Nissan Navara test drive since 2010 pickup
Four by four equal nine
We test Nissan all -wheel drive models in Transbaikalia.
In 1951, Nissan launched its first all -wheel drive SUV Patrol. Now, after 60 years, Russian buyers of Nissanov can already choose from nine Nissan models with a 4x4 drive, including SUVs, crossovers, pickups, sedan and even a sports car.
Unfortunately, Nissan GT-R was not brought to Transbaikalia. For him, of course, there are special winter tires, but nevertheless this car is little adapted to use in such strict conditions, on such roads and in such frosts: the temperature in Buryatia in the winter is lowered below 40 degrees Celsius.
But the remaining eight Nissan models with a 4x4 wheel formula were available to us. On Patrol, Navara, Pathfinder and X-Trail, we had to get to Lake Baikal, where Murano, Juke and Qashqai crossovers, as well as the all-wheel drive Teana sedan, were waiting for us.
Navara
The first my colleague and I got a Navara pickup. The turbodiesel is reluctant to gain operating temperature, but after a 20-minute heating in the cabin it becomes quite warm, and we, throwing things into the back seat for lack of trunk, go on the way to the banks of Baikal to the mouth of the Selengi River.
On roads such as in Buryatia, where frozen asphalt is interspersed with snow and ice prophesies, it is better to use the all -wheel drive transmission mode of the transportation only on the rear -wheel drive requires an increased concentration from the driver. The rear axle easily breaks into a sweeping sliding, which, however, quickly extinguishes a strict stabilization system. And this severity is quite justified by a car of such a caliber as Navara: with the ESP disconnected, a heavy pickup on a slippery road becomes unstable even in 4WD mode.
The stabilization system is strict, but for pickup it is right.
For a spectacular frame, we tried to turn off the stabilization system and put Navara into skidding. The car is eagerly exhibited, but adjustment requires a leading operation of the steering wheel, and the reactions are greatly smeared. Having adopted and entering the taste, you can dashing the pickup with gas in the arc in all -wheel drive mode, lifting the snow train. But the sensations are as if you are flying on a hammer.
In the photo, pickups go in a spectacular side sliding, but this requires certain skills and rolled up for the slowness and slowness of the pickupa.
With the stabilization system, the Navara stabilization system easily breaks down in the skid even in all -wheel drive mode.
True, no one requires a utilitarian handle of a hot hatchback. Navara option for wealthy farmers, builders or lovers of active lifestyle. For them, this pickup has everything: a voluminous body, a solid carrying capacity (765 kilograms), an impenetrable suspension and a painful turbodiesel. It is only a pity that it was not possible to ride a car with a new three-liter 231-horsepower V6 engine and a seven-speed automatic transmission. The basic 2.5 -liter four confidently pulls from the bottom and good on the off -road (in the Arsenal Navara there is both a lowering and forced blocking of the rear inter -long differential) and at high load. But on the highway of 190 forces, slowly chewed by a five -stage automatic machine, they are reluctant to disperse the pickup, so you have to think over the hazardous Siberian roads in advance.
But Navara is quite comfortable for a car with a rear bridge on springs. Perhaps he has the most smooth move among pickups, and he becomes even softer when loading. Add to this a convenient interior and you will receive a completely suitable pickup for long -range. What I was convinced, dismissing it about 150 kilometers from Ulan-Ude to the coast of Baikal.
INTERIOR:
The interior of Navara is well assembled and quite comfortable for such a utilitarian car. But the quality of the materials is still lower than in the Pathfinder nozzle SUV.
Behind the automatic selector, a rotating handle was ongoing for choosing a transmission mode (2WD, AUTO, 4N and 4L), as well as the ESP disconnection buttons and heating the seats.
In the central opening armrest of Navara there is a rather roomy box, inside which there are USB, AUX connectors, as well as a 12-volt outlet.
Murano
Three in the morning in Moscow. Eight in the morning in New Enkhaluk. The thermometer in the heated Murano shows minus 27. V-shaped 3.5-liter gasoline six, gaining the desired temperature, dumps the speed to idle and becomes almost silent. You can climb inside.
Interior:
The hospitable Murano salon is very good: soft leather, expensive plastic, villous rugs, comfortable steering wheel.
The color screen was enough for brightness even on the bright Siberian sun, and navigation knows Transbaikal roads.
A clean, informative, with a pleasant backlight panel of Murano devices is hidden in three deep wells.
The interior of the crossover is his strong side. It is cozy here, the devices are highlighted with soft light, the powerful heating of the seats quickly levels the cold of leather seats, the planting in the soft chair is relaxed and comfortable, and it is a pleasure to control the multimedia system and secondary functions. However, the face is terrible, kind inside, this is about Murano. Most colleagues and ordinary motorists consider the appearance of this SUV, well, softly, say, ambiguous. This is probably the reason for very modest sales.
It's a pity. After all, in addition to controversial appearance, there is nothing much to complain about Murano. If only to American chassis settings: an empty steering wheel relaxes on a straight line, but there is not enough information content in the turns, and the corners of turning the steering wheel are great. Murano suspension is unlikely to appeal to lovers of active driving for this, it is too soft, and the rolls are too large. But supporters of comfort will appreciate both excellent smoothness and high energy intensity.
A powerful 3.5 -linen engine gives a large crossover dynamics, which, after a Navara turbodiesel, seems just hurricane. And even the variator is just right here: it perfectly imitates the work of a conventional machine gun and makes the engine hang at high speeds only in case of frank provocation with a gas pedal recede. But even then the V6 voice is not annoying.
