Published: Thursday, 20th May, 2010 5:00pm

In-Fluenced by a new offering from Renault!

The Renault Fluence at the Radisson Farnham Estate in Cavan town.

You seem to glide along in the new Renault Fluence, a car that is well named considering its ability to eat up miles with minimum effort. Fluence suggests fluid, and that's how it feels - in a positive way. The controls are light to the touch, yet solid enough to reassure and the overall look and feel are gentle.

This is not a car that will encourage the driver to take it for a hard spin on a quiet road, just for the pleasure. That's not a criticism (boy-racers of any age have plenty to choose from in the Renault range if they want something more rorty), it's a reflection on the maturity of the Fluence.

It's too grown up for daftness. Instead it encourages gentleness. The standard sat-nav in the test car from Moynehall Car Sales - the TomTom edition - shows the speed limit of the road you're on, in mini digital versions of the real signs you're passing, and if you exceed that speed they turn red to remind you to lift off and slow down.

It sounds a bit nanny-ish, but it's not: it's a reminder that there's no need to speed, as with the roads we have around here, you're unlikely to make much time anyway. And in any case it doesn't nag, it just gently (there's that gentleness again…) reminds you to slow a bit.

At the wheel you sit fairly high and gain a commanding view of the road from the elegant cabin, and all the major controls are where you'd expect to find them.

The Fluence is a good looking car in a saloon way, like its sister the Megane is in a coupe or hatchback way, and the interior complements the exterior with uncluttered lines that sweep from one end to the other, and one side to the other.

The Renault engineers have developed a chassis that makes the Fluence comfortable, has decent feedback from the steering and offers handling that is mostly about safe yet rapid progress.

The brakes are excellent too, thanks to large discs providing the stopping power - and durability, the manufacturer claims.

Under the bonnet of the test car was Renault's well-proven 1.5 dCi diesel, which has CO2 emissions of 119g/km and qualifies (like the other diesel versions) for the Renault eco² environmental hallmark. There are petrol options too, but most buyers will go for an oil-burner, and will have a choice of power outputs ranging from 85bhp to 110bhp.

The four-door saloon is 4.62 metres long and has generous levels of standard equipment, especially in the TomTom edition (17-inch alloys, the sat-nav, rear parking sensors, folding door mirrors -useful in a busy car park - and side sun blinds for the rear seat passengers).

Options include heated leather seats and an electric sunroof, and all that is on top of what's available in the Royale and Dynamique versions of the Fluence.

Another feature that's useful in a busy car park, at the supermarket for example, or on the school run, is the hands-free card, which you can use to unlock and start your car simply by carrying it with you!

There's loads of space too, from the huge glovebox to the generous centre console and the boot that you could nearly sleep in (it has a usefully low sill and a wide opening).

So, how to summarise the Renault Fluence? It does everything well, it looks good and it's brilliant value for money (available from €15,800 on Renault scrappage), like all of the current Renault range.

Call PJ at Moynehall Car Sales and ask about a test drive of this or any new Renault; 049-4332771.