Opel Antara test drive since 2007 SUV
Arsenal players
They are produced in one workshop of the St. Petersburg plant Arsenal, and although the dealers are now presented by Antara, made in Korea, the word Russia will be written in the PE-TE ESKs of both our heroes. It is all the more interesting to try to guess which of the two GM crossovers will be more in demand with us: as it turned out, these are completely different Chevrolet Captiva and Opel Antara cars.
Five and seven
We have already forgotten what an Opel crossover is: Frontera ended her age before the start of the automobile boom in Russia. Well, Chevrolet, having bought Daewoo, generally decided to imagine a parker from Korea for the first time.
So we have not just new products, but models trying to win authority for their brands in the new segment from scratch.
These cars are doomed to similarity alone with the history of their creation (there would have been a common platform, the same design of the main elements, but even one plant to say).
Obviously, understanding this is better than others, GM initially did everything to breed Captiva and Antara in the minds of buyers. And, in general, they did it.
The main difference, known before the test: the Opel crossover is fundamentally five -seater; It is designed to compete with the same five -seater models from Peugeot, Honda, Toyota, Ford, etc.
Chevrolet is also proposed in a seven -seater design (although we got a more rare, five -seater option for the test), which seriously expands the number of potential buyers.
It turns out that this car is not just for the family, but for a large family. And at a price he competes with the most inexpensive crossovers: mainly, by the way, also Korean.
However, outside all these differences are invisible. Yes, captiva is more massive, longer, and perhaps that is why the lines of its body seem to be coarser, and the silhouette is heavy.
True, there are still more similar features: not too original headlights, a wide strip on the radiator grill, the complete absence of shocking elements. Relatives are relatives.
I saw it somewhere And the salons of both crossovers are at least similar to the fact that only one who has not been sitting in Opel or Korean Chevrolet and, accordingly, does not know the latest standards of their design for a long time, can find in them.
Sit in Vectra (or even in Astra) get acquainted with the features of Epica ergonomics: all the same, well, maybe in a slightly modernized version you will see in Antara and Captiva.
If you do not pay attention to a high landing and an unusual review for the city model, you can’t even say where you are sitting: in a middle class sedan or in a SUV.
Both cars have a certain corporate identity: respectively Opelsky and Chevroletovsky. For example, the lighting of devices in Opel is yellowish, and in Chevrolet greenish.
The forms and location of the keys on the central console, the buttons on the steering wheel, fonts and edges of the devices are all as in already known models. Carefully, but without a highlight.
Of course, there are also differences that can be evaluated by categories better and more. So, the central console of the Korean German is stricter and looks like a whole, but his opponent cannot boast of this.
The Opel chair is hospitable for the driver’s body, but here the difference is not fundamental especially since the side support is good there and there.
The range of adjustments of the seats is pleasing, which allows people of different heights normally. The review in both crossovers is good, and the side mirrors are simply magnificent.
The steering wheel is more pleasant to the touch in Chevrolet (Ophevsky seemed more slippery); It is only a pity that both bagels are too big and their rotation itself does not give pleasure.
A brief result: a new word in the design of both a specific element and the entire salon as a whole could not say. However, they did not seem to try.
Rezteability is the norm of life?
For the owner of Chevrolet, driving with endless turns and restructuring is unlikely to become a favorite pastime. Not that it is impossible, by no means, but the driver and passengers are unlikely to enjoy it.
The reactions to turn the steering wheel in Captiva are blurry, the pedals are not the most informative (in particular, the free brake stroke is great), and it is not easy to dose the effort. Finally, the rolls are too big; Besides; Each Captiva stop accompanies a rather sharp clutch of the bow.
It may seem that the 3.2-liter engine does not give out 227 liters laid according to a passport. With. This sensation is deceptive: the craving is not impressive only at first, and yet 297 Nm of torque, yes, are worth something! If you handle the gas more careful and do not nervously sink the pedal nervously on the floor (the machine will still not rush for you), the car will delight with a confident set of speed and a typically chevrolet bass rumble of the motor.
At the wheel of an Opel, the desire to ride with a breeze appears faster. The official position of the GM on this score is formulated as follows: Antara has pronounced sports notes.
On the go, the German really seemed more collected and tenacious. Apparently, the whole thing is several other chassis settings than Captiva. As a result, Antara, although it does not show outstanding fighting qualities, does not allow strong rolls in corners, and the driver responds to the commands of the driver much more willingly.
True, the engine does not forgive the machine gun with a volume of 2.4 liters of a 2.4 liter of errors: if you drop the speed first, and then second, the car will need a lot of time to get together with thoughts. What is the sports
On the other hand, Antara offers automatic transmission with the possibility of manual switching: just for such cases.
The softer the coating the better in full -time dispute looks chevrolet. On the asphalt, even with cracks and pits, Opel takes his own: here his suspension is clearly more comfortable.
But when you move out of the road, it becomes obvious that a more imposing and even rocker captiva is better to storm bumps. And in terms of cross -country ability, it is at least not inferior to Opel.
And yet they are together!
In a world where the fate of many projects is determined by the words economic feasibility, strange, at first glance, decisions may have a very real explanation.
Two of the casket casket of this concern GM opened for a reason. The difference between Antara and Captiva is actually very significant. Each of them claims to be a wallet and sympathy of a certain buyer, so that the decision to bring to the market two, seemingly similar crossovers, does not seem strange.
PRISTRITY, price, engine power, passenger capacity, behavior in the city and on a bad road along all the main parameters of Opel differs from Chevrolet.
The buyer Antara is more aggressive, obviously more often travels in the city and is ready to pay extra for status. Anyone who prefers Captiva, in our opinion, is rather not a racer, but a traveler interested in a relatively passable car for seven.
And who are you?..
Opel Antara Specifications
(manufacturer data):
Dimensions (length/width/height) 4 580 mm/1 850 mm/1 704 mm
Road clearance 200 mm
Engine volume and power of 2.4 liters. /140 hp
Acceleration to 100 km/h 13.3 s
Maximum speed 170 km/h
Average fuel consumption 10.1 l
Trunk size 370 l
Price
Basic: 897 000 rub.
In maximum configuration: 937 000 rub.
Note:
In the near future, Antara with a 3.2 l engine will enter the market
Chevrolet Captiva Specifications
(manufacturer data):
Dimensions (length/width/height) 4 635 mm/1 850 mm/1 720 mm
Road clearance 200 mm
Engine volume and power 3.2 l. /225 hp (diesel)
Acceleration to 100 km/h 8.8 s
Maximum speed 204 km/h
Average fuel consumption 9.3 l
Trunk size 465 l
Price
Basic: 792 200 rubles.
In maximum configuration: 1 028 400 rub.
Note:
Chevrolet immediately offered a more powerful 3.2 l engine: so now dear Captiva is more expensive than expensive Antara
Cars are provided for the Laura company test, the official GM dealer.
Text: Philip Berezin Alexander Mikhailov,
Photo: Roman Ostanin
A source: Wheel magazine [December 2007]
