Despite the antipathy displayed here towards French cars (generally speaking) I don't think they're that bad and have had several good'uns over the years. Notably my first car a Renualt 5 GTL and recently a Peugeot 406 estate. 
I might be in need of a cheap workhorse estate soon and a Laguna or another 406 will be on the list.
The French obviously like them as around 80% of the cars on the road in France are Renault's, Peugeot's and Citroen's. Which suggests 3 things to me:
1) The French are patriotic and buy French products even if they're crap. 
2) Cars manufactured and sold in France are subsidised by the government and are much cheaper in the showroom than imported cars. Surely illegal? 
Gallic Shrug? 
3) French cars are good products, sold at a competitive price. 
But the thing is, back in the day were British Leyland's cars much worse than the French counterparts? Or was the demise of the homegrown British car industry down to the lack of government support, whereas the French government continued to support it's car industry.
Now I'm no fan of government intervention in business and industry, but driving around Brittany recently I can't help wondering why we're not driving around in Rover's, Austin's and Morris's like the French drive around in their homegrown products.
Forget the Laguna,they are an electrical disaster area,stick with the 406
Lagunas are no better mechanically, being well known for engine, gearbox and suspension failures. That doesn't leave much else to be reliable does it
They are best avoided, although they're hardly a common sight any more.
A basic 406 is a good car, although they're getting a bit old and good ones are hard to find. Bit like Omegas then.
Author
Topic: French Cars (Read 8066 times)