Test drive Nissan Skyline compartment 2002 - 2007 sedan

Review Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype. Blimey!!!

Blimey! And again yes!
I must notice that I was looking forward to the meeting with the prototype of the Nissan Skyline Coupe of the new generation. And, perhaps, precisely because I attached such a great importance to this meeting, in the last minutes before the trial of the testing arrival there were not without some excitement. I really did not want to remain disappointed. For what reason?, You ask. The fact is that on the way from Mamambets Airport to the Nissan Rikubetsu Test Course testing ground, I had to sit behind the wheel of a Skyline new development sedan. Incidentally, it is equipped with a 4-wheeled steering wheel drive system (that is, it has a steaming rear wheels, abbreviated 4was). So, the impression of driving on this new sedan was not too encouraging the length of the route of only 90 km, and he exhausted me pretty much. Imagine: you hold a steering wheel in your hands and constantly feel its rather noticeable resistance. It is clear that hence the discomfort, hence the anxiety. And the suspension could also be called smoothly acting: the body constantly experienced shaking. And this is only a sedan, I thought with chagrin, and then what to expect from a compartment, whose chassis, as is customary, should have even greater rigidity, since the compartment is always slightly more sports than the sedan!. Such thoughts made me doubt whether Skyline Coupe Prototype will have to my liking.
However, all the fears were in vain, I understood this as soon as I got behind the wheel of a new car and drove a few hundred meters on it. Blimey! And again yes!, I could not restrain my admiration. And you know what I will tell you? Of all Nissan cars that I have tried recently, this is the only one that conquered me immediately and for real! Yes exactly: the prototype of the new Skyline Coupe is made in such a way that from the very first seconds of communication with it you begin to experience the kindest location for it.
If you believe the authors of the new project, the Skyline sedan they created is attractiveness and grace in the movement plus traction characteristics, that is, speed. As for the Skyline Coupe car, the creators respond to it as follows: we sought to make it to achieve super -entertaining plus supergrowth and ultra -construction. In other words, it was assumed that the car in the body of the coupe should be like a sedan, but only taken with the prefix over. In this regard, the question arises: whether the designers and designers responsible for the project managed to realize this plan, and if so, to what extent? You can, of course, conduct a thorough comparative analysis and get a more or less accurate answer. However, this path seems to me not quite correct. In this case, I personally include a simplified assessment on an emotional basis on the principle of yes or not. In other words, watching how the car behaves in a particular situation, I ask myself: is it (yes) or not good (no)?. So, it turned out that the prototype of the Nissan Skyline Coupe of the new generation is one continuous yes. Otherwise, how to explain the fact that all the time, while I was holding on to the steering wheel, there was almost no joyful, unconscious smile from my face (I traced)?!
 
