Better than its reputation!
As a joke, Guido Jesse bought an almost twenty-year-old Renault Laguna V6 just before the summer. He had to endure a lot of scorn and ridicule in his group of friends, but so far the Frenchman is doing better than expected.
The infamous generation
You need a little courage and a good dose of optimism to buy a Laguna from this generation. Indeed, it is the infamous generation that came onto the market in 2001 and that caused Renault a major dent in its image. Quality improved with the facelift, which made its world debut at the AutoRAI in early 2005. Guido Jesse mainly saw a beautiful French touring car with a delightful V6 in the front and a maintenance booklet that received stamps from the Renault dealer until 2019. “Of course I know that the electronics can have their quirks, but from the first meeting I had confidence in this car,” says Guido. “I had to look away at the LED lights in the interior, the aftermarket foil on the windows, the chrome license plate holders and the ugly wheels. And after 2019, maintenance was no longer taken too seriously, as was evident from everything. But for less than 1,000 euros I took the gamble. I have good contacts at Renault and that made a significant difference in costs. Immediately after purchase, major maintenance was carried out and the timing belt was replaced. And I think it’s a sport to make the car tidy again for as little money as possible. I found a set of nice wheels and ordered the new center caps from the dealer. The tires are as good as new, for next to nothing.”
A few laps of the Nordschleife
It must be said: the blue Laguna has a stylish appearance and is not nearly as clumsy as a Vectra, Passat or Mondeo from that time. The first owner paid over €38,000 for it and he or she apparently did not feel like adding another four grand for the top version, the Initiale with leather upholstery. Six-cylinders in cars from this segment were still widely available at the time, but this is unthinkable now. “This is an engine that remains intact for a long time, and during normal use it hardly suffers any damage,” says chassis dynamometer manager Ghisbert van Ginhoven. The first test was a drive to the Eifel. Guido: “With a bunch of friends, who were initially quite giggly about the Laguna, we made a nice road trip, including a few laps on the Nordschleife. Secretly, everyone now has respect for my Renault.” Of course there is sometimes something wrong with it. “For example, during the holidays the air conditioning started heating on the left and cooling on the right. The airbag light is also on. Still, the car got us to Florence and back nicely this summer, even though my girlfriend insisted that we take out a Roadside Assistance subscription. We did, but we didn’t need it. It really is a super comfortable travel car. In Germany I reached 230 km/h.”
This Renault Laguna comes close to the factory specifications
Meanwhile, the rollers of the test bench at Beek Auto Racing are also turning at full speed and Guido is looking intently at the large screen, on which hopeful numbers flash by. The V6 almost reaches the factory values. “Look, that’s good news. Now I’m really sure I’ll keep it. The fixed costs are manageable. And who knows, maybe there will be children in the future, then this is the ideal car.”