Renault's Laguna Coupé: Great price and lots of torque

1.734257-1763057485 — Image Credit: Grace Paras/ANM

For reasons most of us here at wheels can't understand, there is a breed of humans out there who are perfectly fine with driving FWD coupés based on uninspiring FWD saloons. A saloon is a tool. A coupé is a toy. Unless it handles like a beached whale. Thankfully my subject of scrutiny doesn't.

Sporty or not, here I come

If you're looking for a coupé at around Dh100K, you're pretty much stuck with either the 3.5-litre V6 Nissan Altima or the equally-endowed Honda Accord. After that it's no-man's-land all the way to Dh200K territory of the Audi A5 and BMW 320i four-pots.

That's where the Laguna Coupé comes in. It's practically the lone legionnaire in the FWD coupé segment above Dh120,000. But it won't make you drop and give it twenty if you accuse it of being a rebodied Altima. The Renault-Nissan alliance relationship is one based on sharing; engines, platforms, whatever you got. So the Laguna Coupé gets the VQ35, an engine that can trace its roots to 1994, but that grew to its current capacity almost a decade ago and pretty much stuck around to power anything from saloons to SUVs, through sportscars and GTs.

And that's where all similarities between a Nissan and this stylish Renault end. The French have come up with a classy design spotted with timeless lines — the rear looks like it was lifted straight off an Aston, the front droops down like a tear (of joy) and the profile is achingly long and low with a beautiful rear shoulder that tapers up into the tiniest of kinky spoilers. If looks alone authorised sticker prices, the Laguna Coupé would certainly cost more than a staid German motor. But they don't. A coupé must make the right noise, push your head back into the seat and give you a scare every once in a while when you get too smug with a highway exit.

With 235bhp (yes, the French get this engine in seriously downtuned form) at 6,000rpm bottlenecking through a six-speed automatic gearbox and only the front wheels, your noggin might merely lean back rather than slam into the headrest. Zero to 100kph comes up in 7.4 seconds which isn't impressive at all, but the 18in tyres are, possessing plenty more traction than the front axle needs and pulling off the line with minimal wheelspin.

The rubber helps to surprise us with the Laguna's handling too. While there's nothing exemplary about normal driving (the car goes, stops, steers and looks great doing it), it's when you wring its neck that something unexpected happens. You can really enter corners way too fast in the Laguna Coupé and just worry about it mid-bend, as you lift off to a pleasing tail-slide while the four-wheel steering tucks you back into line. It's a lot of fun, and you can enjoy the ludicrous speeds the Laguna allows for corner entry. This is down to the 4-Control system jointly developed with Renaultsport — who knows more than most when it comes to chassis — providing agility and stability better than an overzealous ESP system ever could.

The car's steering is tuned too heavily though, for something that feels so light on its feet. Thankfully it's heavy at any speed, meaning constant, instead of the trendy inconsistent adaptive systems that are cropping up everywhere lately.

After you calm down and stop chucking the big Coupé into bends way too fast, you'll find that trundling along with the rest of the traffic isn't its speciality. Contrary to Renaults I know and love, this car doesn't soothe or soak up the bumps as well as its cheaper Japanese rivals, its suspension failing to settle into a rhythm over uneven surfaces. Maybe it's trying to say, "Stop torturing me and put the pedal to the floor! I'm a sportscar for crying out loud!" Maybe, but I can't help but wonder why the less capable (in sporting terms) Nissan Altima, which shares the same engine, comes with 290bhp and somehow manages a more sonorous exhaust note. The Renault kind of wheezes at low revs and rattles near the red line, not really making an effort to entice the typical sportscar driver.

And then yet again, whatever I find wrong with it, the Laguna Coupé strikes back with something right. This time it's the cabin and standard equipment, which includes Bose sound, leather seats, keyless entry and flawless ergonomics.

Verdict

Whatever you're thinking right now, it better not be that this review is a negative one. While there are contradictions here (why so little power from a proven engine; why the juddery ride?) we have to weigh up the Laguna Coupé with the rivals that come closest to it. And those are all incessantly boring Japanese let's-just-churn-out-as-many-as-we-can cars with as much character as a tofu sandwich. They both cost less, but I'm sure we can agree that they should. The Renault might have Coupé in its name, but you could even think of it as a European entry-level GT. The design certainly points that way. And most of all, with this model Renault GCC has a killer business plan; sell something nobody else is selling — a stylish coupé that's not too cheap, not too expensive.

Tech sheet

As the third model launched in the Laguna family line, it's clear that you'll encounter plenty of parts-sharing in the Coupé.

However, with a Renaultsport-aided chassis and a much better transmission than Nissan will offer you, the Renault manages to live up to the coupé/GT tag, thanks to a couple of innovations.

RIVALS

Honda Accord Coupé
If you can settle for a decent four-cylinder, you'll pay less than 100 grand, but it's the 271bhp 3.5-litre V6 mated to a five-speed automatic gearbox that most people go for. At Dh115K, it's not just expensive for something so bare, but also in dire need of fettling as a two-door Honda should never feel this boring. Great resale values though...

Nissan Altima Coupé
This ‘sportscar' comes with an uninspiring CVT and a dizzying engine drone, but at least the 3.5-litre V6 provides 290bhp and tyres that can't handle it... The handling is best described as woolly, but the ride is quite a bit better than its rivals. The least bit a sportscar of any coupé on the market, though you'll be happy to know it's cheap: Dh105K.

Quick steer

1. Slim lights, front and rear highlight the Laguna Coupé's long, thin shape, but they're not just for looks either: the LEDs are more functional too.
2. At low speeds, the four-wheel steering enhances manoeuvrability, and at high speeds the car feels easier to drive with its natural, lithe turn-in. It also requires remarkably little steering input.
3. 4-Control makes the rear axle follow the ideal trajectory, with just 2-degrees of wheel angle.
4. 235bhp 3.5-litre V6 is available exclusively with a six-speed automatic gearbox, instead of Nissan's CVT. This auto is a much better transmission for the engine.

Specs & ratings