Springboard
Flight!
On the way from Enkhaluk to the next point of the thermal source route (water temperature about 40 degrees Celsius), a narrow strip of asphalt suddenly ends and passes into the frozen rocky grader with skulls and taps. Murano swallows a trifle almost imperceptibly, and only on large bumps a little more disturbing passengers of energy intensity and passages is enough so as not to break through and not dissolve the suspension to the limiters. As a result, my colleague and I agreed that for yesterday’s stroke from Ulan-Ude to Baikal a comfortable Murano would have approached much better than a hard-male pickupa.
Juke
The Juke crossover is one of the most successful novelties of the past year was waiting for us on the Baikal ice, where a huge platform was allocated for him, the size of a football field on which it was possible to obscure properly. We have already traveled to the Juke in Moscow and the region, so our Baikal test was rather optional: it was possible to test in the case an unusual all-wheel drive of a turbo juk with two independent couplings in the rear wheels drive.
A powerful turbo-juke with all-wheel drive, but without spikes, unfortunately is not able to develop high speed on ice.
At our disposal was a top modification with a 190 -horsepower turbo engine, all -wheel drive and variator. But on non -navigated tires. Probably, the organizers decided in this way to protect themselves from too high speeds on insidious ice. The danger is that when driving in a drift, Juke sometimes abruptly finds a hook when overcoming even small snowy moves, which at high speeds could lead to bad consequences.
The interior of Nissan Juke is one of the most mischievous among crossovers. But despite the apparent toy, it is ergonomically verified (if you forget about the rear passengers): to use levers and buttons responsible for different functions is convenient here.
Therefore, slide on Velcro! The stabilization system on the stabilization system is sensitive. Its target with minimal sliding with the most incorrect actions of the driver is nevertheless to season the car into a turn. But now we need not at all! Therefore, turn off ESP another thing! Let Juke not allow you to completely exclude the intervention of electronics, but even a partially deactivated ESP allows you to effectively throw a skid crossover into a skid.
Is it strange to see traces of blocked wheels when driving by car with ABS? No wonder: at low (up to 5 kilometers per hour) speeds, the anti -lock system is turned off.
True, Juke also requires a certain dexterity. Under the traction, Juke rises sideways sideways, all the time strives to leave the turn. But it is worth making a slight counter -schedule, how the Juke is put up, the four -wheel drive redistributes the moment almost equally between the axes (according to the sensations), and now the car can be fan, only slightly steering and playing the accelerator when the coating changes.
A variator that does not have fixed steps, it would seem, should have interfered with the side side. In reality, it was really unusual to drive the machine: in addition to dosing with gas, this can also be done through a stray transmission, which constantly changes the gear ratio. It turns out a certain equation with two unknowns, the solution of which lies exclusively in the field of rolling.
Nevertheless, the main impression of ice punch: if everything is done right, ESP does not interfere at all, and Juke becomes a very mischievous car. On it you can go to the ice route in some goat or tushino and receive your portion of pleasure.
If everything is done correctly, neither ESP nor the variator interferes: Juke rides sideways with pleasure!
Qashqai
Although Kashkai was declared a separate number of our program, it really failed to travel on it. But the loss is not great: a huge number of tests, notes and articles are already written about Qashqai. We also wrote about him.
The main reason for meeting on the ice of Baikal was the circular review system, which has recently been available for ordering on the Russian market for the crossover in the top trimions SV+ and LE+ with the Connect multimedia system, navigation and panoramic roof. However, we also talked about this in more detail.
Interior
In the most sophisticated set of LE+ to customers in the database, a multimedia system Connect with an 8-inch color screen and navigation is available. For the SE+ and SV+ set, this is an option.
The screen can be divided into two parts, on one of which the image from the rear view camera will be shown, and the other view from above. And you can derive the image from each individual camera.
The operation of the circular review system is provided by four built -in cameras: one in the rear view mirrors, one on the radiator grill and one in the rear emblem on the luggage door.
How did we check the operation of the viewing system? On the ice platform, ice cones were placed according to a very confusing scheme. It was necessary to maneuver between them exclusively with the help of onboard electronics. The picture on the screen is clear and not very distorted. True, the option is the most convenient when the desired circle of the circle is largely shown small image and not too informative. And, as always, in Russia there is another question: what will happen to the cameras on our ever -dirty roads? In Baikal, reagents do not pour.
Unfortunately, in the two days that we spent in the company of eight all -wheel drive Nissan models in Transbaikalia, they all failed to test them in the case: the program was planned in such a way that it was not possible to do this in principle.
Therefore, the ancestor of the Patrol clan, and X-Trail, and the only all-wheel drive sedan in the gamut of Nissan Teana, and a one-platform with a Navara Pathfinder SUV, passed. So there is a reason to return to these cars again.
Nissan Patrol 4W60
The first Nissan car with all -wheel drive Patrol 4W60 of 1951. Even from the photo it is clear that Patrol was created on the basis of American Willis (Willys MB and Ford GPW). However, the patrol turned out to be larger: the Japanese decided to install a large (3.7 liter) on it and a rather powerful (85 horsepower) NT85 engine from a truck, the moment from which was transmitted to four drive wheels through a three- or four-speed gearbox and handouts. The Nissan 4W60 wheeled base was 2.2 meters, it was 30 centimeters longer than Willis and 16 centimeters wider. The total mass increased to 1,500 kilograms, and the carrying capacity to 360 kilograms.
Source: Motor magazine [March 2012]
