In late 1993, Renault unveiled the Laguna as the replacement for the 21, which was sold in the States as the AMC/Eagle/Renault Medallion for a short period. Come the 1990s, Renault moved away from the number-based model portfolio, replacing the 5 with the Clio, the 19 with the Megane and the 25 with the Safrane. The smaller the cars were, the better they did in the market.
The initial Lagunas were five-door versions with a large hatchback, and there was no four-door saloon. To drum up interest for the upcoming wagon, Renault built a show car called the “Evado”, the name perhaps a nod towards the earlier 21 Nevada, which was a fairly long-wheelbase wagon version. Here’s the Evado in all its pearl effect glory.


I have to say, the champagne colour fits the rounded shape pretty well, along with the dark wood-effect paneling on the lower part of the car, claimed to be real, actual wood. The smoked taillights complete the look, and there’s a strong kinship to the Espace F1 here.

The trick of the Evado was a full glass roof, consisting of four sunroofs that were electrochromic. The driver was able to darken the tinting from a switch in the dashboard. And as can be seen from this shot, the Evado seated six.

Currently, Lagunas do not command a high price on the used market in Europe. You can pick up a V6 version of the first generation for a couple hundred with valid inspection in Germany, and it’s still a three-litre unit that will propel you forwards with much gusto. If you go for a facelift car, the six is a 24-valve unit. It’s highly unlikely the Evado has been recreated by a latter-day Laguna fan, or that the concept has seen sunlight in the past 20 years, but these images remain a nice look back into what Renault was doing back then, when it was closer to Volvo than Nissan.