2003 Renault Laguna Dynamique from UK and Ireland - Comments

So far the car has been with us for 2 days and no faults have been noticed. We noticed that the drivers side dust cap was missing, but we got hold of one. Another let-down was the promise of a tyre pressure monitor by the dealer. He swore blindly it had it, yet when received it did not.

The Car is absolutely superb. It is a smooth, quiet involving ride. The interior in my opinion is stylish - thanks to the part leather seats and flip-up radio door. Equipment levels are extremely high and none of them I would consider to be gadgets. The air con is efficient and very versatile. I was also impressed with the on-board computer which accurately kept me up to date with important information such as MPG, Gallons left, Miles Done, Average Speed and distance till next service.

The looks of the car are superb, it is a really smart car and one that turns heads - I especially like the 17" alloy wheels.

The factory fitted radio really impressed me because for a bog-standard radio the sound quality was crisp and had a perfect mix of bass and treble. Facilities such as the tuner list are also other useful features.

This car can pull. It is a firm smooth ride and delivers lots of power across all of the rev range. The 6 speed box also allowed extra economy as well as more control over the engine.

So far the car has been superb and I am impressed!

Tyre pressure monitor has always been an

option on the dynamique model

it is really up to you the customer to look

at the brochure

and make sure that before you signed the order form that

it was on it as an extra.

I wonder... if you'll still enjoy owning a Renault when you have some MILES on the clock.

That's when your shiny and seemingly well built car will start going wrong and will literally start falling to bits.

Your experience with a Renault will at some point lead you back to a dealership... to endure endless repairs.

We felt exactly the same way when we got our new Renault, but now it has 25k under it's belt it is...... one big pile of junk.

Overall I am very happy with my Dynamique 1.9DCi, but must disagree strongly with two of your points,

1, The radio reception is poor, with lots of "auto re-tuning" and constant interference, it has been back to the garage several times with no improvement. Does anyone else get this??

2, The trip computer provides too much useless information, (who cares how long ago you last reset it). But the most annoying feature is that the last quarter of the tank shows the remaining mileage decrease disproportionately to the distance travelled, right up to the point where the fuel warning light comes on, where-after the tank range display changes to -------. RIGHT WHEN YOU NEED THE INFO MOST.

Surely its not just me that thinks this is poor design. I would be interested to know if anyone else has the same gripes.

We own a 2002 Laguna V6 Initiale and it's the most reliable car I've ever had, 47k miles and it still runs like the day I drove it out of the dealership, I'm surprised that all the electronic gadgets work and the engine is still quiet as a mouse, I really love this car, it looks like it will last forever so I disagree with people bashing Renault, they did a good job with this car.

Poor maintenance can even kill the best Toyota.

I agree with the last comment, my Laguna has been reliable as I expected, I owned a Megane and it was an excellent car too, people who abuse of their vehicles is the same people that can't complain.

I recently purchased a Laguna Initiale 1.9 dCi. It is a fine car with the greatest specification of any car in it's class. It has eye-catching looks and an interior to be proud of. The engine is smooth and responsive and the brakes are superb.

The problems associated with the Renault Laguna are almost entirely the fault of careless drivers, the only exception is the poor trip computer that tells you your wheels have fallen off.

I am very proud of my car and it's stylish looks attract attention from others regularly who comment on how lucky I am to own one. I agree with those who can appreciate the Laguna. Most owners are happy and so feel no need to add any comment to this forum, well done Renault.

I will be returning to the UK from Australia and am now thinking of what to buy. Looked at the Volkswagen Passat and the laguna estate - impressed with the look (and price) of the laguna. I have heard bad stories about the Passat (suspension) and reading these reviews the Laguna is not immune from the odd problem either. Given that new (ish) cars will suffer problems, what sort of service/help can I expect to receive from Renault dealers? Cheers.

