Test drive Ford Ranger 1992 - 2010 compartment
Glamorous business executive
My acquaintance of the polygraph-designer dreamed of buying a pick-up all his life. For him, it was something Japanese and almost affordable. But each time he bought himself an SUV. But he came up with a great man - such a fashionable man, all in adobs and photoshopes, comes out of their eyes on dozens of subordinates from his fashion office from a peasant car. Who will argue here with the fact that a car like pickup is brutal and agricultural? And also - sung by American cinema as the most root, almost blues. You can carry reeds on it, or you can - equipment, and at the same time a slide - musicians on Louisiana rural clubs.With all the apparent inconvenience for personal and urban life, such a machine as pickup carries with it all the charm of media myths and legends. The legend was waiting for us in the parking lot of the Vanta Airport - because the second place after America where the pickup is appropriate as nowhere is Finland, the country of expanses, good country roads and peasantry. And of course it was the new Ford Ranger. Rather, several rangers, because they were all different. By the way, an ordinary person is unlikely to think that a peasant machine can be made in several hypostations (and in the form of a peasant horse itself), or something more fashionable and courageous can be cut out of it.
The new Ranger is offered with three body types. A four -door model with a double cabin Double Cab has a large space for a driver and four passengers, if necessary, lumber will fit. The four -door Super Cab cabin with a swing doors system without a middle rack involves easy access to the rear seats and additional baggage and four people. Two of them is difficult to envy, since the places there are just a couple of large dogs. The two -door model with the Regular Cab cabin is equipped with two seats, not only lumber, but also bags of cement, and a sheep that have fed from the Otara can be fitted into the increased body.
Since my colleague from Top Gear turned out to be a cattle-amateur and a noble resident of the far Moscow, of course, he got the first steering wheel on the roads of Finland. The fact is that on four rangers we went to the Juivauskul to the Finnish stage of the world rally - WRC. Someone likes to watch these competitions in Australia, someone on the banks of Moselle and some even in Latin America. But personally, everything suits me in Juvianuskul. Because a) it's beautiful, b) in VIP Ford zones give amazing salmon and local beer. This is a sport!
While the colleague lined up along the highway and tries not to miss the turn (which is in Ranger to the GPS line?-I can take care of some goby), I try to get used to my own body to the new format of the car. The main joke of such machines is that the nature of the driving on them is empty and loaded greatly. It largely depends on the fact that the rear suspension is based on old springs, which are strongly given to Soviet military equipment of the era of stagnation.
Indeed, it was worth us to dial over the highway more than 120 km/h, as it became noisy outside, and the food began to confidently tremble. Of course, tell me, pickups are not created for racing. But simply - you have to try - what if you have to chase poachers. Or leave the poachers? Or take salmon from the cops? Let's try to do this on a new engine-the current Ford Ranger is equipped with a completely new 2.5-liter Duratorq TDCI diesel engine with a new Common-Rail injection system. This engine has increased power (143 hp) and a torque (330 N.M at 1800 rpm), as well as improved fuel efficiency.
The transmission is a tested mechanical five -speed Durashift gearbox, actually Ford. Since the new TDCI engines create an impressive torque, now this transmission is equipped with a two -mass flywheel, three -leaf synchronizers and other elements that reduce the levels of noise, vibration and insolvency of work. This transmission - it feels more similar to the transmission of cars and has a shortened lever with a reduced move between the gears. So that every citizen, crossing from his Maybach could evaluate the smoothness of switching and stroke.
The new Ford Ranger has a two -stage hand -controlled handout.
With normal movement along the road, the torque is transmitted only to the rear wheels, which ensures fuel saving and reducing wear components of the transmission. In 4x2 mode, the front bridge, equipped with a free -control clutch, can be disconnected by a switch located on the dashboard, while the front wheels do not receive power and rotate on their own. The effect is similar to unlocking wheeled hubs. When driving off -road or slippery surface, the driver can select 4x4 mode with increased gears, in which the torque goes to the front and rear wheels. Under the most difficult traffic conditions, the driver can also select 4x4 mode with low gears to increase traction.
Arriving at the ski resort in the south of Yuvaskul, we tried to open the body from behind. The ramp, which, with a lid lean, occurs at the machine - is quite durable - you can sit on it at least the three of them. The volume of the cargo department grew by 166 liters and reached 1266 liters, which allows you to transport large items weighing up to one ton.
Another thing is that it is not very clear how to get to things that hang closer to the cockpit in the back. If you climb there yourself - no way. But these are features of peasant life, probably. We do not understand. Although we understand today that in Russia such a car is bought by jokes - when everything is already there. That is, a social layer that would be a confident buyer of such a car simply does not exist. Our peasants become screws in the hospitalist corporations, at best. They are engaged in hunting either completely poor or completely rich, of which pickups are needed only by the latter. Well, plus those who need to go around their forest allocations on some car. These are also non -poor people. But there are not many of them to buy a rather extensive series of pickups that many automakers make today. And in normal, not distorted by oil and Soviet power, there is an extensive demand for pickups. Here it is still an exotic car.
Ford Ranger
Engine in a four-cylinder 2.5-ld Duratorq tdci engine
Working volume (cubic cub) 2499
Power (L.S. at about/min) 143 at 3500
Moment (nm/rpm) 330/1800dlin (mm) 5077
Wheel base (mm) 3000
min. Drummer light (mm) 205
maximum carrying capacity (kg) 1075
acceleration to 100 km/h (c) 17.9
Fuel consumption average (l/100 km) 8.9
Price from 640,000 rubles.
Abstracts after
1 peasant pickup can look very unpretentious, Ranger with his dilated track and all -resistant tires are trying to be a border guard traveling to Dembel.
2 Four -door version of the car makes a better impression, but the place for the rear passengers does not increase much.
3 This is still the only car on which you can go to church on Sundays and carry pigs to the market on Mondays.
4 Do not forget who exactly invented and released the first Ford Model T Runabout with the Pickup Body body in 1925.
Text Igor Maltsev
Photo Ford Motor Company
A source: "Autopilot"