This is the car which Renault hopes will steer it to among the best in class.

The Renault Laguna GT is the new range-topping saloon and estate, sitting above the Dynamique S, and offers two bespoke engines and racy body styling.

But it’s the clever Active Chassis which steals the show.

This Renault Laguna is the first from the French carmaker to feature rear-wheel steering.

View more shots of the Renault Laguna GT

It claims Active Chassis improves handling and safety – and reduces the Laguna GT's turning circle to that of the much smaller Clio hatchback; making it easier to manoeuvre in confined spaces.

But don't think for a moment Active Chassis causes a four-wheel drift sensation or makes cornering too twitchy.

On the winding roads of mountainous Corsica, the system worked seamlessly in the background, allowing the Renault Laguna to carve its way through bends accurately and with a consistency rarely found on £20,000 hatchbacks.

And after only a few miles on quiet country roads, the Renault Laguna GT feels alive, inspiring confidence through fast and slow bends.

Four-wheel drive handling

It feels like a four-wheel drive car, but without the extra complexity and weight those systems bring.

Through the bends, turn-in is crisp and the car grips the road and never feels as through it wants to understeer – the sensation when the car wants to plough straight on during fast cornering.

That's because the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts, up to 3.5 degrees – and that's enough to make a huge difference.

Only when the driver concentrates on the way the car corners can the fluidity of the rear steer be felt, and when it does it almost feels like a small, superbly controlled powerslide.

But it's not just improved cornering the Renault Laguna GT's Active Chassis permits. Under 38mph, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the fronts, allowing the rear to swing wide to aid cornering in tight spaces.

Renault says the Laguna GT's turning circle is reduced from 12.05 to just 10.8 metres; identical to that of the Clio.

Great safety levels

The French manufacturer says it improves the Laguna's already impressive safety levels. The standard Laguna scored an excellent 36 out of 37 marks in the EuroNCAP crash test programme, securing it a full five star rating.

Part of the Renault Laguna GT's 1.5 million kilometre development regime included an 'Elk Test', where the car must slew from one side to the other and back again, to simulate avoiding an animal or object at the roadside.

Renault claims the Laguna GT performs even better than the Porsche Boxster – itself a car which offers tremendous control.

Mechanically-speaking, the Laguna GT's Active Chassis is simple – a rod alters the rear wheel angle via a computer control unit which varies every ten milliseconds.

And Renault claim the system can even reduce wear on the bespoke Bridgestone Potenza tyres.

The Renault Laguna GT also features a pair of engines not found elsewhere in the range.

Hot hatch engine

First up is a 205bhp version of the 2-litre turbocharged unit found in the Megane RenaultSport hot hatch.

The gutsy engine will power the GT to 62mph in 7.8 seconds, before hitting 145mph (the Sport Tourer is slightly slower). On the road, the engine's 221lb/ft of pulling power at just 3,000rpm – low for a petrol engine – makes overtaking easy, and was never left wanting when overtaking or powering out of tight bends or up steep inclines.

The downside is an average of 34.4mpg, and CO2 emissions of 194g/km (196 for the Sport Tourer), which place it in tax band F, which currently costs £210.

For this reason, the petrol unit is expected to make up around ten per cent of sales.

The other engine on offer is a 2-litre turbodiesel producing 180bhp and a considerable 295lb/ft of pulling power. The last figure goes some way to explain the engine's oomph.

It doesn't quite have the petrol engine's urgency, but it suits the car's GT credentials.

Headline figures are 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 139mph (again, the Sport Tourer is slightly slower). CO2 emissions are less at 172 or 177g/km depending on bodystyle, which places the car in tax band E, which is £170 per year.

View more shots of the Renault Laguna GT

The Renault Laguna GT is available in both hatchback and 'Sport Tourer' estate guises; the latter offering a huge boot with a clever lift-up divider to stop luggage sliding around a half-full boot.

Both models are well equipped, featuring 18-inch alloy wheels, hands free 'keycard', climate control, cruise control and heated and electrically-operated seats.

The GT theme continues with grey and black leather and alcantara sports seats, alloy pedals and a chunky gearknob and steering wheel with a racy flat bottom.

The rest of the cabin – save for some silver trim running across the dash – is standard Renault Laguna fare. That means tactile plastics and well laid out controls.

There's plenty of room in the front and back; and both have capacious boots, particularly the stylish Sport Tourer – undoubtedly the more attractive of the two cars.

The exterior has been subtly tweaked to emphasise the GT's sport feel, but not to the extent that it loses its appeal to what Renault says is the car's target market; the 'gentleman driver'.

Stand-out styling features include a bespoke bodykit with a larger front grille, bespoke 18-inch alloys, glossy black mirrors, smoked rear lights, and a choice of four colours, including the GT-specific Malta Blue as seen in our pictures.

Renault is confident the Laguna GT is a unique offering – it is certainly the only active rear-steer car in its class, and the only car to offer something genuinely sporting since the demise of the Ford Mondeo ST and Mazda 6 MPS.

Its keen pricing and improved used values should help sell the GT, while the improvements to reliability Renault says it's made over the previous Laguna will please buyers too.

View more shots of the Renault Laguna GT