Test Drive Land Rover Defender 110 since 2007 SUV

No road, and do not

Autumn entered into its legal rights. Rains, puddles, impassable dirt. But the spring will be even worse. We need an SUV, simple and at the same time able to pass there, where the head of a city man almost never started.
The first thing comes to mind, our immortal creation of the Ulyanovsky goat. But from the thought that you have to beat the knees about the iron panel of the instruments, you are thrown into a shiver, especially after some Chevrolet or even forty-first Muscovite. But look at this high car with big wheels and the inscription UAZ on the spare track. On a simple goat, this car is not at all like. No tarp top, appearance has changed, and the salon transformed.
Yes, it is it a UAZ-3160 descendant of the glorious GAZ-69. Immediately the question arises: and from imported what? From imported for impassive dirt, Land Rover has always come true. Immediately recall Camel Trophy and other adventures. Moreover, the neighbor in the Cherokee is constantly sits in a tractor rut next to your car. Defender! This car, wheeling on the roads of the planet of the sixth ten years, is not suitable for comparison. He was also in military service, but he was refused and at the same time did not lose at all in SUV.
So, dirt, autumn rains and two large SUVs. Both (!) Russian production: Land Rover assembled in Kaliningrad at the autotor plant. UAZ-3160 is absolutely not like their ancestors. Round headlights, folding windshield and a tarp roof. The car added in growth and lost a bit. Bumpers made of bent sewller are replaced with elegant linings corresponding to the body lines. The body itself was rounded, and almost no direct corners. Due to windows in the trunk, the car has become more glass. Ahead of block headlights with large turn signals, and behind multisective lights. The doors are opened with normal flat handles and have full locks on everyone. Appeared on the UAZ and the wide fifth door, unfortunately, which opens to the sidewalk. It opens from the inside and also closes on the castle. On the streets, we were often asked: what kind of car?, Staying in complete confidence that they met a foreign SUV. And this means that designers from Simbirsk have tried not in vain a new car turned out to be bright and peculiar.
Defender is already 51 years old. According to conscience, he needs to compete with the easiest ninth, but the last, unfortunately, did not live to this day. Over the years, designers almost did not touch nor his face nor internships. All the same straight angles, round headlights, small dimensions and turn signs. Small doors, and all five, make us assume that it will be difficult to sit in the car. The fifth door also opens to the sidewalk. Despite the large width of the stern of the defineer, the door is narrow and low. But on the glazing area there is a champion among SUVs, small windows are even in the roof. The huge hood is still decorated with huge brackets for the second spare. Land Rover is much longer than the opponent. Good or bad road show, or rather lack of roads.
Again Ulyanovsk pleased. At 3160, not just a new gasoline engine, but, most importantly, injection with multipoint injection. The brains of the system are the same as on the Volga-3110. Particularly impressive large-sized air filter housing. It looks all this solid, and the motor works softly and, most importantly, quiet. The stated power of 103 horses at a volume of 2.9 liters. Fuel gasoline A-92. Full drive with a disabled front axle. The Anglo-Russian Defander is equipped with a 2.5-liter turbodiesel with a capacity of 122 hp Block head cover decorates proud turbocharged inscription, that is, a turbo-proof. (I want to remind you that diesel engines are also installed on the UAZ.). Full drive with an untouched front bridge. Both engines make the impression of serious aggregates, and whether they really will actually show the road.
The inner space of the Volga brainchild, makes it once again think about the country-producer of this car. Any analogies with the predecessor is just a crime. A large solid panel of plastics instruments from now on does not threaten passengers with bruises and cones. The combination of instruments, the heater unit (very good) and the clock is borrowed from VAZ seven, eights and tens. From the Zhigules and door locks, and the ignition castle. Lada's inscription in the keys to the car are proudly, so if you have two cars and one of them vasovskaya, not even an hour to confuse ... doors, like the instrument panel, are dressed in plastic, all windows are equipped with full-fledged windows, and between the front Seats are plastic boxes, which can simultaneously serve as a table. Above the glove compartment handle for the front passenger, so that when driving on off-road it is not too talked. It should also be noted that the handles in the ceiling are for all passengers of UAZ. Everything is very convenient, although the assembly was clearly not straining and not thinking about the quality of the materials. Plastic, of course, harsh, but what was, and what happened ... the difference is huge.
