1999 Renault Laguna RXE review from UK and Ireland

Nothing in 11 months, despite high mileage.

I was sorry when my old Vauxhall Senator died (mainly due to rust) since I had found many of its gadgets surprisingly useful and knew it would be hard to find them all in my next car. In particular, I knew I would miss air-conditioning, climate control, power steering and cruise control. I had also got used to the automatic gearbox.

On the other hand, I wanted the new car to be bit cheaper to run and preferably be a hatchback or estate. The Renault Laguna satisfied all these requirements and had generally good reviews from previous owners. Second-hand ones are also quite cheap (e.g. compared with an Audi A4) which is good if you are buying, not so good if you want to sell of course.

The best feature is the climate control, which is brilliant at keeping the temperature comfortable in all seasons. The only time manual intervention is needed is to demist the windows, which works faster than any other car I have owned (especially the windscreen) and is an essential safety feature in my opinion. Occasionally the fan is a little noisy I guess, but it's not a serious problem.

The two litre engine is not of course as powerful as the three litre engine was in the Senator, but it's perfectly adequate even for overtaking on a motorway, once the gearbox has dropped down a gear. Fuel economy is much better (roughly 36mpg compared with 24mpg).

The automatic gearbox is not nearly as smooth as the Senator's though, and is probably my biggest disappointment. As I slow down for traffic lights I have to constantly adjust braking pressure to allow for the varying load of the engine as it drops through the gears. You get used to it after a while, but you shouldn't have to.

Handling is fine, cabin noise is low, visibility is good, the power steering works without fuss, braking is smooth, controls are easy to see and reach, seats are comfortable. Nothing to remark here, which is good, really!

The radio/cassette has fingertip controls by the steering wheel, which is surprisingly useful. There's a six-CD changer in the boot which works fine except for the occasional "skip" on bumpy roads.

Radio-controlled central locking is also very useful and works fine. If the battery in the key goes flat you can still unlock the car and drive it with the key alone, which I didn't think would be possible from talking to the dealer or reading the manual.

This model has twin airbags, but is an earlier model than the one that was the first to be awarded "five stars" for safety, and does not have seat belt pretensioners or side airbags. It's also too early to have tire pressure sensors or rain-sensitive wipers. It does have all-electric windows, mirrors and sunroof, cruise control, trip computer and alloy wheels.

The glovebox is tiny as a result of the passenger-side airbag, and there isn't much storage space generally, except the boot which is a decent size. There's nowhere convenient to store the user manual, a can of de-icer or a fire extinguisher for example. There is a handy spectacle holder above the driver's door though, and a small storage space in the centre armrest.

It has been the most reliable car I've owned so far, no faults in 11 months despite the relatively high mileage and daily use. No sign yet of the rust or electrical problems I had with the Senator.

Overall, I'm happy with it and would recommend it.