CHEVROLET TAHOE test drive since 2008 SUV
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Honestly, we had no such excitement in the editorial office. It barely became known that the test was given to the Chevrolet Tahoe, it immediately turned out that we had many fans of American cars. And literally every third just all my life dreamed of traveling on an American SUV, convincing that it was I who I should take with me for a test. In general, by the end of the day, the number of people much exceeded the Tahoe passenger capacity, even if we take into account the fact that it is seven -seater.For more than a five -meter Tahoe SUV, perhaps it will be small, more precisely, not even small, but not large enough. Surprisingly proportional forms visually make the car much less than it really is - it is like a mountain: when it stands in the distance, it seems, nothing special, but the closer you get, the more it becomes. But you can’t say this about the salon - both in width, and in length it is simply huge, and after you get behind the wheel, it begins to seem even more. Wide leather seats easily place five sadocks, in extreme cases in the luggage compartment on folding, but also very large and also leather seats you can place two more. If you are not going to turn your SUV into a minibus, then additional seats can be rolled into the garage. Yes, just roll it up! In order for the owner not to carry the chair, they are equipped with small wheels, and now the process of removing the seats does not turn slowly into an attraction of unprecedented power. In general, even a fragile lady will be able to operate Tahoe - the efforts on any of the controls are minimal, and all kinds of mess and pockets are there, and incredible, by the standards of golf class cars, volumes, simply a huge number. The volume of boxing, which is located between the front seats, in my opinion, struck us most of all, a five-liter canister will easily fit there, unless, of course, someone thinks of putting it there. Even mirrors on anti -linen visors here the size of a medium sizes of the dressing room, and even with backlight. And all this farm somehow develops, transforms and in a camping position practically does not take up space.
It will be difficult for our person to understand why in one, even if a very large car, two air conditioners or an automatic light lights coat are needed, and for Yankees this has long been in the order of things. Like fuel consumption. Equipped with a 5.3-liter eight Tahoe, of course, does not suffer from poor appetite. But if you at least once get to go on it, then all issues regarding the appropriateness of such a purchase will disappear. When this huge one in some ten seconds, without any tension, gains 100 km/h and then, practically without reducing the rate of acceleration, with the same ease throws the speedometer arrow for 180 km/h, you just stop thinking about such trifles. A huge torque at four hundred and twenty-seven (!) Newtonian-meters, like a fluff, tears Tahoe from a place, and from any speed too. At the speed of the maximum speed on our roads - 90 km/h, the tachometer shows only 1,500 rpm, and with more speed modes of movement, it rarely rises above 3000-4000 rpm. But on the time, at the acceleration, if it should be on the pedal, the engine is conscientiously twisted almost to the red tachometer zone. And, of course, the sound is characteristic only for Americans, and not only SUVs. The bass rocker, unobtrusively reminiscent of a serious volume, is distributed from under the hood at the slightest adding of gas.
Actually, when a real SUV gets to our test, and not some beach there, who does not even have a low row in the transmission, namely an all-terrain vehicle, which, without a doubt, also refers to Tahoe, then you have to sharply change the manner of abruptly driving. The distance that you support to the front of the car is better to increase about half, especially if a good foreign car rides ahead. The fact is that in the vast majority of serious jeeps, the rear brakes are drum brakes, and the rubber is also designed to move along the off -road also does not add confidence on the asphalt, so their braking distance is much longer than that of cars. In addition, long -speed pendants, coupled with a high center of gravity, cause significant rolls in corners, especially at high speed. Of course, the roll is not the worst thing, but in a turn it prevents it from adequately assessing the situation: it seems that the car is about to get off the trajectory, and you begin to steal, which is not always desirable. It is good that the creators of Tahoe managed to save their creation of these shortcomings. Tahoe of course, far in terms of controllability to a car, but it has become an order of magnitude more comfortable and pleasant during movement. Firstly, he has discs on all wheels, so few discs, they are also ventilated, and, of course, with ABS. In addition, an electronic system for the distribution of brake force is installed on it. Such an option for cars is installed for a surcharge, and even then not for everything, but for an SUV this is doubly unusual. And on the tested copy there was an Autoride system, which independently, depending on the situation, regulates the rigidity of shock absorbers, and this really affects the control of the car and the comfort of passengers.
