Land Rover Defender 110 test drive since 2007 SUV
Touch legend
The Land Rover Defender 2007 of the model year has undergone such an insignificant external transformation that only experts will notice changes in the portrait of the illustrious SUV. But it is worth open the door or raise the hood, as it immediately becomes clear: in front of you is a completely new car. To adapt the legend to modern realities, while retaining all the salt of the English style, the engineers from Solikhal almost managed. Almost, because even such a trifle as the absence of familiar windows under the windshield in the updated Def, causes righteous anger in jealous people. By and large, these windows are not needed, since the new climate control system, similar to the one installed on the Ford Transit commercial truck, has the function of outdoor air. However, the fact that now the glasses do not fog and it has really become warm in the cabin, does not diminish the sorrows of fans. However, it will not be possible to enjoy the new capabilities of the stove to the fullest: designed for other placement of the driver in the cabin, it serves a lot more heat to the left part than necessary. It is impossible to hide from the hot air flow, because the right leg, squeezing the gas, tightly adjacent to the central tunnel, and the air nozzle is located right above it, and the heat in the ankle -heater makes it constantly turn on, then turn off the blowing. Making it is cooler the first time it will not work too incredibly the switch works.
By the way, a powerful climatic system, with the help of which you can not only catch up the heat into a huge salon, but also quickly cool it in the summer, is not the only change in the updated SUV. The central console, although it looks like a pile of incompatible style solutions, undoubtedly became a giant step forward for Defender. From now on, in terms of comfort, it does not lag behind other cars. There is a CD magnet, which in improved trim levels can not only read the MP3, but also connect to I-POD. And in general, absolutely everything that on the road needs to have at hand, control of the rear wipers, light, electric windows, windshield heating, designers, designers fit in a torpedo about 25 cm wide. And notice, a real power, rather than a decorative handrail was preserved for passenger. Both the front and rear seats became much more convenient, the front seats are equipped with heating, but the range of horizontal movements and the angle of the back of the back remained very small, so do not dream of completely decomposing the seat on the long journey. And a thick huge steering wheel does not have a single adjustment at all. With regard to Defender, the concept of ergonomics is still inaudible: let's say, a person of a mighty complexion is simply nowhere to put the left hand, closely pressed to the door, and the elbow has to lower him down on the door. It is no longer necessary to talk about the correct position of the hands on the steering wheel, it is just right to make an impromptu stand for the elbow yourself. If you are below 170 cm, take care of the pillow under the soft place in advance (the adjustment of the armchair is not provided for vertically), otherwise it is difficult to monitor the dimensions. But it is convenient for passengers in the second row: no need to press their knees to the chin, however, a person about 190 cm tall will meet with the ceiling on any road uneven, the height of the salon leaves much to be desired. It was equipped with two full -fledged comfortable chairs, the same as in the second row LRD 90, and the gallerine, so that passengers do not have to sit on folding poles. But it will no longer be possible to get into the car with a native of the veins, moreover, the useful volume of the luggage compartment due to seats has decreased significantly, so it is better to remove them and leave them in the garage, unless, of course, you are going to transport large companies every day. And you can drive a couple of kilometers in the trunk and sitting on the old laid on the rear wheeled arches extended to the overhang and having a rectangular section. 
But the main highlights of Land Rover Defender, for the sake of which it was worth it to wait with the purchase before this version, are not in the cabin, but under the hood and below. First of all, this is a new Dura Torq four -cylinder turbodiesel with a 2.4 -liter with a Ford Transit. And so a very reliable motor for Def was a little deformed, which potentially increased its service life even more. Of course, without a turbine with variable geometry and the ubiquitous fuel system, the Common Rail was not done, but the British claim that the test of African diesel fuel, which is unlikely to be better than ours, the engine was successful. The power of the power unit is 122 liters. With. at 3500 rpm, and the maximum torque is 360 nm at 2000 rpm, which is almost 20 % more than that of the previous engine. Together with a completely new six -speed gearbox, this gave a tangible increase in traction on the bottoms. Now from the second gear you can move even in a small slide. However, such as the tractor, the traction still did not. Trying, for example, crawl in reverse a half -meter border, not long and stall. But the motor and box are not all innovations. The accuracy of the manufacture of the gear of the distribution is significantly increased, due to which it was possible to reduce the noise, the cardan shafts are reinforced and lightweight, and the frame is now cooked under the control of electronics, which provided 20 %growth of rigidity for twisting. 
But enough theory, it's time to go. Getting to the Svetlitsa’s off -road landfill, in the Kaluga region, we will check the behavior of the car on all types of road surface. Landing in Land Rover Defender is not easy: if not for the thresholds, you would have to jump inside, but, having occupied the command height, you immediately feel how convenient it is. The dimensions as if the cars were read perfectly with an ax, the outer mirrors are informative, although they have no electric drives, but it is enough to install them for themselves once and not to return to this anymore. The mirror inside the cabin also shows something in addition to the upper edge of the spare, which means that you will notice the KAMAZ creeping back on time. Despite the scarcity of adjustments, any person of medium height and complexion can find the optimal position behind the wheel.
