Opel Antara test drive since 2007 SUV

Test drive Opel Antara: assertive goby

As you know, in Russia there are only two troubles are fools and roads. Apparently, it is precisely this that has recently been connected by an increase in the number of jeeps and crossovers on the streets of the city. After all, as the facts show, large cars allow you to survive the meeting with minimal losses both with the first and second.
Following this trend, Opel has released Antara crossover, according to the manufacturer’s plan, designed to replace the old Frontera. However, outwardly, two cars have little in common. Opel Antara body lines resembles a strong bull, such an aggressive and muscular representative of the Spanish Corrida. Silver accents on a massive bumper and side air intakes only increase the similarity. Both the front and the rear bumper, by the way, are plastic, which will avoid minor troubles (read, scratches), so often happening to drivers of the fair sex.
However, the excellent visibility of the side mirrors Antara will most likely relieve the need to use a plastic bumper for parking to a characteristic sound. Together with audio parlotics, they allow you to practically not notice the impressive dimensions of the machine. By the way, sound parking sensors, which helps not to wipe someone in traffic, but incredibly annoying if you make your way between cars in the yard, you can turn off the button on the central console if you wish.
However, if the manufacturer has foreseen the protection from minor damage to the body, then the difficulties with covered parking lots in Russia as a whole, and in Moscow in particular, clearly did not think. The car that I got to the test drive was not even six months, and Rusta was already clearly noted by the luggage door. (So \u200b\u200bthey climb into the head of the memories of the dying advertisement of Muscovite about the body with the galley).
Be that as it may, the trunk door reveals to us very impressive opportunities for placing all sorts of things. The volume of the trunk Antara is 1024 liters, and folded in a ratio of 2: 1 seat and the absence of a central jumper on the floor on the floor, allow you to easily place 4 snowboarding, equipment and, in fact, snowboarders themselves in the car. However, it is worth noting that the rear passengers after the first half hour of the trip began to complain about the inconvenience of seats, which entailed numbness of all limbs.
But the front seats seemed very convenient to me. The lateral support and the extensive capabilities of the electronic adjustment of the chair allowed me to sit with incredible comfort, and, thanks to the possibility of changing the position of the steering wheel, it was possible to solve the problem from the wheel of the road is not visible. The front passenger, by the way, has to be content with mechanical adjustment of the chair.
And, of course, one cannot fail to note such a detail as the hatch in the roof of Antara. You can open it completely and on the principle of the window. Moreover, the hatch is arranged in such a way that air flows do not burst into the car at a huge speed, but unobtrusively provide an influx in the salon of fresh air. If desired, the hatch glass can be closed with a curtain, but I incredibly liked to watch how the last snowflakes fall on the glass this year.
The salon of the car that I got was finished with black skin. At the same time, door handles, steering wheel knitting needles and deflectors are emphasized by silver lines that look quite organically. But the plastic inserts under a tree located on a glove and doors, in my opinion, look ridiculous and inappropriate against the background of gray plastic surrounding them.
The rest of the interior Antara in the Cosmo Premium Plus configuration has rare asceticism. There were no cup holders, nor ashtrays, or even a place where you can more or less securely secure a bottle of water. But there is a drawer that has already become a traditional box on the central console, and part -time and adjustable length of the driver for the driver.
Almost all the useful space between the seats is occupied by a phone slot. By the way, I did not have to use it, since the phone easily connects with the machine by means of Blue-Tooth. Thanks to this high -tech details, the place between the seats remains only for the original pen, for which the front passenger can hold on on a bad road or at high speed, and a hand brake made in the same style. (Oh, I would not confuse!).
But the dashboard is teeming with different buttons and levers. There is a built -in radio, air conditioning, and even side mirrors and parking sensors. Such an abundance suggests that it is designed more on a passenger than a driver, since the latter on the go will not be easy to figure out where to press.
 
However, this is not a problem for the driver - managing all functions, with the exception of the air conditioner, is carried out on the steering wheel. Thus, the driver can, without looking up from production, choose the necessary option for an on -board computer and even answer a phone call, which is incredibly relevant in the light of amendments to the traffic rules. By the way, the phone connects to the car system via Blue-Tooth in literally three movements. After that, information about incoming calls appears on the on -board computer display, and to answer it is enough to press one button. The voice of the caller will be heard through the audio system of the car, and the driver's words will capture the built -in microphone. At the same time, the sound quality, both incoming and outgoing, does not lose at all in quality.
The problem arises only with a set of telephone numbers made by the joystick to do this without being distracted from the road, in my opinion, it is impossible. In principle, the system provides access through the onboard computer to your phone book. However, non-Russian electronics does not recognize the Cyrillic alphabet, and Sumsung completely refused to read any information from the apparatus of Sumsung.
At the same time, the on -board computer, in addition to standard options, allows you to get acquainted with more interesting information, up to tire pressure. But information about the engine temperature cannot be obtained. As explained to me in the cabin, if the temperature becomes a critical, the on -board computer will immediately report this. But the temperature inside the machine is felt without any indicators. The air conditioning in Antara for a week of communication was not possible to configure at a more or less acceptable temperature for life, neither me nor a driver with 20 years of experience.
On the central console is located, among other things, the button of the disconnection of the course stability system. Well, since there is a button, then it must certainly be pressed. As it turned out, with the ESP disconnected, the crossover delves serious when the brake is not pressed even on a straight road, slightly powdered by snow.
 
By the way, the brakes of the car are very smooth, that is, you must be prepared for the fact that for a quick stop to slightly crush the pedal will not be enough. And the rest of Antara with an automatic transmission and 230 horses under the hood is not very located on sharp movements. The car accelerates for a long time and thoughtfully, and if necessary to overtake someone, you will have to press the accelerator pedal to the floor so that the Kickdown function turns on. But switching automatic speeds is not felt at all.
But getting out of delicate situations of the automatic transmission does not bother at all. The crossover, which automatically switches to all -wheel drive on a slippery road and when turning on the winter mode, with ease, and almost without application to human horsepower, got out of the snowdrift, where it was safely driven in search of a beautiful background for a photo shoot.
It was also pleased that the speed in Antara is practically not felt. I, accustomed to small brisk cars, was 120 km/h that I was not more than 60 km/h. However, and at 170 km/h, the car changes little remains stable. But fuel consumption begins to unpleasantly surprise at 120 km/h, approaching 17 liters per 100 km.
The situation is no better in the city cycle, so the car clearly prefers to the city by Moscow traffic jams out of town. Moreover, it is preferably on not the worst roads: if small irregularities on the road behind the wheel of Antara can not be noticed, then the potholes are larger, thanks to a hard suspension, are felt by the whole body.
In general, it is not yet clear whether Antara will be able to replace the old Frontera in the hearts of Russians with its calm assertiveness, but so far I have not met a single representative of this model on the streets of Moscow.
 
 
 

A source: Business car club