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TegTypeR February 12, 2009 12:29 PM

If we're lucky we won't even see the Samsung / Renault on these shores.  Surely the engineering expense to convert it to right hand drive........

No, no, Renault, you don't understand, the engineering expense REALLY won't be worth it!

The Colonel February 12, 2009 12:31 PM

"semi-replaced by a 4.9m-long, Renault-badged, Korean-built, Nissan-based, Samsung front-drive saloon. Though Renault doesn’t expect much demand. "

Whatever it is, it sounds horrid.

W124 February 12, 2009 12:36 PM

One has to ask - what the hell are Citroen playing at?  This whole DS thing is starting to look like the charge of the Light Brigade.  Only with more cannon.

horseandcart February 12, 2009 12:38 PM

Can't see Sarkozy letting himself be chauffeured around in a Renault truck or a Big Scenic. That's probably why he's bunged PSA 3 billion euros to pay for the C6.

Casanova February 12, 2009 1:02 PM

Far-sighted from Renault, in most respects.  Sad though.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Their large cars haven't been mainstream for at least 5 years and sadly their left-field approach on the Vel Satis and Avantime has failed with conservative buyers of larger cars.  I like the idea of Renault getting back to its roots - how about a Nouveau 4 for about £4k with no frills at all?

mrspock February 12, 2009 1:11 PM

Forgive me if I'm wrong but isnt it all down to product and another manufacturer using the credit crunch as an excuse for bad product?

The Espace probably the most unreliable car in the world and the new Laguna which was in trouble before the credit crunch.

And what about the new DULL megane.

You dont hear Ford saying its going to stop making the Mondeo next year or the Galaxy or S max.

Overdrive February 12, 2009 1:55 PM

So the Laguna is considered a large car now? I always thought of it as medium, e.g. a 3-series sized car, as opposed to 5 or 7 series sized.

Anyway, most cars types and sizes are suffering under this recession, so surely it couldn't have been too much of a surprise to Renault that the latest Laguna isn't selling as well as they expected it too. So, aren’t they over-reacting a bit here in doing away with everything larger than bean-can sized run abouts?

theop February 12, 2009 2:31 PM

Surely a good thing me thinks (and I agree with Teg).. No large Renaults.. Who bought them in the first place.. I think its progressive, brave and will be for the best..

Fiat/Alfo should follow suit..

Alfa 166/ older Fioat Chromas - remember those... ?

I mean who on earth would buy £35k worth of Le barge if £12k buys 4 year old Bmw 750s (and £3k buys the much nicer model before those)?

ZM February 12, 2009 2:56 PM

I just hope Citroen does'nt decide to kill the C6 off.....

Timberwolf February 12, 2009 3:53 PM

It's a confirmation that the D segment is a pointless exercise unless you can either bring along serious performance and quality, or convince fleet managers that your products are going to be cheap to purchase and operate.

By using height and upright seating to manage space (like a black cab) the mini-MPV and later crossover segments sounded the death knell for the big family saloon/hatch.  It's left bread-and-butter manufacturers providing an answer to a question no-one is asking.  Why would you want a big 2.0 or 2.2 litre hatch when you can fit everything into a more compact and economical 1.6 Zafira?  The only major reason would be the driving dynamics of the lower, longer car - and if that's on the menu, then you're hardly going to be satisfied by the range of engines a manufacturer whose meat is superminis and Golf-sized family cars can muster.

Lee23404 February 12, 2009 5:15 PM

Timberwolf-have you ever driven a 1.6 Zafira? I have and it wasn't great. That was in the days when I had Vauxhall campany cars and quite frankly the Vectra knocked spots off it in every area of driving;ride, handling, performance and economy. And that was a Vectra!

The fact is most people don't need either a MPV or SUV, especially when a typical D segmant car can do everything (bar sliding seats) better.

The Laguna failed because it was mediocre. An insignia, Skoda Superb or C5 show how it should be done. I hope they sell well because I for one don't want a Zafira, Touran, etc....

Paddler Ed February 12, 2009 5:55 PM

I couldn't bring myself to look at the Zafira when I bought my car, even though it has even more of a staid image...

When I look for a car I want something that has approaching 3metres tailgate to dashboard, low roof height.  None of which a Kangoo/Zafira etc can do.

I have an elderly V70 estate that allows me to easily carry my kayak inside the car, or load my canoe on the roof of the car, neither of which I could do with a mini MPV (Mind, I'd also struggle with a VW Transporter Van to carry my kayak and passengers, so I'm sticking to my estate car)

roadtester February 12, 2009 8:31 PM

I can see that Renault are right to call it a day when it comes to big cars in general, an area where they have never really had any success but I'm a bit surprised that they aren't persevering with the Espace.

If nothing else, the Espace name/brand has great resonance and could be used for any people carriers the company develops for the future, even if these aren't of the size/format of current/recent Espace/Grand Espace models.

BTW have always hated Lagunas but the current 1.5 diesel is an unlikely but appealing combination of big car comfort and small car economy.

manicm February 12, 2009 9:50 PM

This is Ghosn's fault - he's had no real vision for Renault and Nissan for the last few years.

manicm February 12, 2009 9:50 PM

This is Ghosn's fault - he's had no real vision for Renault and Nissan for the last few years.

manicm February 12, 2009 9:50 PM

This is Ghosn's fault - he's had no real vision for Renault and Nissan for the last few years.

sorrel February 13, 2009 9:12 AM

Buying Lada can't have helped either!  What were they thinking!!

In Russia, the most popular Renault is the Logan, a very cheap stripped down super-mini sized car.  You rarely see a Laguna or Espace.  Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus dominate the large car market.  Seems Renault are doing the right thing axing the large cars that aren't selling in their massive emerging markets.   And, again, where I live in the UK, I hardly ever see a large Renault apart for the Espace...  Maybe the forthcoming Infiniti (big Nissan) models are going to fill the large car void?

Paul123 February 13, 2009 12:19 PM

Taking the Espace out of the equation (and, I agree, it's a shame if that name/concept gets killed off, given its importance in the MPV world), Renault have always struggled with big cars - particularly here in the UK. Ok, it did surprisingly well with the 25 in the '80s. But how many people bought the Safrane that came later? Or the Renault 30 that pre-dated it? Very few. In truth, most Brits won't even notice the disappearance of the big Renault - as sad as that may be.

overboost February 14, 2009 12:13 AM

The 25 sold well as it was big lump of metal at a cheap cost. The suspension was ok, the performance and road handling as like a supertanker but there was alot of gadgets - I recall the radio was quite swish for the time. However performance and road handling became more important (thats why the 3-series sells more than the mondeo as image counts) and renault also blew it on quality with more (duff) gadgets that spread the rumors that they were unreliable. Where is the Ford Granada or GMs turkey. You might mourn Renaults decision but the punters have spoken and Renault are listening and if the Gov are bailing you, launching a top end car is just not socialist my good comrade...