Seat. Their seven. All seats, except those in the trunk, with head restraints and seat belts. The front is adjustable by the tilt of the back, length, there is an adjustable lumbar roller. And about the miracle! The back of the second row of seats is also adjustable! It is possible to change its tilt, and she itself is folded 2 to 3 for the carriage of long periods. The trunk is large, with low loading height and two more seats, though folded. Total in UAZ-3160 can comfortably accommodate seven people. Defender is a completely different machine and level of comfort and passenger capacity. The car's salon is rather reminiscent of the Ikarus salon, running somewhere in Butovo.
Everything is very modest, no hint of comfort. 12 seats resemble benches, covered with matter. All twelve people are only 2 headrests and a single armrest. The possibility of transformation of the cabin is minimal. Only the rearmost seat with a narrow pillow is folded. For special services it is very nice, and if for civilians, it is clearly only for the enthusiasts of the jeeper movement. Additional passenger seats in the trunk can not be rearranged. And download things in the trunk is not very convenient because of the large loading height and ... the sizes of the rear door. The driver's seat is fulfilled on the principle than easier, the better. Minimum devices, among which have a clock. Metal instrument panel includes all controls, including heater. His cranes are on the left, and manipulate them uncomfortable. Functional buttons, in particular, the glass heater, the rear fog lights are turned on from the bottom of the instrument panel and are not visible at all. Not easy and open windshield from the driver.
The defender ventilation system is especially successful. In the summer, two flaps opened from the salon provide a good flow of outdoor air, and in winter bottles can be cooled. In general, all in Army, and at the same time very high quality. On the streets of the city both cars showed themselves good fighters for the championship in traffic lights. UAZ, again compared to the predecessor, very much added to acne. It accelerates on a par with classics and comes with them nose to the nose. The steering wheel with the hydraulicer constantly vibrates, and during maneuvers there are pens. The brakes do not suit at all. The huge free move of pedals and almost zero braking efficiency. The rearrangement on the UAZ is not safe: the car is strongly cubed. Translations have to stick twice the first time it is not always possible. (Perhaps, of course, that we got a car with unregulated clutch.). On the track 3160, it is capable of developing passports 140 km / h, but at the same time he digs all the time and it has to be continuously giving.
Land Rover is more powerful and accelerated faster. The inclusion of the turbine is accompanied by a light whistle, and carries forward. The deforender does not chat from side to the side and inhibits it quite worthy. The hydraulicel works for five of five possible. The only unpleasant item is the constant noise of the engine, refilled by our diesel fuel. Dirt, puddles, rain and sandy quarry, what could be better for testing an SUV? It goes without saying, both cars have a four-wheel drive and both spring suspension. Connect the front on the UAZ. In the floor there is one single rope lever with clear symbols 2N, 4H, 4L. Previously, the transmission levers were two plus the lever of the gearbox, and the tunnel decorated the whole forest of various handles.
Go! The impression is that UAZ and did not drive from the asphalt. In deep broth, it also goes easily, like on the highway, and the water only takes out a slightly to the thresholds. Having overcome the brother, we get out to a large pipe, which lies on the ground of centimeters 30 from the ground. Gently and slowly UAZ slides from obstacles without clinging to any detail on the bottom. It is not possible to plant the UAZ and in deep sand is a simple manipulation of distribution, and the machine on a reduced gear crashes from sandy vegan, in which legs are completely wound. After half an hour of such experiments, it turned out that it was practically impossible to plant 3160. It is not afraid of liquid mud, it is not afraid of sand and water. From any grill, he gets around slowly and with dignity.
Actually, the same can be said about our import friend. Despite the larger base, it is also easy to slip from the pipe, not taped it even thrown back by the back footboard. In Brod, the deforender entered the pressure and also did not sink, although the bumpers still soaked. Sand tests also did not perplex a large SUV for a second. Sand for the conqueror desert is a trifle. The rise of any steepness rubbed British overcomed fun, having a turbine and scattering the sand mountains. We could not land the deforender, although, believe me, I tried very hard and we still had even Kamaz, who would be stuck. Both participants showed an excellent result and dirty ears went back to Moscow.
UAZ increased along the cabin, and on the motor. It did not add only as an assembly and the cost of finishing materials. Comfortable interior with the possibility of transformation, good engine and low price in plus Ulyanovka. Land Rover is more expensive, Salon his top of asceticism. But it is spacious, he has a wonderful engine, especially at the bottoms, and it is firmly sewn. And Defender and UAZ are not just excellent SUVs, these are cars for real jejers and beautiful summer cottages. There would be money ...
 
UAZ-31605
+ 
1. Comfortable salon
2. Canceled
patency
3. Price
- 
1. Low
build quality
2. Weak brakes
3. Bad
sustainability
Land Rover
Defender
 +
 
1. Good engine
2. Beautiful
controllability
- 
1. Netransformable
salon
2. Bad ergonomics
 
Maxim Rakitin
Photo by Alexander Nosdrin
 

A source: Cars