Test drive Mazda 626 MK5 Sedan 1997 - 2002 Sedan

Put in appearance

Recently, Mazda cars come to us for a test for some reason in winter. So it was two years ago in Minsk, and last year in Moscow. Therefore, when recently - immediately after the message of weather forecasters with the promise of abundant snowfall - we received an offer to take the brand new Mazda 626 for the test, the editors laughed together. Laughter laughter, and the car that is sold in Russia, perhaps, must be tested in twenty -degree frost, on ice and in snowdrifts ...

We would love to write about Mazda Motor Corp. More often, but getting the necessary model in Moscow for a test is not so easy. In Russia, there is still no official representative of this corporation - the Belarusian company Holpi is engaged in the promotion of the brand on our market, the capabilities of which are still limited.

Other Japanese automakers are being introduced to Russia quite actively - one after another, dealerships and service centers are opened, but Mazda ignores our existence. Why?

Apparently two reasons. The first and main is the successes of the corporation in the markets of Western Europe and the USA, in the light of which Russia with its meager sales can be neglected. The second - Mazda in trading in its machines has always relied on intermediaries, and to find (especially now) in our country an organization that can invest money in the trade in cars of an unexploded brand, is a difficult task ...

Before us is the Mazda 626 sedan. The car has been produced since 1997. As a modernized version of the 1991 model, the status of the machine is so difficult to call it completely new, and the concept of restyling is not suitable for it - too many changes have been made . And above all - to the body.

Compared to the previous version, it became 120 mm shorter and 60 mm already - with unchanged base and rut. Despite the decrease in the external dimensions of the car, the salon turned out to be more spacious - thanks to the modern approach to the design of the safety frame and the use of complicated power elements that have greater strength with smaller sizes. The proven engine, transmission, brakes and suspension have remained the same remained quite well. The main and only serious innovation in the chassis is the electronic traction control system, it is also anti -circus (APS), which is now included in the basic configuration.

A decrease in external sizes was not in vain - the car looks more compact than its predecessor, more than it, lean, and therefore seems more dynamic. Although he partially lost his face. Previously, Mazda models differed from compatriots with more rounded and smooth silhouette lines. Now Mazda 626 is a typical European machine, which, without seeing Schildik, is not easy to identify. Even in the design of the headlights and the grilles of the radiator - the most noticeable elements of the design - there are no family features of Mazda. Moreover, in front of the 626th is very similar to Toyota Avensis-it seems that these cars are designed in one design studio. Perhaps due to the fact that both models were developed in Europe - in accordance with the tastes of the consumers there. However, for the adherents of the traditional Mazda style, the corporation has a Xedos line, as well as modifications intended for the American and Japanese markets - the classic family lines are preserved in them.

I did not have to deal with the previous version of the 626th, but compared to the year before last, this one is much more spacious. The distance between the front seats is especially impressive. The left is equipped with a folding armrest width of ten centimeters, and the same amount remains from him to the right. A solid, slightly profiled seat has all conceivable adjustments, plus the ability to change the rigidity of the lumbar stop. Settings are carried out manually.

The right seat is very unusual for the sedan: the back can bend forward - take a horizontal position, after which it can be used as a desktop for a passenger sitting behind. In addition, this allows you to transport very long items in the car - with the back of the rear sofa in the back (entirely or in parts) back ...

For optimal planting, it was necessary to lower the steering column a little. The range of its movements is very large - about 45 degrees: from the almost horizontal position, when the steering wheel literally lies on his knees, to resting the column of the column into the dashboard. It is not clear why such extremes are needed - except to facilitate the cloud driver of the entrance -exit ... The correctly adjusted position of the steering wheel provides an excellent overview of the instrument panel. The steering wheel itself is covered with leather, cross -section and diameter - without comments.

I try to work on the spot with a lever of the checkpoint-it is found that, being raised, the armrest when turning on the 2nd and 4th gears prevents the hand back. To avoid this, it should be lowered.

Auxiliary equipment controls are standard, everything is in the usual places. The temperature and direction of air flows in the cabin are adjustable using an electronic remote control at the central console, in the middle of the remote control is a small display displaying the specified parameters.

From the factory, the car is supplied only with audio acid - a plastic plug dismantled from the panel lay in the glove compartment. A good Clarion with a CD player and remote control was installed in the Machine test.

Above music is an on -board computer screen that informs of fuel consumption, instant and medium. To the left of the steering column there is a button for turning on-off the APS (with the system disconnected on the dashboard, the control light is lit).

I move to the back seat. First of all, I would like to note the convenience of landing. The door opens widely, the opening is quite large - due to this, the step that has to be taken when boarding in the salon is small. The seat in terms of convenience is not inferior to the front - if there are two passengers from behind. The three of course will not be so good, but quite acceptable - even on a long trip. The main plus of the elongated Mazda 626 salon is even with the back of the front seats, the backs do not rest on the rear passengers (if they are not gigantic growth). In the center of the back there is a folding armrest with soft upholstery, you can additionally rest a plastic table with cup holders and a recess for trifles.

Under the hood-a transversely located 2 L 4-cylinder 116-horsepower engine with two camshafts. The layout of the motor compartment is neat, pipelines and electric harnesses are laid around the perimeter, the flood neckline are easily available.

The lid of the trunk, being raised, stands vertically, the trunk itself - a rather large volume. If you back the back of the rear seat, we will get a cargo compartment with an absolutely even floor, a length of the medium -sized body. When loading a large amount of luggage, previously laid objects can be easily moved deep into the cabin.

