Four-time Formula One 
world champion Alain Prost is an incredibly tough man to please, especially when you put him in a car with the intent of asking to review it. That comes with the territory of someone who knows what he’s talking about anytime he takes the wheel of a car. Renault, however, doesn’t appear to be worried about Prost’s incredibly high standards because in its mind, it has the car that can impress the Frenchman. That car is the new Talisman, Renault’s new mid-size saloon.
Granted, Prost’s status as a brand ambassador for Renault will cause suspicions on his objectivity. To his credit though, he does do a good job of calling it the way he sees, or in this case, feels it. During his time with the Talisman, Prost gives the mid-sized sedan a meticulous commentary, running through the minutiae of the car’s four-point steering and going into detail on the effectiveness of the shock absorption.
These are the kinds of things that a driver like Prost can notice without even thinking about it. He even performs a few driving tests on the Talisman to see how the car responds to these conditions. In the end, it’s not all that surprising to hear Prost rave about the Talisman. He is, after all, associated with the brand. But, his ties to the company notwithstanding, it’s still important to hear a running commentary of a new car from somebody with the knowledge and experience of Prost. At the very least, it gives us a fresh perspective from someone who has probably spent more time in cars that most of us put together.
Only time will tell if Prost’s observations about the Talisman are shared by its future customers. Hopefully, the car validates Prost’s observations and lives up to the hype. It’s arguably one of the freshest models Renault has released in quite some time and it would be a shame if it ends up falling short of its buzz.
Renault Talisman
Read our full review on the Renault Talisman here.