Renault’s past attempts to enter the luxury class have always been fraught. Take the odd-looking Vel Satis or the Avantime or else mediocre saloons like the R25, the Safrane or, most recently, the Talisman. The Talisman did not live up to its name and it failed to lure customers from the trusty the VW Passat competition, but the French are tenacious. They now making a daring attempt to be a little avant-garde again. Just as the Avantime was once the coupé version of the Espace people carrier, the new Rafale is a chunky and handsome sibling of the current revamped Espce. The new flagship is ava…