The engine starts instantly. When warming up, the motor works at high speeds, and when you stand next to it, it is well audible. As the sound heated, the sound is gradually weakening, and after the tachometer arrow establishes 900 rpm., The engine noise can be caught only by listening.

The programs are easily switched - you just need to push the handle in the right direction. The boots of the lever are small, the electoral selectivity is on top ...

Having drove around the yards, I go to a wide street with a lively movement. It is not easy to find a hole in the flow of transport, and our fellow citizens are not accustomed to pass the cars selected from the courtyards. In addition, along the side of the road there are uncleaned snow - fifteen centimeters high: you will not touch without slipping. I severly starting the moment, I start sharply. The machine surprisingly easily and without wounding overcomes a snow obstacle - thanks to the winter rubber Michelin and, of course, APS.

On the asphalt, the 626th confidently gains speed. The dynamics of the car are enough for overtaking, rebuilding with acceleration and - almost always - championship at starting from a traffic light. Quite long, uniform transmissions in combination with an elastic engine allow you to use the box in a calm movement not too often.

The streets along which our path ran was not the main highways. Explored asphalt, ravines around sewer hatches, tram rails ... The indicated joys are slightly sprinkled with snow, and in some places covered with ice. The machine quite successfully overcomes this impromptu obstacle strip. The suspension processes the relief well, swallowing the majority of irregularities. The reckoning for its softness is excessive fervor in corners.

Choosing between comfort and safety (the eternal dilemma that occurs when setting the suspension), Japanese engineers preferred comfort by assigning the control and safety of the machine on the APS. And I must say - the system copes with its duties. Making sharp rearrangements in the areas partially covered with ice, I have never been able to get the car out of balance. The tires tenaciously hold the road, and the sharp and informative steering allows you to accurately dose the force and angle of rotation of the wheels.

There was a moment when the right side of the car was on a snowy curb at the time of the right turn - the rear axle slightly carried out. Before I reacted, the steering wheel jerked a little to the left, and the car leveled out - it worked APS. True, I entered the axial turn.

The situation seemed to me a worthy repetition - already without electronics intervention. Twenty twice and turning off the system, I again drive into the same turn. At the very beginning of the drift, add the gas and slightly weaken the pressure on the steering wheel, allowing the wheels to level. The car stabilized, but now the car entered the turn along a much larger radius - being in the oncoming lane. Electronics copes better than a person ...

The most loud sound of the audible in the cabin comes from rubber. The measured rumble of rolling wheels breaks through all the systems of soundproofing - there is no getting away from this, any wheel with a winter tread is buzzing on the asphalt. At high speeds, the engine becomes heard. Noises can be drowned, turning on the music - even quiet. Very high -quality sound evenly fills the salon with excellent acoustics.

I did not notice how I got to Khodynka - the place where Mazda 323F rolled almost a year ago. Snow, what then, now, is the same. I remember that the time I really liked the cross -country cross -country, so the first arrival is on Snezhnoye virgin lands.

Having accelerated along the rolled rut in second gear to a speed of about 40 km/h, I sharply twist the steering wheel. Slowing down a little, but quite confidently the car got out of the rut, and now he paves the way through the snowdrifts. I increase the speed, twist the steering wheel to the right and left - Mazda obediently follows the routine path. When the radius of the turn approached the minimum, the car stalled. This is natural - the front wheel inner to turn throws snow under the belly under itself, and the car simply lies with the bottom on the resulting snowdrift. This problem was solved independently - gearing ...

Having believed in the alluring of the car, he decided to jump out onto the cleared area of \u200b\u200bthe runway - through the snowdrift, as a result of this clearing and formed. I realized too late that I was making a mistake: having slipped by inertia meter or two, the car was bogged down tightly - the front wheels rotated in the air.

Fortunately, my snow maneuvers attracted the attention of the patrol, running along the airfield on UAZ. They had a cable, and most importantly - there was a desire to help. In less than five minutes, the car was free. I note that the described captivity is on my conscience, the cross -country cross -country in more natural conditions for it is excellent.

Under the wheels - almost bare ice. A sharp start with a disabled APS ... compared with 323F, the 626th accelerates much more confidently, although the shod into unsolved tires. It is not surprising - with the same power of the engines, a heavier machine is less prone to slip.

In the bend, the car shows insufficient rotation, which is easily recovered by a weak press on the gas pedal. And if you adjust the trajectory a handbrake, then in general any maneuver is performed cleanly.

With the inclusion of APS, the behavior of the car changes dramatically. He seems to forget that under the wheels ice. Acceleration, turns, braking occur in the same way as on asphalt. The dynamics, however, worsens - the computer not only connects the brake system, but also limits the engine speed. This is a reasonable payment for safe riding.

Braking - without comments. The machine slows down effectively, without losing this course. The vibration of the pedal, indicating the inclusion of ABS, is felt only in the last moments before a complete stop ... The rest of the day I was happy to ride around the city and - one cannot help but noted - when I got out of the car in the evening, I did not feel fatigue at all.

Mazda 626 - a car that is not much inferior to its rivals. Everything is in order for him: solid, comfortable, the driver obeyed ... But somehow he is not in sight. And if a potential buyer, choosing a middle -class car, will be a dozen applicants, then Mazda 626 will most likely take a place in the second half of the list. And they usually choose something from the first three. Above the image and methods of serving their machines of the Mazda corporation - still work and work.

Evgeny Romantovsky
 

Source: Motor magazine [No. 1/1999]