Renault Laguna III Dynamique S , tourer

[Citroenmad]

How are you getting on with your new LagunaIII Tourer Mark?

What MPG is it returning now you have had it a while? These are really growing on me at the moment, very nice cars in my opinion.


Your possibly not wrong Lexi, I do like the look of the LagIII and its a very good drive too. I do find C5 estates pretty good looking for an estate car though.


I got a demonstration of the Fiat 500 Abarth the other week, the salesman was keen to show off its torque control system which seems to limit power when grip is on the limit. He flung it round a roundabout and put his foot to the floor, it was going quickly around and it was on its limit of grip but it was not understeering or oversteering, it was just going round but getting no faster due to the system it had. Then once breaking away from the roundabout to go down an exit the car gave full throttle, despite the accelerator being down throughout the few laps of the roundabout and after. Its impressive really as even the most numb drivers should be able to corner it the same as a more experienced drive, but I cant help think that the car is taking over and not allowing the driver to have any skill or fun! Also filling less able drivers with confidence they don't really have.

Impressive car mind, I was surprised by how refined it was, even at 100mph on the motorway it was pretty quiet for such a small and slightly lairy car. It was fairly quick and even the ride was not too unbearable. I would certainly have one as a toy, and the options you can add are excellent, you can really make it your own. One of them they had their had seats straight from a racing car, with hard white backs to the front seats and a red pull handle to get into the back seats. I was impressed, much better than I thought.

I know a few people who have bought 500 Pops recently as they have got some cracking deals on new ones at the moment, mainly through the leasing finance option.

[bxzx16v]

The Laguna is running faultless Chris , it's returning around 38mpg on my wifes commute to work which is a mix of town going and part motorway coming back . Not too bad considering it's the 175bhp engine , our last 1.9 Dci (120 bhp) was returning around 44mpg on the same route but that had the 16" alloys with 205/55/16 tyres and the new one has 18" with 225/45/18's . We do miss some of the goodies of the other car such as the rear side window blinds and the self dim rear view mirror but to get a Laguna III Initiale with all the goodies would have cost quite alot more than the Dynamique S , not to mention most are the 150bhp model which is great but this 175 is something else , the midrange is fantastic I have not drove much if anything which has this much available and effortless power . The Abarth would make a great weekend car , I was going to take one for a test drive a while back but thought why when I'm pretty sure the Zx could keep up with one and the Zx is depreciation free and rarer than an Abarth by some way . I'm hoping to get to the X rally at the weekend your more than welcome to a drive

Mark

[Citroenmad]

Your LagunaIII sounds excellent, I bet a 175 diesel in a Lag does have a nice bit of torque The one I drove was a 150 and that was quite good, though not much different to my 138 C5 and the paper figures suggest similar too.

No depreciation on your ZX and also I bet its much more fun too! I think the Abarth would take over a bit too much. Mind, used ones are just as much as new ones!

Id love to see your ZX, you could alway shave a run out in my Activa if I have it there

[bxzx16v]

A long overdue update on the Laguna , it's recently been into a Renault specialist to have a worn droplink replaced and some new rear pads fitted . Whilst it was in it was plugged into the diagnostic computer as the dash display was flashing a warning message , this was nothing serious just the onboard computer saying the oil was due for changing due to the car having a dpf/fap fitted , the last oil change was done around 7k ago so the car will be back in for a full service very shortly . I don't often get to drive it as it's my wifes daily driver so when I got the chance to go shopping today on my own I jumped at the chance , I must say WHAT a car , the power this has is astonishing . It will pull from 40 in 4th like nothing I have ever driven and still return decent mpg figures , the cornering is pin sharp although the ride is a little harsh at times but it is fitted with 18" alloys so it's not going to be a limousine . I can only imagine what this engine would be like in a Laguna II being a slightly lighter car . So after a few months living with the Laguna III I am still very happy with it and would highly reccommend one especially at the prices they are available for .

Thanks , Mark

[Citroenmad]

That is one thing I found and liked about the LagunaIII I drove, only a lowly 2.0DCi 150 Dynamique, was the pin sharp handling. Really unexpected, it made it quite enjoyable and sporting to throw about, which you could as it had masses of grip. That was only on 16" wheels but the ride was still reasonably firm but not overly hard. I could certainly live with one

[bxzx16v]

There's certainly bargains about if mileage isn't a big concern

Mark

[mk2LagunaOC]

Nice looking mk3 Laguna estate you have there bxzx16v that's well nice and clean :O.

