The boss wants to double sales of its upper-class cars and since production of the Vel Satis flagship has reduced to a trickle (and stopped altogether in the UK) that category is mostly served by the Laguna. Ghosn says that it must – and will – be in the top three of its segment. I have seen but not yet driven Laguna III, which will make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and goes on sale in the UK on 12 October. Bigger and posher than its predecessor, it is fair to compare its prospects with the new Ford Mondeo. We know that drives exceptionally well but nevertheless will not appeal to those set on one of the premium brands. Renault has the same task as Ford – to get back customers who migrated to MPVs and SUVs and persuade people a higher-spec Laguna is a better proposition than the lesser versions of the BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class. That will not be easy. Unlike the Mondeo, which has an all-new structure, Laguna III (code-named X91) is built on the same platform as the previous X66 model. Its 2.75m wheelbase is the same but it is 10cm longer than before at 4.69m – still somewhat smaller than the new Mondeo. A wide range of engines starts with a very economical 1.5 dCi diesel (55mpg and 136g/km CO2) and will extend to a new 3-litre V6 diesel to be shared with Infiniti, the premium brand of Renault's partner Nissan. All Lagunas have six-speed transmissions. Renault's marketing effort will revolve around style and quality. The more imposing front with elaborate headlamp units was partly dictated by pedestrian safety requirements. The elongated, sloping rear of the wagon version (called Sport Tourer here but, ironically, Estate in France) has a more sporty style. Laguna is launched as a five-door Hatch and Sport Tourer but a two-door coupe will come next year, taking design cues from the Fluence concept car. Anticipated sales in the UK are 20,000 cars a year, 25 per cent of them Sport Tourers. That is only half the volume of the Laguna in its heyday but more than double the sales in 2006.