The new VVEL engine has positive changes!
The first stage of testing is the race along the high -speed ring of the track, which is made according to the model and likeness of a typical German autobahn. It is clear that super -free riding can be introduced into a state close to euphoria, so I was ready to do this. But what I did not expect in any way is that I will begin to get excited even before the car picks up speed. What is the speed! To feel extraordinary enthusiasm, it was enough for me to only move and leave the parking lot, how! What inspired me so much, you ask. I answer: amazing smoothness in the operation of the steering mechanism, which I felt immediately as soon as I began to act with a steering wheel. It is generally accepted that one of the main sign of a class car is that which is usually called a sense of steering wheel and wheel. So, I must admit that in this regard, the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype machine, which is equipped with an improved system of active steering, is a candy.
After I left the parking lot, I had to move along the auxiliary track for some time to get to the main ring of the test track. So, already along the way, I realized that in terms of grace on the move, a new compartment noticeably exceeds the related sedan. However, one cannot forget that the new Nissan Skyline Coupe is going to equip the VQ37VHR new development engine, which is equipped with a valve operating system with variable phases VVL (Variable Valve Electronic) and which has an increased cylinders to 3.7 liters. This innovation immediately made itself felt, as soon as I started to move. I will say more: this engine is perhaps the main attraction and the key to the success of the new machine. Judge for yourself: thanks to the operation of the VVEL system, which, in fact, is an analogue of the Valvetronic device used in BMW cars, the engine can develop power up to 330 hp, and issue a torque of 37.0 kg-m. At the same time, it is quite safe in terms of the content of harmful substances in the exhaust gases (the engine is a category of 4 stars). As for the fuel consumption, it consumes it 8 percent less than the VQ35HR engine, although its working volume is 200 more cubes. And one more fundamental feature: it decided to abandon the design of the inlet system, which provides for the leading disclosure of the throttle valve (as occurs in the engine of the VQ35HR model). As a result, this turned out to be: if you move out, driving the Nissan Skyline sedan, then this start is quite sharply, since the throttle is revealed disproportionately for the gas pedal. As for the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car, but the developed power is directly proportional to the power with which the driver presses the accelerator, and this leads to the fact that the start proceeds more smoothly and measuredly.
Like the motors that are equipped with the Valvetronic system, the VQ37VHR engine in terms of the skill, figuratively speaking, to play along with a voice was not a very bright representative of the Nissan family. That is, I want to say that for some reasons, for example, because adjusting the number of air entering the air cylinders goes without the help of a throttle valve, the nature of the sound design of a working engine has become somehow wrong. After all, this is what it turns out: thanks to the action of the VVL system, the engine power curve became cooler, and along the entire speed range, and, it would seem, the noise from the motor should also abruptly switch to an increased tone when the motor goes. Not really. If only by ear, then you cannot determine the change in the mode of operation of the motor. In addition to everything, several different soundproofing materials were used in the compartment than in the salon of the sedan, which is why the noise of the motor is made completely inexperienced. And this, in turn, leads to an even greater gap between the work actually performed by the engine and, so to speak, with the sound accompaniment of this work. But if you compare, then of course, the compartment develops a lot of traction than a sedan related to him, there is nothing to argue about. Moreover, this increase in power, which at the time of overcoming the inertia of peace is completely unable to feel, then sharply makes itself felt when the car has to accelerate. And here it is no longer important whether it is about initial acceleration (that is, starting at zero speed), or about secondary acceleration, that is, a sharp increase in speed, when it is already great. In the first and second cases, the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car demonstrated excellent dynamics. Of course, it would be useful to shift the peak of power in turnover slightly higher, but on the other hand, such a displacement would worsen the dynamics in the middle range, that is, at those turns that are most often used in practical driving. Therefore, it is worth recognizing: the engine setting up is a very successful balance between the practical, and, so to speak, the sports side.
It’s just a pity that only 5 steps are provided in the automatic gearbox. Of course, for sure, the new SkyLine Coupe line with a 6-speed transmission with manual switching will provide. Moreover, such a box was developed exclusively in the calculation on the compartment. True, although this box has become more pleasant to the touch, it is still impossible to say that it gives the driver an exhaustive sensual pleasure from switching speeds. Speaking so, I nevertheless understand the conventionality of the assessment I bear. Indeed, in general, against the backdrop of the excellent controllability of the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car, the question of the nuances about the nuances in managing the box seems to be such an insignificant topic that it is somehow indecent to recall this.
 
