Renault Laguna Coupe (2008 - 2012) 3.0 V6 dCi GT 3d Auto Owner Review

Coupé V6 GT Diesel (231 bhp) 100k miles

Pleasantly supprised with this french Coupé.
In 2022 I had taken this car as a part exchange with no plans to hold on to it.
On the plus side the car looked good from most angles, it was also well specified with all the toys, and it looked very respectable in any company and represents a lot of car for the money when compared to its competitors like a similar age Audi A5.

I hadn't seen another Laguna Coupé in the flesh and soon realised it's quite a rare sight on our UK roads.
Funnily when friends saw it many said the side and rear quarter haunches resembled other prestige even super car shapes... ha... after a few pints maybe .....

This car is a semi auto box and comes as standard with 4 wheel steering, a modern pleasant aluminium and leather style interior, sporty feel flat bottom steering wheel and electric everything including Cruise, folding mirrors, and a great sound system. The boot is large and has flat folding rear seats with one pull of a boot lever.

On the road the ride is firm if not figity on all but perfect roads, then there's the 4 wheel steering which reminds me of an entertaining old Honda Prelude I owned many years ago, pushing hard through twsting bends the grip and cornering ability is immediately evident and very reassuring, that said the ride is on the hot hatch firm side and seems out of place for a GT ( but could be down to the 18" alloys )

I had expected high fuel bills for an old 3.0 litre V6 with 238 bhp on tap that pushed a 0-60 in just a little over 7 seconds !!

How wrong could I be, my daily driving is a mixed 32 mile round trip to work and back on twisty A & B roads with a busy stop start City mix,
I generally drive enthusiastickly especially when running late for work... even so the car regularly achieves a combined 34 mpg, and just short of the 40 mark on motorways runs.

This one has over 100k mileage and wears it reasonably well, both the interior and body shape still feels relatively modern and fresh sporting standard Xenon's and LED style lights, nice feel to the cabin and a slippery shape.

Make no mistake this car typifies the lazy auto GT mile munching cruiser segment the car was manufactured to represent offering bucket loads of accessible torque from the guttsy V6 and a great injection of speed for effortless overtaking.
It's certainly not without it's quirks and I'm not a fan of the ride or the French reputation for building great cars however, it has managed to kept me away from my preference for cheap larger engined German motors, and has done so for the last 12 months ! and may do for some time to come.

In summation
Guess it depends on your expectations
As this car would never have been on my shopping list, however If your not a badge snob and your looking for a larger Coupé then it makes an interesting and cheaper alternative to say an Audi A5 of a similar age ?

It's a rare car so there certainly won't be one on every corner.

Dare I say I would not hesitate to recommend this French V6 Coupé in 3.0ltr diesel guise, that's assuming you're lucky enough to be able to find one.
Thanks for reading