‘There is nothing permanent except change,’ said the philosopher Heraclitus. So, even if you read in one of the car weeklies that the Renault Laguna hatchback was bland or that the newer coupe version was expensive, you shouldn’t write them off.
When I am feeling more philosophical myself, I can often be heard from the far side of the saloon bar explaining to people that bad can be good. At least where cars are concerned.
My focus is on cars that were not quite good enough to justify their new cost. The Renault Laguna Coupe starts at around £24,000 and rises to £30,000, and that’s just too much money.
It may have a stylish rear-end that makes it look every bit as sleek and sexy as the Alfa Romeo GT. The change in body shape definitely makes the front of the car seem more fitting; unlike the hatchback, the coupe looks like one sleek curve of air. No one can call the coupe bland, which is, admittedly, a big hurdle cleared in trying to sell a head-on competitor to an Alfa.
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At the next regional manager’s meeting, when you say ‘I drive a Laguna Coupe’, people will just frown, having only heard the Laguna bit.
At that stage they don’t care that it has sat nav, air conditioning, a fabulous Bose sound system, leather and electric-operated everything. Fortunately though, 43mpg from the 2.0 diesel engine and 34 from the 2.0 petrol ticks a lot of the boxes for most buyers – especially the company car crowd.
Now don’t go getting snobby about buying ex-company cars. They are serviced on time and just as likely to have been well driven as any other car. And the huge number of company car purchases is what gives shrewd Used Car Expert readers like you and I the opportunity to pick up a bargain.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before we can pick up a 1- or 2-year-old deal, the company car buyer has to like the test drive. This is where the sales rep earns their corn. If smart, he or she will drive the first leg, taking in some good, smooth corners, then hand it over to the customer for a blat down some dual carriageways and into traffic.
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Anyone who does the reverse route will make less sales. The coupe’s steering is very light, lighter than an Audi even, which means that while it can go through corners at astonishing speed, it doesn’t communicate this to the driver in terms of steering wheel feedback.
So if you have only just got in the car, no matter how experienced or good you are you don’t get a very satisfying cornering experience. When you have lived with the car for a while that changes a bit, but initially it just doesn’t seem so competent.
It’s down to the sales rep, who’s used to the car, to do their bit to make it look impressive, then hand it over so the punter can sink into the large comfortable seats, feel the strong surge of power from the 2.0 litre engines down the dual carriageway, and then marvel at the light controls and automatic gearbox as they queue through town.
That should swing the sale, then when the company scheme demands they change it in 18 months, we step in and buy this £25,000-£30,000 car for... well, read on and be prepared to let out a little ‘wow’.
Maybe then, you’ll accept my point that a bad car can become a good buy. Maybe even a great buy.
What’s the market like?
There are a couple of thousand conventional Lagunas in the used market but less than 100 coupes. There are four diesels to every petrol, a product of many cars being bought originally for fleets and company car drivers. No major differences have shown up in the price between petrol and diesel but it is surely just a matter of time before the petrols are cheaper.
What else can this budget buy?
The two models you should consider when weighing up a Laguna Coupe are the Peugeot 407 and Alfa Romeo GT. A 1-year-old Laguna Coupe with diesel engine is around £16,000 at present and less than 10,000 miles on the clock. Which is about £1,000 more than the equivalent Alfa Romeo GT.
While it sounds cooler to say you drive an Alfa Romeo than a Laguna, it’s not actually a very satisfying car to own. I would rather have the Renault – if it weren’t for the Peugeot 407 coupe, which can be another £3,000 less and looks and feels more macho.
Summary
An Alfa Romeo-beating coupe at excellent nearly new prices, with huge fuel economy in the diesel engine format. Lots of comfort, gadgets and style.
By: Matthew Tumbridge