After being hit particularly hard in the UK market by the recession Renault has bounced back strongly – and last year enjoyed the highest growth of any of the major players in the fleet market writes Peter Carroll.

The French firm has benefited from competitive models, keen prices and an ongoing commitment to improve the quality of its cars.

For 2011 it has facelifted the Laguna in order to keep it fresh in what remains one of the most competitive sectors of the market.

• See more pictures of the Laguna in our gallery to your right

The Laguna’s range structure has been simplified and the car now boasts a more aggressive look at the front, with headlamps featuring an ‘eyelid’ effect similar to that of the BMW 5 Series.

Renault engineers have further improved emissions and fuel efficiency across the range, meaning that some Lagunas now qualify for ‘eco2’ badging – the label used for the most frugal and least environmentally-damaging Renault models.

You could still argue that the Laguna remains far from the best-looking car in its class – but Renault has produced more radical designs in the past, like the Avantime and Vel Satis – and neither proved especially popular in the UK.

Besides, the Laguna looks tidy enough in estate form and the Sport Tourer blends comfort and practicality with low
running costs thanks to its 1.5 litre diesel engine.

In Dynamique Tom Tom guise – one up from the entry level Expression – it offers features like a Tom Tom sat nav (obviously), cruise control with speed limiter, dual zone climate control, rear parking sensors, automatically operating wipers and headlights, and an anti-dazzle electrochrome rear mirror.

All are designed to make the Renault easier to live with on a daily basis.

The Dynamique Tom Tom also come with a hands-free key card, along with one of those pesky electronic handbrake buttons. At least this one has the advantage of an automatic release function which deploys when you pull away.

Cabin quality is good and there were no rattles or squeaks during the time I had the car.

There are plenty of storage cubby holes and cup-holders, along with a large central box for odds and ends. Internal space is fine for five but luggage room is not quite up to the cavernous spaces provided by the Mondeo or Mazda6, which offer up to 150 litres more when the seats are down.

However, the Laguna’s space still extends to nearly 1,600 litres, which should prove sufficient for most needs. The
load sill is commendably low too.

For an additional £150 you can have the seats covered with a Sport Cloth fabric which appears to have some sort of thermal insulation built in. The seats certainly weren’t cold on the back of the thighs – even when the temperature
outside had dropped to -2C.

The multi-media system offers plenty of functionality, once you discover the feature-laden stalk to the right of the steering wheel.

The Tom Tom is operated by a set of controls where the handbrake would normally be. The display isn’t the largest or clearest but it is a fully-featured unit which provides updates on weather, speed restrictions and traffic.

The Sport Tourer was powered by a 1.5 diesel which is not especially quick but capable of high economy. It takes 12 seconds to reach 60mph, so if you’re looking for more power, upgrade to a 2.0 engine for an extra £400 – you’ll
hit 60mph two seconds quicker, at a cost of slightly worse consumption.

The 1.5 is supposed to return 60mpg on the combined cycle but I found it needed a run to get above 40mpg – so its consumption may disappoint if you do a lot of stop start motoring.

In other respects, however, the Laguna looks like being cheap to run. Its emissions of 123g/km mean annual tax is just £90, while Renault will take care of the first three years’ worth of servicing for a fixed cost of £249.

There’s a big gap of 18,000 miles or two years between services. On the road, the car offers decent grip but little steering feel.

Ride quality is good on smooth surfaces but the car did get caught out on the some of the pothole-infested roads of the
West Midlands and there’s more roll through corners than some of its rivals. Noise levels are low, provided
you are not pressing on.

All in all, the Laguna is solid performer rather than a spectacular one and you may need to develop a careful driving technique to get the best out of it.

Perhaps unusually for a French car, it appeals more to the head than the heart.