Renault is aiming to tackle Ford's new Mondeo head on with the new Laguna, which goes on sale in the UK in October.The new Laguna starts at £15,990, which buys you a 2.0-litre petrol hatchback in base Expression trim. A 2.0-litre Mondeo hatch will set you back £16,195.The estate – or Sport Tourer in Renault-speak – is £950 more model for model.Crucially for fleet buyers, the Laguna comes with a three-year, 100,000-mile warranty – its Peugeot and Ford rivals only cover 60,000 miles.The Laguna will come in four trim levels: Expression, Dynamique, Dynamique S and Initiale. Standard kit includes keyless entry, a CD radio, ABS with EBD, air-con, 16-inch alloys and ESP.The Dynamique gets chrome detailing, part-leather sports seats, cruise control, and front fog lamps, to which the Dynamique S adds 17-inch alloys, electrically adjustable and heated leather and alcantara sports seats, aluminium flashes on the dash, an automatic parking brake, automatic lights and wipers and climate control.If you really want to stand out in the company car park, the range-topping Initiale comes with pale wood trim, beige leather upholstery, integrated rear sunblinds, parking sensors, swivelling xenon headlights, Bluetooth and colour sat-nav. Along with the standard 138bhp 2.0-litre petrol, there's a turbocharged 168bhp model, only available with a six-speed auto gearbox. As before, expect the diesels to be more popular, especially as there's now a wider choice of oil-burners.The range starts with a 109bhp 1.5-litre unit, and there are two varieties of 2.0-litre common rail diesel, with either 128bhp or 148bhp. A 173bhp version will follow in 2008. All but the 168bhp petrol come with a six-speed manual gearbox.The last Laguna wasn't as sharp as the old Mondeo dynamically, but trumped it for cabin quality. The new car follows a similar pattern, although it's likely to be sharper than its predecessor to drive – come back tomorrow (23 August) to find out.
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