Test Drive Mitsubishi Grandis since 2004 Minivan
The family will be pleased
Without a doubt, Mitsubishi Grandis is a serious and high-quality product. And a very serious application in the classroom. Western civilization will take it warm. We also buy a minivan requires a special mind warehouse, a special flow, lifestyle. But do not you want to change the life for such delightful forms? The hero of the day today is the minivan, but the story about him wants to start with a small lyrical retreat completely about other cars.
Why are SUVs so popular? The explanation is invented by many, and they all seem quite reasonable. Patency, capacity, carrying capacity. But in everyday life, all these qualities turn out to be practically not in demand. Agree, not so often a city resident has to be transported by off-road by the party of refrigerators, and with them the brigade of movers. Therefore, the most logical seems much more simple and human explanation: the SUV is cool.
But minivan is not cool. Because the bus. Not really, of course, but almost. And the fact that this bus can cost as a good SUV, is not taken into account. Because whatever price tag hung on a minivan, he will not stop being a bus. Almost. Meanwhile, if you think, the competent minivan in its capabilities is the same jeep, only practical. Of course, undergoing Nikudnye. But the bus does not consume in indecent quantities of oil products and kilobaks for service. Maybe therefore not cool?
Mitsubishi Grandis will never be cool. First, because for those money that is asked for him, not to buy a serious SUV. Secondly, contain such a man of a priori is easier than the all-wheel drive multi-cylinder jeep. And thirdly no, at least cut to call the bus this car, my language will not turn.
The manufacturer itself is positioning Grandis as Sports Tourer Sports and Tourist Car. How should it be understood? Well, with Tourer, there is an extremely clear crowd, high comfort, long distances. And what is SPORTS? And is it in general?
Grand appearance is already an answer to the question. A more rapid on the form of minivan is still needed. Aggression, expressed in the guide of the machine, is unnatural for the family vehicle. Bullet! No, finely large-caliber projectile Here is what this Grandis is! Body shape is almost perfect. Almost? Not true. She is absolutely perfect! I think this is the first beautiful minivan on my memory. There were minivans cute, there were stylish, even cool remember even Fiat Multipla. And this car is exactly beautiful. Bus!
Even a corporate beak, without any new Mitsubishi, and which personally has an ambiguous reaction personally, it looks organic on the Grand. And what is the optics of colossal sizes. And the vertical rear lights on the points are downloaded!
Although it is probably hardly. Grandis and in motion turns out almost sports. The suspension is configured in such a way that the minivan turns turns without reversing: the rolls are small not only with a correction for a high body, but also in the absolute. How about go faster? Easily! Speed \u200b\u200bis growing, and the car continues to delight. The steering on the grand is at least a long, multi-coherent, but the pharmacy is accurate. True, too easy. The car instantly realizes any intention of the driver, but refuses to fully give accurate information about the true position of the wheels. But in general, everything is not bad. Mmm, maybe additives? Please! And then there is something that is called classical insufficient turning. The front wheels, having wondered, a little bit off the corporate nose of the grand to the turn. No! Immediately the electronics are unwound and calls the car to obedience. It seems that the coupling properties of Yokohama Aspec lacks: wheels are ready to break into slip earlier than what we expect. Not FIG. You, the owner, chasing the family will be unhappy. But, maybe this is a manifestation of caring for safety of the inhabitants of the car? Very possible. When designing Grandis, engineers more than seriously approached security issues. Passengers protect the body, built using a particularly secure RISE technology (Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution), and a set of six airbags. Plus electronics, but already as an option: a system of dynamic stabilization of MASC and a MATC anti-test system, which were just installed on our car.
If you temper your driver's dust, you can find that the gradation is characteristic of a very impudent smoothness of the course. The suspension is ironing asphalt, absorbing all the irregularities of small and medium calibers. And what is important, makes it silently. Actually, Grandis generally relates to the ears of passengers in general. More or less distinguishable sounds available for universal listening, it is a motor noise on very high turns and a wind hum in an open hatch. The latter, by the way, in the car two pieces: one is located above the driver and is capable only to open manually; The second, more advanced sliding model with an electric drive is over the rear seats.
Grandis comes to our market exclusively with a 2.4 liter motor equipped with a MIVEC gas timing phase change system. And the box can already be chosen: either it will be a five-speed mechanic, or a four-stage INVECS-II machine with a sequential switching mode. Our minivan was in the most sophisticated configuration of Intense, which implies the default automatic machine. Various interior design options are possible: seven or six seats, and the latter is considered more luxurious and, therefore, is the norm for Intense. In principle, the engine is great enough. However, this is not sports. With a smooth and measured motion, everything is fine, but it is possible to set the heat only on the first two transmissions, only in manual mode of the box and only in those modes when the tachometer arrows passes the first half of the distance from the distance. Next, the acceleration turns into a set of speed. And in the healthy Invecs-II mode, it starts to slow down in any case, when it comes to active actions from the driver: the transfer downs are switching with a delay, and when moving to the upper steps, the engine does not spin up to the revolutions of vigor. As for the brakes, they are quite user friendly: effective and without nuances.
The grand salon is stunning, and first of all the quality of the performance is a completely new level for Mitsubishi. Dear finish materials, a subtle combination of light matter, tree and chromium, all this looks much more expensive than its money. A leather-wooden steering wheel and the object of luxury as if removed from the car class above. Super!
True, it also turns out that the steering wheel is adjustable only by tilt. Meanwhile, in search of a comfortable landing, which is necessarily high, I want to move the steering wheel closer, but in no way. You have to put the back more vertically than thought. Although I note that visibility from the driver's seat is good, and largely due to large and intelligible outer mirrors. But a short low-end nose minivan hides, so when parking has to maneuver with the help of a sixth sense. As an option: With the help of habit, but it is not immediately.
In the six-bed version, the Grandis envelops the rear passengers with comfort, unattainable for ordinary cars. There is all your own: and your own hatch, and its own climate control control panel, and its own tables with gas stops in the backs of the front seats. Each chair can move through the interior back and forth and has a backrest adjustable over the corner. But if you get tickets on the third row, the first second place, you should not worry about it. This, of course, is not a sofa in Maybach, but the chairs of the last row are absolutely full and practically no inferior to places in the second row. Is there no hatch. And both place for feet in prosperity, and the climate is supplied, and the cup holders are abundant. However, there is no sense to tell about all the options for transformation of the salon, the benefit of the photographs speak for themselves. But for a long battle, as well as for the transport of oversized, the possibilities of the widest.
Without a doubt, Mitsubishi Grandis is a serious and high-quality product. And a very serious application in the classroom. Western civilization will take it warm. We also buy a minivan requires a special mind warehouse, a special flow, lifestyle. But do not you want to change the life for such delightful forms?
Autography
Mitsubishi Grandis.
Predecessor
Space Wagon (1997)
Body
minivan
Premiere
autumn 2003.
Engines
2.4 l (165 hp)
Production
Japan
Expected replacement
2010-11
At the time of the test, the car is insured by Nasta-Center LLC.
The car is provided by Raduga-Auto, the official Mitsubishi Motors dealer
Text: Kirill Brevdo
Photo: Vsevolod Konovalov
A source: Magazine "Wheels" [№81 / 2004]
