-inspiring, especially after about 3500rpm, when you really feel it start to shift... and keep pulling to license-endangering speeds, if you're not careful!

The downside to that impressive power reserve is that it is very tempting to use it, which does result in a fuel economy of about 20mpg during "enthusiastic" driving. I've had 32mpg on a motorway run, and I average about 27.5mpg combined, which isn't too far from my old Laguna 2.0 8v which used to return around 32mpg combined.

Cruise control is great for long motorway journeys, but I still can't quite figure out what the speed limiter is for, although it is useful for keeping that V6 monster on a leash.

Insurance isn't too bad (210bhp in a group 14), and it is a very nice looking car. I did get a few comments about it being an estate from my colleagues (I'm 24), but a quick blast up the motorway soon removed any doubts they might have had about its ability to perform!

Oh and a word about the boot - that thing is cavernous. I do a fair few miles and listen to a lot of music, so I do enjoy having a sound system to match (no, not Nova boy bass in case you were wondering!), and this boot has bags of room for kit and still more than enough space for luggage and shopping.

I can't think of much else to say about this car really - I personally think it is fantastic, and offers real value for money, even though it will depreciate like there's no tomorrow. It seems that about a dozen people have said how bad this car is, but when you consider that there must be several thousand of these on the roads, I would urge anyone to seriously consider one of these, although all the problems seem to have been with the 1.9dCi so far, but hopefully these have been fixed.

Faults:

On delivery test drive "round the block", occasional knock/rattle from near-side rear three-quarter panel. (Loose/unfixed cable to side airbag is possible diagnosis.)

From delivery, intermittent failure of self-latching/releasing mechanism of radio/SatNav console cover.

At 1500 miles, whilst travelling at high speed, computer "sensed" we had lost the off-side rear wheel!

Wind noise from the base of the 'A'-pillar is apparent at high speed.

Intermittent failure of dead-locking mechanism by remote card. If pressed for two/three seconds, the second dead-lock feature would still not function.

Near-side rear passenger seat belt latch has been problematic/difficult to engage.

Not really a fault, but the location of the hazard warning indicator switch is too easily operated and accidentally switched on.

Cleaning the 'Silverstone' alloy wheels is a chore and the narrower holes are especially fiddly.

General Comments:

The car was delivered in September 2002, but is a July 2002 build.

Performance is very good and the car is very refined, handling is good (but it's not a sports car). Brakes are superb.

Fuel economy is par - average 34 mpg, so far.

Wing mirrors are not self-cleaning - the wind-flow over the housing seems to eddy down and across the face of the mirror, causing a gradual build-up of grime. Renault should use their F1 wind tunnel testing kit to sort this...

Other than the wheel sensor problem (which was easily overcome by restarting the system) I have had none of the apparent serious safety issues, electrical-wise reported by other owners in this forum. One visit to the Renault dealer is all the car has notched-up so far.

The features of the car are superb. Satellite navigation is a boon and an absolute must-have for any business traveller. The sound system is top-notch, with only a minor quibble with Classic FM reception.

The interior (grey leather/grey trim) is light and airy, very comfortable and wearing very well. The personal memory setting on seats/mirrors is just the icing on the cake for me and my wife.

I had a Series 1 Laguna in 1994 and enjoyed its Gallic charm. This New Laguna must rank as one of the best cars I have had the pleasure of driving, in spite of the little irritations/idiosyncrasies. I WILL get the rattle and console cover sorted - eventually.

You've seen the advert on television? I bought *that* car (sans auto and V6 engine...)