Review of the new Renault Laguna Sport Tourer Range

Renault's Laguna has always looked at its best in Sport Tourer estate guise, with an emphasis on style rather than ultimate practicality. Now it's smarter and more efficient as Renault strive to ensure that it's not overlooked amongst a raft of new competitors in the Mondeo-class medium range segment.

A few years ago, the family estate car looked dead in the water. Anybody who needed a little more utility than was served up by a typical family hatch or saloon looked instead to the burgeoning wave of compact 4x4s and mini-MPVs that were flooding the market. After a while, however, customers reappraised their requirements. Having a vehicle with added space but which still drove as well as the saloon or hatch they were used to meant just one thing - an estate car, a design to which gradually they have returned. Renault hasn't been slow to recognise this and the Sport Tourer estate version of its latest Laguna plays a pivotal role in this car's European sales programme. Rather than tack on the biggest loading bay in its class, the Laguna Sport Tourer instead plays smart and focuses on real world utility to very good effect.

This car stands or falls on how closely it replicates the driving manners of the Laguna hatch and the good news is that there is precious little difference, only a marginal increase in noise from the rear betraying the fact that you're lugging several more litres of fresh air about with you inside the Sport Tourer. The engine range is a comprehensive one with Renault aiming to cover the full gamut of customer demand for performance and economy. It's the diesel engines that the fleet business that props up this sector of the market will be focused on and that means the 1.5-litre dCi 110 and the 2.0-litre dCi unit that's offered in 130, 150 or 180 guises.

The sole petrol option is a 2.0-litre 16v engine with 140bhp that was developed jointly by Renault and Nissan. Six-speed manual gearboxes come as standard on all models but the dCi 150 diesel is available with Renault's impressive six-speed auto. The suspension set-up at the front and rear is respectively 20% and 50% stiffer in this Sport Tourer, while the back end also benefits from a meatier anti-roll bar and you'll certainly feel this on bumpy B-roads. The steering has been quickened up a few notches as well, while the more tightly-geared configuration provides enhanced feel.

"This Laguna, once more, makes a strong case for itself.."

If you want a sharper handling feel, then you'll want to know that there's a 4Control 4-wheel steering system offered on the dCi 180 top diesel variant. This slightly steers the rear wheel for easier parking at low speeds and greater stability and safety at higher ones. Even more humble Lagunas roll less than they did originally and respond better, though this still isn't one of the sportier drives in the medium range sector.

From the outside, this Laguna is different - but not too different. The look is certainly more assertive, thanks to revised 'eyelid' headlights, wide foglamps and a long bonnet which slopes gently down to the smart pearlescent black grille. The understated sporty and classy black theme continues on the inside with centre console and interior details picked out in high gloss piano black, together with dark carbon leather upholstery, including electrically adjustable and heated front seats.

The Sport Tourer is a full 108mm longer from stem to stern than the hatchback upon which it's based, and the fact that the wheelbase is similar should tell you that all that additional length has been devoted to its rear end. The rather raked rear screen and swooping roofline tell a conflicting story, however, hinting that space inside isn't going to be class leading. And so it proves. Yes, at 501 litres, the capacity is a full 33-litres better than its previous generation predecessor, but it's still some way shy of the 626-litres you'd get in a Honda Accord Tourer or the 554-litres a Ford Mondeo estate will serve up. Whisper it, but it's actually pretty much the same as you'd get in Renault's supposedly smaller Megane Sport Tourer.

The Laguna counters with some very smart solutions that make it very usable. For a start - and unlike many rivals - the sides of the luggage bay are completely vertical, allowing you to use every cubic centimetre when storing bulky items. Buttons on the door pillars and levers in the boot fold the seats flat without any other manual intervention, while the parcel shelf retracts automatically and can be stored under the luggage bay floor. It's clear that a lot of thought has gone into making the most of what the Sport Tourer has.

Pricing sits in the £19,000 to £25,000 bracket and buying a Sport Tourer requires a reasonable premium of around £1,100 over the equivalent 5-door hatch. Laguna customers now choose between three main trim levels - Expression, Dynamique TomTom and GT Line TomTom. All models in the revised range come with comprehensive specification levels. For the entry-level Expression, this includes Arkamys 3D Sound single CD/radio MP3 with Bluetooth and fingertip control, 16" alloy wheels, air conditioning, aux input, ESC and front fog lights. Customers get an impressive three year, 100,000 mile warranty as standard.

Improvements include the provision of an upgraded Carminat TomTom sat nav system which can warn of mobile speed checks, access Google's Local Search service and bring you weather forecasts. An even better Bose audio system has also been developed featuring an 8cm-diameter neodymium mid-high range centrefill speaker, four 3.5cm-diameter neodymium tweeters, four 16.5cm wide-range neodymium speakers, an 11.5cm neodymium bass speaker in a Bass-Reflex enclosure and a digital amplifier with Bose digital signal processor and six channel individualised equalizer. Even the most committed audiophile should be satisfied with that.

To help its customers locate the models with lowest emissions, Renault badges any vehicle with CO2 emissions below 140g/km with the eco2 moniker - and there are ten of these across the line-up. Among the most prominent changes are the ones made to the clean 1.5-litre dCi 110, which now emits even less than previously at 120 grams. The 2.0 dCi 180 has also gone down by 13 grams and the 2.0 16V 140 petrol by 7 grams. Two of these same engines have also benefited from particularly noteworthy fuel economy boosts. The dCi 110 is now able to achieve 60.1 mpg on the combined cycle, up from 57.6, while the dCi 180 has risen from 45.6 to 49.5.

Renault has undertaken an extensive testing programme to ensure the Laguna's durability in the toughest of conditions. 120 models were put through over six million kilometres of trials at locations around the world chosen for their harsh climates and demanding terrain. The majority of the work was carried out in Argentina, Australia, Malaysia and Russia to test the Laguna's performance in extreme heat, cold and humidity as well as at high altitude, in dusty conditions and on poor surfaces. Even the British road network on a bank holiday weekend shouldn't present a problem.

Renault has undoubtedly played a very smart hand with the latest Laguna Sport Tourer. It manages to pack a lot of utility into a very manageable overall size, it features a range of even more efficient engines, superb safety provision and decent equipment levels.

Here's a car that's been ruthlessly honed for the needs of its target market. It's refined, it will devour motorway miles with no fuss and will do so at a competitive price. There are larger estates in this sector and there are better ones to drive. Few though, offer such a big car feel, are so comfortable to drive over long distances and offer such good value for money. The bottom line is then that this Laguna, once more, makes a strong case for itself.