Faults:

Had to replace battery.

Adjusted steering wheel - balance of front wheels. (my fault, I hit something when I drove...)

General Comments:

Very roomy inside with nice quality materials. Easy to adjust to a good drive position.

Very comfortable to drive. Soft and smooth. Could be even smoother, I have 16" alloy wheels, but still smoother than most german cars.

Easy on the ear, low noise. A bit low geared so some engine noise comes on the motorway, I would welcome a higher 5th gear - or a 6 geared transmission.

Clutch feels a bit "on and off", and not as smooth as my previous Laguna.

Good heat in the winter, nice ECC - climate control for the hot summer days. Well equipped with cruise control and electric windows. Driver's seat with adjustable lumbar support, a must for me.

Good fuel consumption, high mileage. Low running costs.

Feels reliable.

Faults:

Radio CD broke in the first 6 months. Replaced under warranty after 1 month, poor customer support (they wouldn't call to inform the part came, didn't know where the part was when I went to replace it).

Water flooding on the right side. Technicians knew about the issue, it became a common problem.

Trunk door refused to lock. Technicians had no clue about the reason or how to dissemble the door, almost broke some plastic parts. Advised me to never wash the car with pressure as the water gets in and contacts rust.

Rear tires worn prematurely & sooner than front ones. No explanation from dealer.

Sunroof broken, lubricated, broke again. Common problem for the model.

Both front windows broken (electric windows). For a very small plastic part that broke they asked about EUR400 as it was part of an assembly that controls the window and didn't sell it separately.

Engine stops when idling or running in 1st or neutral. Apparently some sensor needs cleaning/ replacement. No fault when diagnosed on computer.

The suspension makes a lot of noise, although the car was not abused (no country roads or so).

Steering also makes strange noise. Yet another common problem.

Airbag & service lights on dashboard come on and off with no particular reason.

Steering requires a lot of effort as compared to other cars I drove.

General Comments:

Quite expensive car for the pain endured. Another proof that some manufacturers nowadays make money out of spare parts.

Quite surprised to find on a forum the other days almost ALL the faults this car had listed by dozens of users. I only missed a couple: e.g. AC controls still working.

Incredible how Renault survive (do they?) while delivering such lousy cars from technical point of view. They seems to only invest in design and useless gadgets (rain sensors, light sensors etc.)

Faults:

Gearbox failed at only 20,000 miles when it was only 4 years old. Costs including a new clutch came to £2,400 inc. labour. After complaining to the dealership, they got Renault to contribute 80% of the costs. At this point I had owned the car for 12 months and 3 weeks, therefore, only 3 weeks out of warranty! After a fuss I managed to gain a further £150 contribution from the dealership, leaving around £350 to pay.

Good result or bad result... What do you think?

To add, in 1 year of owning this car I had to take it back 3 times for repairs to electrical faults, including a new coil and a new regulator. I needed a new regulator as my windows would randomly go down, even when the car was locked and had no power. One time I came back to my car in a car park and noticed it was open! Lucky escape apart from the frost inside. After the windows opening, they would not go back up until the care had been left for a few hours.

Seems silly to say after all that has happened, but I do still like this car.

General Comments:

The car is very comfortable and spacious for a hatchback, and I love the boot space.

However, be aware that electrical failures often occur, especially in bad weather.