[bxzx16v]

Thanks , I try to keep it washed on a regular basis . It's getting ready for a machine polish when I get time and a couple of layers of DoDo Juice Supernatural sealant , I've found this really puts a nice deep gloss finish on the paintwork and lasts quite a while too .

Mark

[bxzx16v]

Update time on the Laguna . Everythings going fantastic with it really it's just had a major service and I'm yet to drive it but my wife reports back that it's running better . I gave it a good wash today and waxed it with some dodo juice rainforest rub which I really rate highly , easy on easy off and a lovely finish I really can't fault it , the tyres were done with megs endurance tyre gel , wheel arches with silicone spray ( poundland ) good stuff and smells nice too , anyway here's a few pics of her .







Thanks , Mark

[Citroenmad]

That looks excellent Mark, a top quality cleaning job

I might well get some dodo juice rainforest rub next time then, Im using some Meguires wax at the moment, it seems good but its not the best of waxes.

I have used the endurance gel for a while, it is very good and its all I would use now. Lasts a long time, its easy to put on and you get get different finishes with it. It also seems to preserve the tyres.

This is something I have not done, the wheel arches. I was looking at the Xantia this evening after I finished cleaning it and thought I really ought to clean the arch liners as they look awful against the clean car. However this was after I had cleaned the car and so would have got muck/detailer on the body.

So my question is: when do you apply the silicone spray to the wheel arch liners and if its after the clean how do you avoid getting it on the body? I know some tyre gels splatter down the cars body and then pick up muck ...

Is the silicone spray a car cleaning/detailing product or just a silicon spray?

[bxzx16v]

I tend to use just a cheap silcone spray which is normally used for bumpers/trim etc for the arches Chris , I don't think it's worth spending too much on . I've recently got some from poundland which is ideal or Morrisons sell a cheap ( £2 ) silicone spray in their motoring section . Back to black is good too but expensive for what it is really. I apply the silicone spray at the end of my wash routine and never had any issues with overspray etc . It just puts a finishing touch on things and looks better than grey plastic arch liners . I forgot to mention that the rainforest rub was on top of a layer of supernatural hybrid I had applied a good 6+ weeks ago maybe more , this is will last longer than the rainforest rub and give a gloss to the paint like nothing else for the price (£30) and in my opinion worth every penny . The rainforest rub I have is a sample pot (£6) from CYC but I am going to get a full size pot as I am more than happy with it . At the minute the Zx has supernatural on which gives it a real gloss and shimmer to the paint , the laguna as said above has supernatural/RR Rub , the Fiat 500 has Finishkare fk1000p which looks stunning and lasts for months & months ( but then again it doesn't go out in the rain/winter ) and finally the doblo has finishkare fk2685 pink wax on which is ready for either another coat or something more durable for the winter months . Out of the two I would without doubt go for the supernatural hybrid and get a sample panel pot of RR rub , the supernatural is great on metallics especially silver . And if I remember all your fleet is metallic . If you want I could bring some to the Cxm for you to try .

Mark

[bxzx16v]

Not much of an update really . The Laguna is running faultlessly , I don't get to drive it much myself but when I do it never fails to put a big grin on your face with the seamless power available almost instantly . Also the heated seats are great now the cold weather has arrived . While out and about today we saw two other Laguna III estates , quite a rare sight , I've gone for weeks before and never seen another .

Mark

[Citroenmad]

You do seem very taken by the LagunaIII Mark, from my short experience with one I can see why.

Also the heated seats are great now the cold weather has arrived.
Mark

This is still a real novelty for me, my Exclusive is my first own car with heated seats

[bxzx16v]

It's a fantastic machine Chris , it's missing certain bits of our old Laguna II privelage but as an overall package it's spot on , the only thing is when it comes to change in 4/5 yrs time what to get . We've had 2x Laguna II's and now this Lag III , no Laguna IIII I'm afraid

Mark

[Citroenmad]

It's a fantastic machine Chris , it's missing certain bits of our old Laguna II privelage but as an overall package it's spot on , the only thing is when it comes to change in 4/5 yrs time what to get . We've had 2x Laguna II's and now this Lag III , no Laguna IIII I'm afraid

Mark

There is a whole new Renault range to appear within the next few years I understand. They are even talking about developing an upmarket brand too, you would have thought they would know how that is going to end up! Hopefully the range of cars will be better looking than the new Clio which is due release