Test drive Honda HR-V 5 doors 2001-2006 SUV
Honda HR-V- Parity of interests
The appearance of parquet SUVs dealt a crushing blow to the seemingly unshakable off -road canons. Invisiblely integrating into the numerous army of real jeeps, lightweight all -in -wheel drivers brought with them a practical virus, which turned out to be destructive for traditional decisions, the constancy of which no one has questioned yesterday. This is already after the SUVs and the BMW X5, Audi Allroad, and the Bezrama Mitsubishi Pajero appeared. And if such serious manufacturers calculated the qualities of pseudojipes worthy of development, then the lack of locks, lowering gears and unreasonable bridges does not mean the futility of the machine in the 4x4 car market. Moreover, even the all -wheel drive itself in some cases turned out to be unnecessary: \u200b\u200bsome buyers are enough external surroundings relative to a large clearance, corresponding wheels and a universal body. Honda was one of the first companies to master the forming sector of the all -wheel drive cars. Having worked out many solutions on the CR-V model, the Hondians continued to further develop a parquet idea on the new HR-V. And what happened in the end, we had to find out during the test.If some cars do not reveal their qualities for the time being, then HR-V immediately demonstrates one of the main advantages of an impressive design. The driver of every second car stared at us, at times distracting from the road, and many passers -by escorted the car with a look. I can imagine how much the popular attention would grow, if a pretty girl was driving. At the very first gas station, where we drove, the machine gathered a colorful crowd of curious people around me. The reaction of some kind, judging by the appearance, very far from the car of the lady, who began to loudly admire the front headlights, was indicative. Yes, those eyes are still. The reflectors of near and high light hidden under a transparent cap are perfectly in harmony with the recesses in the bumper, giving the car some aggressiveness. The next motorist expressed a timid assumption that HR-V is a minivan. Well, he, of course, got excited, however, when trying to accurately classify the classification of the Japanese, more advanced erudites can fade. If it were not for a high landing, then HR-V can be mistaken for a three-door sportsman, and the sealing spoiler on the roof only strengthens this analogy. However, a decent clearance and large wheels allow you to enroll the car into an off -road detachment. So we will not rack our heads, trying to classify the car, but out of habit to call it a parquet jeep.
The salon also does not have any specific signs of a jeep, with the exception of high landing. Additional leverage of transsems? Forget. Inside, HR-V resembles a golf-class hatchback than an SUV. Of course, the car has more space above the head, and the front passenger can stretch out far enough, but those who traveled on real jeeps may be disappointed. How not to turn, and a wheelbase 2.35 m long puts HR-V away from off-road mastodons, which can cause an attack of agarophobia. Climbing the front seats, just as getting up from them is very convenient. Traveling to the rear sofa will bring much less pleasure, but, having trained, you can learn to climb the gallery quite elegantly. Having stood behind the wheel, you begin to look closely at the details of the interior. The steering wheel herself is simply magnificent. Having examined the salons of all the Honda, exhibited in the showroom, we unanimously recognized the HR-V wheel of the best. Together with the instrument shield, this combination could well belong to some temperamental hatchback. Blue dials of devices, the same shade of the emblem on the steering wheel and edging rotating handles of control of the microclimate pleasantly revive the front panel, and in our case they also harmonized stylishly with the color of the car. True, the machine can be of a different color, and blue in the cabin is unchanged.
The driver’s landing is quite passenger, and the range of adjustments will arrange a wide variety of people. For the comfort of the front passengers, the back row of the seats will be paid only if they are ahead of the car at a third meter above the car itself. Behind a person of medium height, you can get quite comfortable. Nevertheless, I don’t want to climb the rear sofa without particular need: during the test, we had a sign of good tone voluntarily. The visibility from the driver's seat is excellent, the exception is the salon mirror there, for the most part, you can only observe the headrests of the second row of seats. In terms of different-caliber containers for storing small items, HR-V resembles a minivan, in which a forgotten pack of cigarettes automatically goes into the category of stagnacons, up to general cleaning of the cabin.
Looking before a trip to the speedometer and tachometer dials, subconsciously expect some provocation from the car. If you believe the digitization, then the engine is not forbidden to twist as much as 7000 rpm! Nothing a SUV! Further thoughts are drawn by gloomy paintings of the stalling at each intersection of the motor, which does not want to truly work at less than 2000 revolutions. Here I want to warn the owners of Honda passenger models, who poorly represent how traditionally steep branded engines can work under the hood of parquet SUVs, and for this reason do not even think about the purchase of honda jeeps. In the first gear, HR-V confidently moves even with an accelerator. The tachometer arrow shows about 800 rpm. So even an inexperienced driver will be able to start without a break from a place without any slips. Well, and cut? No problem. The motor is spinning cheerfully in the entire speed range, and, having quickly reached 3500 rpm, the engine demonstrates a noticeable pickup, and then something similar occurs when the five thousandth mark exceeds. The accelerated dynamics, of course, lags behind the blood exciting blood on the Civic 1.6 VTEC, but you can completely frolic in the traffic flow. The motor does not object to a calm ride. For example, in the fifth gear, a speed of 60 km/h is reached already at 1900-2000 rpm. If at the same time pressed on an accelerator, then the car is slow, but without a stranger begins to accelerate. The programs seem short, although the steep engine is actually to blame for this.
