Italian Giancarlo Fisichella has given his seal of approval to the car Renault hope will bring them a third Formula One championship in a row this season.

"The car is very impressive visually and straight away felt comfortable to drive," the Roman said in a team statement after the first shakedown test of the R27 at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain on Tuesday.

"The circuit was quite dirty, with low grip levels, so it was difficult to make a proper judgement on the performance and the handling, especially as our running was cut short with an engine problem at the end of the day," he added.

"But so far the car is reacting as we expected and has the same comfortable feeling as the R25 and R26."

Fisichella, 34, is Renault's lead driver this season after the departure of double world champion Fernando Alonso to McLaren.

The Italian is partnered by Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen.

Renault technical director Bob Bell said the team were exactly on schedule, with the 33-lap shakedown taking place on the day set out in plans made nearly a year ago.

"As always with any new car, our work has only just begun," he said. "We encountered the normal gremlins that you expect on any shakedown but the initial signs and feedback from Giancarlo were positive."

Renault have three days of testing before the car is officially unveiled in its new livery in Amsterdam on January 24.