Super TestCar reviews - Renault - Laguna - rangeRenault modelsOverview25 Jun 1995 SEVERAL importers have represented Renault locally since the French marque first arrived here with the Juvaquatre in 1946. In its various guises, Renault Australia has assembled a diverse range of cars in Melbourne, such as the 10, 12. 16, 18, 20, Peugeot 404, 505 and even the Ford TE/TF Cortina wagon. Before its 2001 resurrection by Nissan Australia, a pre-Ford Volvo Car Australia (VCA) had control. The stylish and appealing front-wheel drive Laguna five-door hatchback featured here was to be its almost sure-fire hit assault on the local prestige market above the bland, Corolla-sized 19. Two engines were offered in the Laguna – the 83kW/168Nm F3R 2.0-litre four-cylinder and the 123kW/235Nm Z7X 3.0-litre V6, the former powering the RXE in either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic guises, and the latter as the auto-only ‘V6’ model. Equipment levels were high – all featured a driver’s airbag, anti-lock brakes and power steering. But despite favourable reviews and keen pricing, VCA’s plans went up in a bang along with the French Government’s extremely unpopular decision to test nuclear bombs in the Pacific. The subsequent anti-French fallout hamstrung Laguna sales locally (a Renault 12 was even publicly set alight in protest), forcing VCA – whose international relationship with Renault soured soon after an aborted merger agreement – to drop the franchise in 1996. It was only Renault’s 1999 rescue and control of the near-bankrupt Nissan Motor Corporation that cleared the way for its return to Australia two years later. The second-generation Laguna followed from March ’02. Model release date: 1 May 1995 to 1 July 1996 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen |
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