On the asphalt, the SUV is very gently, and any defects in the road surface, even very large, simply quietly disappear under the wheels. Due to its huge mass and no less huge road clearance, the car even 180 km/h can move along a broken dirt road. With increasing speed, shock absorbers are also tightened, so despite the empty steering wheel to control Tahoe is very easy. But if you turned into a completely broken country, then literally a few seconds the suspension will become even tougher, and the car will begin to shake significantly. Honestly, at the first moment it seemed to me that this wheel was lowered - so sharply Tahoe turned from a soft sofa into a hard stool. Of course, going in this mode is not so comfortable, but you can be sure that the suspension will not break. And to make the suspension work to the stop is really very difficult, even in the mild mode of operation of shock absorbers - there are torsions in front, and a hard bridge familiar to pain is painfully. True, now instead of springs, springs are used as an elastic element, and the suspension itself has become multi -link. All this, in combination with the Autoride above -mentioned system, made it possible to provide acceptable running qualities on asphalt and off -road. By the way, about off -road - in its off -road capabilities, the new Tahoe has gone very far from both the previous generation and competitors. Unlike the same Lincoln Navigator Tahoe, it can not only travel through shallow snow, but is also quite adapted for serious off -road voyages. In a regular (2 hi) mode, the SUV has a drive only on the rear wheels, but with such a herd of horses under the hood of Tahoe, even on dry asphalt, it easily breaks the rear wheels into the slip. Moreover, this happens even without a kik doward. But the rear self -locking differential stops these attempts in the bud. If it rains, it is better to switch to Auto 4 WD. Now, with the slightest slip, using a multi -disc clutch, the front bridge is instantly connected, but in normal Tahoe mode, it still remains rear -wheel drive. And if the off -road begins that the slightest slip of the car can stop for a long time, then it is better to turn on the 4NI mode - the center differential is blocked, and now you can stop the car only with diagonal hanging of the wheels, well, or completely impenetrable dirt. In the most extreme case, the 4LO mode remains - all of the above functions plus the inclusion of a reduced series of gears. Moreover, all this farm is turned on with a simple press of the corresponding button on the panel.
If you summarize the above, it turns out that the large Tahoe does not have clear disadvantages. This means that in order to attract non-poor buyers, some special virtues are needed. After all, both European and Japanese, and recently, Korean manufacturers are also not sleeping. And there are plenty of offers in this sector of the market. The main plus of the new Tahoe is a kind of Europeanization. That is, remaining in essence the great American SUV, this jeep got rid of most disadvantages inherent in overseas models. The motor, for example, lost in volume compared to its predecessor, but added in power. Finally, archaic springs disappeared, and for Autoride, many dealers of non-American manufacturers would ask for rather big money. The all -wheel drive connection system can not be attributed to the outdated either. And it is unlikely that anyone from the age of five years ago could assume that the large American SUV will have disc brakes on all wheels. Wise solutions can be seen not only during movement. Designers, for example, have provided that even Tahoe can become an object of a taran of some eccentric on a non-large car. And so that the poor fellow does not kill, rolled under the SUV (and therefore, could compensate for the damage), made special protection. By the way, the mythical loser on the ill -fated passenger car has every chance not to die in surprise, having received an account of the service station for repairs. For example, the frame in Tahoe is made modular and does not need to be replaced with serious damage - you can only change the damaged fragment, which is much cheaper.
Since the conversation about the service has come, we can say that the Americans got rid of another drawback. Remember who was not taken from us in the past to trade in American cars. Only lazy. And where are those glorious dealers now? After all, it is ridiculous to say that our buyers are scared away by overseas cars for the reason that it is difficult to park in the city center. Rather, on the contrary. It may not be too ethical, but sometimes it seems that a large SUV can be safely left right on the sidewalk. Citizens will understand everything correctly, and without unnecessary need they will not kick the wheels, and in most cases you can agree with customs. The same in the city stream. Who in their right mind will cut Tahoe? And in a traffic light, you can not look at anyone at all in comfortable large external mirrors at all - anyway, in most cases, you will be the first. Gasoline consumption? Yes, by the standards of the average car owner - just crazy. But the pleasure for which you do not have to pay is a provocation, so it is better to distract from the window of the gas station operator from anxious thoughts about the oil crisis in European countries. We still do not belong to them, and this position is not expected to be soon. So, by and large, competent maintenance remains. Yukol-Service, which is engaged in the implementation of American cars, already has its own service station at a well-known not only to Minsk residents Street Serova. But this, as they say, prose. And poetry will begin when a hefty complex is commissioned in the Borovlyan area, entirely designed in accordance with the General Motors side standards. Not only sizes and bells and whistles, but also the quality of the service promises to become a new word for Belarusian consumers. One small problem remains. Now, while Tahoe is not very common on our streets, it is not too much for hijackers. If consumers figure out what's what, and decide that American cars are perfect for our conditions, then Tahoe owners will begin to overcome the same anti -theft workers that excite the owners of common models. Of course, by that time, some can be so imbued with America that they will want to buy ... pickup. And what? Similar, actually speaking, thought. Indeed, in a past life, Tahoe was also a pickup.
Pavel Kozlovsky
