IT MAY be the prettiest car Renault has produced in decades, but the svelte Laguna Coupe has it all to do.

French sports cars have never sold well beyond their home country.

The current class champion, the BMW 3-Series, sold more than 25,000 units across Europe in the first half of 2008.

Contrast that with the performance of the current Franco-flag waver, Peugeot’s 407 Coupe, which found just a couple of thousand buyers. The odds don’t look good.

Renault believes the Laguna can make a fight of it, though, thanks in part to the styling, which apes an Aston Martin when seen from some angles (mainly the rear three-quarter view) and a promising engine line-up.

Around the front it is more reminiscent of the slow-selling Laguna saloon, but it is all-new from the windscreen backwards.

That low roofline and those curvaceous haunches certainly turn heads on the high street, the acid test for any coupe.

Thankfully, there’s no poverty spec to spoil things. Every model comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, to fill the flared arches, and Xenon headlamps. The range-topping GT models receive the latest thinking on four-wheel steer, dubbed 4Control by Renault publicists.

No doubt any buyer confusion 4Control has with four-wheel drive is just a coincidence.

At low speeds the rear wheels turn slightly in the opposite direction to the front ones, reducing the turning circle and making for snappy direction changes.

If you go a bit faster the wheels start to point into the corner, increasing grip and agility.

This is essentially the same setup the Japanese toyed with during the early 1990s. It worked then, and it works now, but the benefits are only slight.

The Coupe does turn on a sixpence at low speeds but it takes some getting used to – you have to recalibrate your expectations of what the Coupe can and can’t achieve.

I didn’t really notice the effect at higher speeds. Although the Coupe does change direction quickly that’s what I would expect from a well-set-up sportster.

The Renault’s ride is generally good for a car with sporty intentions.

Lack of leg room aside, passengers in the back had no complaints.

Space-wise, the Coupe is smaller than it looks in photographs.

Although there are four seats, the only way you’d get a generously- proportioned adult in the back would be with the aid of a chainsaw.

Comfort in the front is excellent though, with large, squashy seats that feel like a favourite sofa (albeit with big side bolsters), deep-pile carpets and plenty of room to stretch out.

There is a genuine ‘prestige’ feel to the interior, with its carefully selected trims, quality materials and masses of gadgets.

Keyless locking, as fitted to the test car, is always good for a laugh.

Approach with the key card in your pocket and the locks spring open. Walk away and the car locks itself with an annoying toot of the horn as added audible reassurance.

Don’t walk away and leave your three-year-old son inside, though. I did, the car locked itself and I returned a minute later to find the alarm going crackers as my son sat tearfully in his car seat! After that experience he refused to get back inside.

The boot is a good size and easy to load, despite a high sill.

Congrats to Renault for adding ‘easy pull’ handles in the luggage compartment, making it a doddle to activate the fold-flat rear-seat options.

Although a petrol V6 is available, why would you when the V6 turbodiesel has virtually the same power output with none of the fuel consumption penalties.

Mated to an automatic gearbox in the test car, the big diesel felt gutsy, but the slush box took the edge off the car’s outright acceleration.

Instead, the Coupe felt like a genuine grand tourer, long-legged and comfortable over the kind of large distances this engine is capable of on a tank of fuel (an outstanding 39mpg at the pumps).

Of course, even the biggest optimist wouldn’t suggest this will be enough to dislodge the BMW 3-Series from the top of the coupe sales charts, But the Coupe proves that Renault has rekindled the design- led ethos that gave the world such striking vehicles as the Espace and the Avantime.

With the new Megane making similar waves, things are looking up for the French giant.

As turning points go, the Laguna Coupe couldn’t be a nicer looking signpost.

No wonder it was officially launched at the Cannes Film Festival.

Specification

Price: £28,245
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbodiesel
Max power: 235bhp @ 3,750rpm
Max torque: 332ft/lb @ 1,500rpm
Top speed: 150mph
0-62mph: 7.3 seconds
Combined official fuel consumption: 39.2mpg
Equipment: Power steering, four wheel steering, alarm, immobiliser, keyless entry and ignition, electric mirrors, electric windows, climate control, cruise control, parking sensors, leather seats, CD/Radio, satellite navigation (£975 extra), split/folding rear seats.