Faults:

I trader my Trooper for this car, and it was a nightmare to begin with. The general visibility is very poor; your blind spot is massive.

The car has so many sensors that just go. The worst thing that happened was the accelerator sensor went and I was having to drive in limp mode... very dangerous at times!

The battery was ran flat and the car refused to even attempt to do anything, the oil was too low (my fault I know), but the car refused to do anything again; how I was meant to get to the shop to get the oil???

There is always a orange! on my dash because all the tyre pressure sensors are screwed... this may be where someone at some point has swapped over tires.

The bonnet catch breaks easy, and if the battery goes flat, you need to know how to get in without using the card.

The fuel consumption is awful!!! I don't expect to only get 30mpg for a 1.6! My Trooper was getting more and it was a 3.1 turbo diesel.

General Comments:

On the plus side, it's a lovely drive, and when it works it's great.

The engine is silent and the bumps are ironed out. For a 1.6 the power isn't too bad. It handles bad weather really well, the snow was no problem! It corners well and holds the road.

The interior is nice and roomy and very tidy.

I want to love it, but I can't trust it, the car must go!

Faults:

Tyre pressure sensors are a nightmare, always going wrong.

Turbo unit blew at 73000 miles.

4 new tyres on the front in a year.

Clutch bearing went at 74000.

Everything on the car rattles, including the cheap plastic dashboard.

X2 front suspension boots.

General Comments:

This car, if made by another company eg. Toyota, would have been great, but unfortunately it wasn't, so the great looks and interior of the car are hugely overshadowed by the poor build quality and very poor reliability.

The engine is a nice unit, but with the turbo being so unreliable, it spoils the performance of the 1.9 dCi.

Overall good to look at, but not good to own.

Faults:

Ticking noise in engine bay, I think it's the power steering pump.

Also the passenger window didn't open, but I fixed this by installing a new window regulator into the door; it cost £65, but don't buy it from the dealer, they will charge around £150, try eBay or something, and it was a nightmare to fit, but by the looks of it, it's a very common fault on these cars.

General Comments:

I am very happy with the car, it's so comfy and the card start is very novel.

The dash clocks light up blue with red dials, it's nice and modern inside, has plenty of toys, and I like the way the car locks itself when you get above 6mph to stop would be tea leafs jacking you at the lights.

Faults:

Electric window motor twice, and heater blower once.

General Comments:

My Renault Laguna 1.9Dci Dynamique estate/tourer of 2002 vintage was from day one used as a taxi. It was sold this year 2008 with 160k miles and is still going strong. I changed its oil every 6k miles using decent quality oil, and drove it all weathers with only two electrical glitches: the passenger window motor failed, and the heater blower, all repaired under warranty.

If a car can stand the test of time, then taxi work is probably the best test of the reliability of a vehicle. I only wish my previous car, a Peugeot 406 HDI, were as reliable. I think it's down to how you look after a car; a local dealer said a lot of people buy a car thinking it'll run without proper maintenance, which I think is true.