It seems that you are managing a Mercedes
On the high -speed ring highway of the Nissan testing ground, which is discussed, a speed of not more than 180 km/h is set. At such a high speed, the body simply presses on the road and then freezes, like a glove. It is a pleasure to drive a car, which holds the body evenly and does not move. And even when I had to overcome the plots (and such), where the coating had irregularities, the vibration of the body was much smaller than that of a related sedan. In a word, in this regard, the car made the most favorable impression on me.
I have already mentioned that a high -quality, cool machine does not happen without the debugged operation of the guided wheels, and one of the signs of such a commissioning is the ability to easily hold on a straight path. This is easy when the driver’s hands lie on the steering wheel, and the steering wheel occupies a middle position. And all in order for the car to run strictly along the thread, no additional effort from the driver is required. At the same time, the slightest change in the position of the steering wheel should be accompanied by a calm and subtle reaction of the car. So, the new Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car meets all these requirements in full. If we take and compare it with the same sedan, then there is a steering wheel, being in an average position, becomes too heavy. And although the car is held on a straight line more or less confidently, such a severity, or rather, is more precisely, the excessive resistance turns into an unexpectedly violent reaction of the car, you only need to work out a little by the steering wheel in order to make a subtle adjustment. Because of this, I personally had the feeling that the steering wheel is somehow careless. As for the steering of the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car, its steering wheel occupies a very verified position, and therefore, in order to correct the direction, you only need to change the tilt of the hands lying over the steering wheel, or even just change the tilt of the body. Something similar happens to me when I get to drive a Mercedes car.
However, everything that I said earlier concerns the riding of high -speed, devoid of steep turns to the autobahn. Having made sure that on such a highway to the new Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car it is possible to rely, I moved to the next stage of the tests and ended up on the road imitating the track in the suburbs of a typical German town. This stage, as I was explained, is called Country Course (something like an imitation of an inter-district road). The car, as you know, is equipped with a system of struggle against the lateral drift VDCs, and it, of course, was turned off. At first there was a site where the road was simply bending smoothly. Here I did not have any special complaints in terms of controllability. I will express myself more specifically: by controlling the sedan and entering it in the next smooth turn, it all the time seemed to me that the car would go along a coolest trajectory than I planned. At the wheel of the coupe, such doubts no longer visited me. Meanwhile, the test route passed into the stage of steep turns. Here, when I experienced the sedan, the anxieties that the sedan would go steeper than that, probably, probably, in this regard, he had already been brought to mind. The effect of the system of the 4was-wheel drive system was less noticeable than when I controlled the sedan. That is, the compartment acts softer, but the fact that you hardly notice it, even for the better means you can not take it into account and steer, as usual. Realizing, in such a way that in terms of rotation, the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car is a step forward, compared to the sedan, I finally dare to try the car on the winding section of the highway.
 