Well what can I say, my wife has had her 1.8 Dynamic tourer for 1.5 years and so far it has had:-

1. Throttle housing replaced, revved to 3k revs on its own, but trickled along at 5mph.

2. Went back 8 times due to blowing rear demister fuse, whole wiring loom replace only to find there was a fault in the rear screen!!!

3. Just purchased ISOFIX child seat only to find that to fit it you need to cut one of your rear seats!!! Renualt so far won't admit it is a design fault. So far Renualt are the only ones where you have to "modify" the rear seat to fix ISOFIX. So much for 5 stars!!!

Save yourself loads of problems...don't buy Renault!!!

I have a 1 year old Honda Accord, problems so far 0.

Support from Renault dealers.

My dealer, Olympian in Salisbury, are completely useless. They do not care about customer service at all. I have had many issues with my Laguna, and no it is not because of poor driving technique, the first time the brakes failed the dealer called me to say I could collect the car and rebook the car in when the parts where available. He was surprised that I did not want to drive the car with a brake problem.

My wife's VW Polo gets serviced once a year and the dealer collects/returns, washes and follows up a couple of days later to check that I am satisfied. This is impossible for Olympian as either there driver or car washer is ill, away, sacked, dead!!!

Every manufacturer has lemons, but the way their dealers handle the issues makes all the difference. If it was the choice between a bicycle and a Renault Laguna the bicycle would get my vote.

I have heard from the dealer unoffcially that an number or Laguna II have had problems with HIGH rev's this is down to a faulty electronic pedal,, mine nearly drove itself into the garage without me touching it, before a safety threat to Renault to take it to there customer services office and let it loose.

As for the tyre mointor, the worse thing going, mine has been re-set, re calibrated, sensors changed, and still get faults showing to the point I just ignore it now.

Had the buckle wheel claim to, eventually they took the tyre off and resealed it and it runs OK, but now go another wheel that slowly goes down over two weeks.That's ones going for the same treatment when I can have the time to waste with customer services. Only a few more months and its going where all good Renaults should be off the road in the dealers and going for a real car that stay on the road.

Kdr.

For the guy complaining about Laguna's radio reception quality: just switch off 'auto retuning', it is too sensitive. That's what I did and discovered that interferences are really minor (that's in Greece where I live).

Although our family does not own a Laguna, we have visited a Renault dealership and were very pleasantly surprised at what the Laguna has to offer. The range of features the Laguna has is fantastic and I can't say enough about the level of safety it provides.

Renault have designed a wonderful vehicle and should be very proud of that. I do have pity for those Laguna owners who have constant problems, but sometimes the problems are due to the driver's fault. Our next car will definitely be a Laguna.

Well Done Renault!

I have LAGUNA II 2004. My problem is related to trip computer. It is too poor. It does not show the distance when announce that the fuel is low. It just shows ----. And also the old LAGUNA I has time functions in trip computer. The distance comes with the time. Is there any way to upgrade the trip computer's firmware or software?

I have a Renault Laguna 20 16v. 2003. It's my second renault and unlike many contributors here I've never had any problems. I traded my first in for a new one after 63000 miles and had no problems what so ever. The new one has 19000 miles on it and no problems either. I chose renault laguna for they're comfort and looks. If I wanted "reliable" car I'd gone for a Toyota or Hyundai, but they completely lack character. As for Mondeo it's average and I need a bit more than that.

Cheers Andy Clark

Reykjavik Iceland.

Well, I'm the creator of this review. It is nearly 2 years since it was bought and its on 7000 miles... very low.

The n/s wing mounting points interfere with the passenger door when opened causing paint to be scraped off the edge.

Both Vanity mirror flaps catch on the trim when opening.

The Airbox pipe worked loose and rattled like hell at low rpm making the car sound like it had no backbox.

The Radio flap rattles when open.

Speakers randomly make distorting resonating noises at low frequency.

The electric mirrors became intermittant.

The electric windows are very slow and lazy.