Despite some compartment appearance, HR-V still has a 19 cm clearance and, accordingly, a high center of gravity. In principle, this dares from overly bold road maneuvers, so to speak, already at the theoretical level. But after all, jeeps are sometimes forced to go around specific road irregularities or gaping pedestrians. In terms of extreme maneuvering, HR-V has at least two trump cards. That is, in fact, six. These are four tires with a width of 205 mm, which, with a relatively low 60%profile, are very tenacious behind the road, and two (front and rear) reptile stability stabilizers, without which the price would be excellent grip properties of rubber. Add a fairly sensitive steering to this set, and you will understand that despite the decent body height, you can cope with the car even in a difficult situation. To be in the back seats when the driver tried to simulate the passage of the snake, I would not advise: it is pretty much. But the front seats, despite the rather modest side support, hold the body well in tense corners. And of course, do not forget about the connected rear axle.
In normal HR-V traffic modes, only on the front wheels. As soon as their slipping begins, the torque is transmitted to the rear pair of the wheels, and the car, thus, becomes all -wheel drive. It can be felt very clearly at starting at a mixture: under the front tires, sand, under the backs of clean asphalt. With a sharp press on the accelerator, one feels that as soon as the front pair of wheels has a hint of slipping, an rearguard comes into business, and the car rushes vigorously forward, as if someone drove into the stern at a decent speed. Moreover, further the car rowing the sand with four bast shoes until the relatively clean coating begins, where only the front pair is enough. In the vast majority of cases, such a scheme justifies itself, significantly facilitating the ride on slippery, wet and other unpleasant coatings. We can safely assume that HR-V will help to solve the problem of the company's delivery to the picnic place if at least some semblance of the road leads there. So the SUV is not a sentence. But if you have a desire to pass the turns by a fan, some practice is required to feel how the behavior of the car changes when it turns from the front- it turns into all-wheel drive.
The work of the pendants provokes differentially approached the passage of road irregularities. Most of the pits, potholes, waves and other charms of our streets HR-V runs with the confidence of the adult jeep. But short -flowing pendants, contributing to the improvement of controllability, are able to swallow road nasty things not up to lawlessness. So when passing completely slaughter pits, it is better to remember that parquet SUVs received this nickname not only for the inability to speak at Camel Trophy. With regard to the smoothness of the course, the front riders feel better. The back is shocking more tangible, so do not forget to put back a corrosive friend who will not like something in your car. Despite some rigidity, compared to cars, on our roads, you feel more confidently at the wheel of such cars as HR-V: neither tram tracks nor sidewalks cause a niming cold in the chest when trying to present the service station for repairing the chassis of the chassis .
Managing slowdown, despite the drum brakes from behind, is quite convenient. Excellent clutch properties of tires make it hard to work out to cause ABS. We decided to act differently. We accelerate the car to 50 kilometers, let the left wheels on the asphalt sprinkled with sand, and the right ones remain on the clean coating. Squeeze the clutch to exclude the inhibitory effect of the engine, and the brake pedal to the floor. Turning a little around the vertical axis, HR-V stops. During braking, ABS makes itself felt with soft shocks on the pedals, and the machine, despite the displacement, remains within the dynamic corridor width with the standard lane. Not bad. It is important that it remains the opportunity to correct the trajectory with the help of the steering wheel.
From the prose things, the rear seat folded in parts can be noted, which increases the size of the luggage compartment to quite sufficient 550 liters. This is if you load the car to the window line. Climate control, mirrors and windows is organized as on ordinary cars, and is unlikely to force to be distracted. But what struck the ashtray. The monumental glass from the pleasant look and to the touch of plastic looked so cool that it caused the strongest desire to grab it as a keepsake, at least quarreling with the owners of the car. We even asked if this pretty little thing could be ordered by the catalog of spare parts.
Of course, it is a pity that we did not have the opportunity to drive HR-V on slippery coatings in order to more fully identify the potential of this car. But the impressions are enough for some conclusions. Those who think about buying a SUV need to be firmly understood that this is, first of all, a city car, and it is designed for predominant operation on asphalt. The rest of the advantages can be considered a successful adaptation of the machine to our conditions, entailing a certain expansion of the sphere of its application. About all -wheel drive, you will remember more than once in the winter, the clearance of 19 cm is generally a find, and there is nothing to say about bright design. For those who consider the three -door not practical enough, there are comforting news over time to supply five -door modification. The lady is suitable for a version with a variator, which is installed at an additional fee. In general, HR-V is able to meet the most diverse requirements, and this is an undoubted dignity.
Alexey Belousov