The rear axle of the car seems to stick to the road!
I go to a steep turn, for which you need to switch to lowered, and if specifically, then to the 2nd speed. So, you have to slow down. I controlled the machine prototype of the new Skyline Coupe of the sports category, which is standardly equipped with aluminum brake calipers. They immediately let me know that, figuratively speaking, no speed is terrible for them. My leg finds the brake pedal, pressing it, I feel some resistance, and the speed, meanwhile, once, and as if it were not at all! Continuing to keep the brake on, I turn the steering wheel, believing that now the back of the car will be brought to the side, and so I turn it. And suddenly I understand that nothing of the kind, the back of the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype machine that I controlled is not at all inclined to enter. Instead, its rear wheels continue, as if nothing had happened to cling to the road, raking under themselves, and the direction of movement does not change sharply, but gradually. If so, I decide, then I will add a gasket!. No sooner said than done! However, the result was not the same I was counting on. The fact is that the rear wheels did not think to completely lose the clutch with the road, they continued to rest, holding tenaciously by the roadway, the car also gradually changed the direction of movement, and the wheels, meanwhile, suddenly take, and push it forward. That is, full -fledged sliding still did not work. Instead, during the turn of the turn, the car showed a wonderful balance between gliding and raking, and the wheels, while still at some angle to the longitudinal axis, already pushed the car forward. Thanks to this coordinated action of diverse forces, despite the whole steepness of the turn, I managed to go at a relatively high speed.
Well, I thought then, if so, then at the next turn is more sharp!. But this time, the rear wheels did not even think to turn around, continuing to actively build on the surface of the road. Only a little sliding, they again brought the car to the desired course. At the next turn, everything was repeated again, with the only difference being that the steering wheel was even stronger. Yes, I thought, this compartment can not be tanned by anything!. And although I did not like such clumsyness, I still realized that you could rely on such a car.
At the wheel of a related sedan on this site, everything happened a little differently. First of all, it is worth noting that the feeling did not leave me that there was some inconsistency between the turn of the steering wheel and the actual turn of the car. Well, for example, I seem to verify everything, believing that the car will not get further, I dump the gas, I squeeze the brake, and suddenly I feel that the car has an excessive rotation from where the car has come from! In other words, a sharp, uncontrolled transition from the rowing to a sliding state occurs, and as a result, the rotation promising in terms of pleasure is crumpled. I'm trying to do something, slightly add power to the motor, but the throttle valve is designed to work ahead of work, so try to immediately pick up the gas as it should be! At the wheel of Skyline Coupe Prototype I did not encounter such problems, the car constantly showed negative rotation, and the speed control is carried out in a more smooth manner. Therefore, if necessary, it can always be slightly added to the gas, but exactly as much as to only properly chopped up. And this, in turn, means that a steep turn can be passed as you want without losing control over the situation. And if so, it means that there is more pleasure on the turn.
In other words, comparing the Skyline Coupe Prototype car with a stringent horse means choosing an incorrect comparison. I understand that now all those drivers who are used to thinking may think that Skyline with a body compartment is very cool. I myself would not mind if the newly created car was a little more than Norov. But on the other hand, the engine develops a power of 330 horses, the chassis is designed in such a way that, as they say, I don’t want to drive! In this case, it may even be good that the feed of this car behaves as if it is glued to the road with glue. After all, if so, then the behavior of the machine becomes much more predictable, but is it not important when you want to drive and hunt on crooked roads, reanning, steep turns?! With this in mind, it can be fully concluded that by its controllability, the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car is fully consistent with the modern idea of \u200b\u200ba real sports compartment.
It is too early to draw conclusions, but something is already clear
Meanwhile, I decide that it is time for me to reduce the speed to the level when any turn is fulfilled in pleasure without straining, and slowly return to the base. Now you can pay attention to the details inside the cabin. Here, for example, chairs, they are made specifically for a compartment car, it is convenient to sit in them, and at the same time, the seat and the back tightly cover the driver’s body so that you don’t pierce especially in it. Well, the trip was a success in the sense that it became clear to me: the new Skyline Coupe is being done in order to ride in a more correct, natural manner than while driving a related sedan, and it impresses me very much.
At the same time, the final diagnosis, it seems to me, is early, and that's why. Like it or not, the option I tested is only the Nissan Skyline Coupe prototype, that is, only what is taken as the basis of the future serial machine. Yes, I do not argue, judging by how she showed herself on a special test track, then this is something. But on the other hand, this is only the first stage when they achieve from a promising car to make it give positive results in home, in advance planned conditions. What will happen when he goes on a public road with all its diversity? Don't know. Therefore, I believe that my impressions and the judgments made are true only by 60 percent, nothing more. That is, in order to draw a final conclusion, I need to run into it in natural, and not in the laboratory conditions, so that to my current positive estimates add a solid yes, obtained on ordinary roads. Now it remains only to wait for what I will do with great impatience.
Getting out of the car, I once again walked around her, trying to figure out what she was on her appearance. So, the engine hood is more complex than that of a related sedan, the body itself is also such that you are admired. No, nothing outstanding, but nothing bad!, I concluded. By the way, it should be recalled that the Skyline Coupe of the previous generation turned out to be a universally recognized leader among Japanese cars in a body of a compartment intended for solid drivers. So, judging by external data, Nissan designers, having developed a new Skyline Coupe, took a new step in the same direction. As for the internal content, then there is every reason to consider the newly created car the corresponding idea of \u200b\u200ba solid compartment for serious people.
In short, if we proceed from the fact that the coupe is made in the expectation that such a car is ecliprated with its brilliance sedan, then the Nissan Skyline Coupe Prototype car, which I tested, is one of these coupes! It remains only to drive him along the public roads, and I am convinced: the day when I can do this and when I can make a final assessment, it is not far off. Rather!
 
Technical characteristics of the car
Full length 4 650 mm, full width of 1,824 mm, full height 1395 mm.
Wheel base: 2 850 mm.
Machine weight: 1 660 kg.
Drive: rear.
Engine: 3.7-liter, 6-cylinder with V-shaped cylinders, developed power 243 kW (330 hp) at 7,000 rpm, the largest torque of 366 nm (37.3 kg-m) at 5 200 rpm.
Transmission: 5-speed automatic or 6-speed manual gearbox.
 

   

Source: CarView.co.jp