Place for parking, despite the large dimensions, is easy to find, you just need to think with other categories. Say, we noticed near the house or supermarket a piece of land, torn by bulldozers, a piece of land, feel free to go to the parking lot left specifically for you. DEF has a very large turning radius, but with such road clearance and iron bumers you can not hesitate to kick a snowdrift or move the fence. The surrounding drivers also understand this, and therefore it is worth turning on the turning pointer, as all around are rushing away from sin away. It turns out that the city riding gives more pleasure than the inconvenience, and the dynamics of a car with a new engine allows not only to stay, but also a little fuck in the stream. Yes, the machine for the city, of course, is better, but the first gear on Defender is so short that it will successfully replace the automatic transmission in a barely crawling traffic jam, and the fourth is so stretched that it will make it possible to move at a speed of 30 to 90 km / h. It only spoils the buzz Very tight clutch. Constantly practicing his squeezing, you can pump your left leg so much that you will knock out a metal door from one blow.
The electronic gas pedal also has features: it compensates for the lack of revolutions under load, which, on the one hand, helps not to stall, but on the other, with too smoothly working, adds gas. At first, it scares strongly, especially when there is very little left before the reducing car. However, you will quickly get rid of the habit of smoothly squeeze the clutch. The MKAD riding with its wild ruts in the asphalt, oddly enough, also does not cause difficulties: the Defender does not react to the ruts, and even in a configuration that is not equipped with stabilizers of the anti -resistance stability (they go as an option). In the turns, the car is filled with no more than any other high jeep, and the dynamics allows you to stay even in the extreme left row, if the flow rate does not exceed 120 km / h. Electronics limits the speed of the machine by 140 km / h along the speedometer. But even in the immediate vicinity of the limiter, the possibility of overtaking is preserved. In addition to the ABS and the anti -boom system that replaces the interference of inter -seamy differentials, there are no electronic assistants in the DEF, so it is better to be careful with sharp braking at the floor at maximum speeds: it can be pulled out of the same asphalt rut at a time, so keep the steering wheel tight . 
Comfortable speed of movement along the highway is about 130 km / h, but you can also drown under the limiter. In the sixth gear, the turnover does not rise above 2.5-3 thousand, so you talk, without raising your voice too much, and the roar of the motor does not overlap the stereo system. Although, in fact, Defender is noisy, despite the improved sound insulation. The classic rectangular body contours and loud universal rubber are affected. Land Rover Defender is an uncompromising SUV. So it is positioned by manufacturers, this is how it is actually, and therefore the more worse, the more confident the car moves. According to the asphalt broken into the trash with funnels remaining from the Second World War, you can go at a speed of about 100 km / h, while in order to break through the suspension, you need to try hard. Despite the fact that the car is completely bridge, it does not have to be caught on a broken highway, and even in the turns of Def he behaves surprisingly stable. By the way, this is one of the few real SUVs that have a permanent all -wheel drive with an interase differential, and not the usual Part Time machines.
It is worth moving out of the road, and Land Rover Defender will refute any idea that the standard car on a serious impassability that has developed before meeting him. There is no need to immediately go with the new traction capabilities of the engine and a well -working electronic anti -wax system that replaces mechanical locks of inter -chisel differentials. There is enough traction to move in a deep rut! The transmission has four modes: a constant full -wheel drive, on a low and two similar, but with a blocked interderser differential. The limit limit rests on the possibilities of rubber and the size of the road clearance. Having blocked the differential and turning on the second reduced, I rode along the edge of the just swallow that had just opened, with each circle climbing deeper into the swamp, but Defender rode and rode as if I had not happened smoothly on bridges. However, even in this situation, it was almost unwilling to go in reverse. There was no more than a kilometer to the nearest asphalt, and I decided to take a chance to try to take an obstacle immediately, but did not get speed and instead of slipping an ambush, I hung tightly on the axes and rear hooks. I had to put on the swamp boots (the depth was above the knee, and the water almost flooded at the door), go for the help and pull the car with a winch. But they dragged the stuck car no more than a meter. Having barely felt the soil under the wheels, Def went himself. Just on one very slippery and a cool climb, the rogue blocked, almost reaching the top. This time, there were not enough possibilities of universal rubber, she quickly blurred, and, helplessly slipping with all four wheels, the car froze in place. I had to unfold right in the stream, at the same time drove along it and across it to clean the rubber: Defender, although it does not swim, but thanks to moisture protection, even without a schnorkel, is practically not afraid of hydraulic boards. This does not mean that it is necessary to pour water into the air intakes in tons, but the shape of the latter and its pipe does not allow to flood into the filter box with a large amount of water, and what hit is easily removed through the drain valve. 
Finally, I want to add a small spoon of tar to a huge barrel of off -road advantages of the new Land Rover Defender. The fact is that, engaged in offroadectim, you can suddenly be left without oil in the crankcase of the engine. The motor is slightly shifted back, and the front cardan fork when driving on heavy off -road at high speed at a certain corner of rotation of the wheels can scratch or break through the cartoon pallet. It is not scary to immobilize the car in central Russia. But what will be the consequences in the deserted Mongol steppe or on the northern highway, when there are 500 versts ahead, back 500, and overboard -40 s, it is not necessary to explain. When buying Def, be sure to pay attention to the moment, especially since Solikhalla already knows about this trouble, and the new parties of the SUV go with modified pallets. Those who managed to buy a car with a pallet of an unsuccessful design, at the next, then in the corporate service they will be offered to change it for a new one. So the work on the errors was carried out, the consequences of the blanket during conventional operation are not fatal, and they are also promptly eliminated them. And as a resume, I must say: Land Rover Defender turned out to be very successful in all respects. Having completely changed technically, becoming a completely modern car, he managed to remain an icon of style, a dream of romantics on all continents and the last living legend of real off -road. Photo: Andrey Sahakyan
