2003 Renault Laguna expression review from UK and Ireland

Excessive fuel consumption.

This car retains all the things I liked about the previous model, for example: comfort, handling, safety, but falls down on cost of ownership due to high fuel consumption.

This is not my first encounter with Diesel cars, I have owned two Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 Diesels, and without any special effort I was able to obtain MPG figures of between 48 and 52 depending on type of journeys. I chose the Laguna partly because I was very happy with my earlier petrol model, and also because all the test data indicated that the Diesel model was very fuel efficient. It is with great regret that I have to report that this car does not deliver anywhere near the figures quoted in the tests. I waited until I had done 5000 miles before contacting the dealer in case things improved as the engine freed up but to no avail.

I appreciate that fuel consumption figures can be subjective based on the mix of urban to motorway driving, so I have based my complaint on a worst case scenario. The worst figure that is quoted in the brochures, for Urban cycle is 38MPG. I recently did 300 miles which was all urban except for 30 miles on the motorway and I clocked 33.6 MPG, which I will round up to 34MPG because I know from taking my own measurements that the computer readout is around 1MPG low on a tankfull. By any standard this is not good , especially as I consistently got around 36MPG in my old petrol Laguna. On my usual mix of journeys I am obtaining around 45MPG whilst driving in what I consider to be a fuel efficient mode.

I had a diagnostic check done at my local Renault dealer and they ran all the computerised tests and gave it a clean bill of health.

Conclusion....if you are considering a Laguna Diesel based on the test data in the Renault blurb, beware! When all is said and done ..what is a Diesel any good for if it cannot deliver 50MPG?