Hidden Light
by David Finlay (09 Nov 06)

By far the most significant part of this car lies under its bonnet. If you want a two-litre turbo diesel engine, you have a very wide choice, but the thing about this one - a development of the already familiar unit used in several models by Renault and its alliance partner Nissan - is that it produces 175bhp. Even for a two-litre petrol engine, that's not bad going, but for a diesel it's exceptional.

It's not so much the maximum power figure itself that matters as the mid-range performance that goes with it. Maximum torque (a chunky 266lb/ft) is produced at 1750rpm, so strong acceleration is available to you whenever you need it. Even a mild tweak of the pedal is enough to take care of most overtaking moves, and if you really go for it you can gain unexpected speed very quickly.

I say "unexpected" because the Laguna GT doesn't look like a performance car. The alloy wheels look good but don't particularly stand out, and nothing else about the body styling announces that this is anything other than a standard Laguna.

It doesn't feel much different, either. The ride quality, for example, is very high - the GT wafts over most bumps, though it does have the characteristic French tendency to jar on the more sudden ones. The steering is precise without being sharp. Body roll is evident, but well-controlled.

If you never made use of the power, you'd think that this was an above-averagely comfortable medium-sized hatchback. And you'd be right; if there's one thing the Laguna GT isn't, it's a sports car. Fine - it isn't meant to be. But if it's not set up that way, surely it's inadvisable to pump 175bhp through the front wheels?

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