West drive Opel Signum 2003 - 2005 hatchback

"Extracurricular" work

Opel Combined a new class car
Opel Signum, which recently appeared in the salons of car dealers, in fact, opens a new segment of the car market. In the General Motors concern, it is called Signum class. However, this car can be called clearer and more precisely. For example, a business class station wagon with great possibilities for transformation of the salon.
Let's start with quotes by ADAM Opel AG: by offering Signum, we will interest customers of cars of other brands that have never thought about Opel before; We are convinced that for about 40% of Signum buyers this model will be the first Opel car. What is such confidence in such a high purpose of Signum?
Today, Opel is well aware that to fight with such grads as BMW, Mercedes or Audi, on their own field, that is, in the category of business class cars, which means that it is obviously condemning yourself to play the role of the second-plan. Too conservative in preferences to prestigious brands their owners.
They are not dared to Rosselsheim and risky design experiments: after all, for most Germans of the main buyers of Opel, this brand is not at all associated with the vanguard.
In order to expand the circle of fans, Opel went along the path of creating an unusual machine, which differs from competitors with a set of consumer properties. A significant part (according to Opel leaders, up to 40%) of new models from Rousselsheim should go beyond the established classes of cars and even determine new ones. The first machine of this series was the Opel Zafira seven -seater Mikroven with the controllability of a thoroughbred hatchback. Then Meriva appeared a compact city car with a disproportionately large salon for its overall size. Finally, Signum debuted a comfortable business class station wagon, which submits comfort to passengers at the representative level of a representative class. Moreover, its price is at least a third lower than that of competitors. In the salons of Russian dealers, the prices for Signum with a 2.2 liter engine start at $ 30,300, and for a version with a 3.2 liter engine from $ 38,800.
Transcontinental express
The car in today's Europe with its developed network of highways has become a real alternative to aircraft and speed train. It is no coincidence that companies pay more and more attention to the creation of machines of spaces. Such models should meet three main criteria: to be quick, comfortable and spacious. Opel Signum of them.
A signum with a top gasoline engine V6 with a volume of 3.2 l with a capacity of 211 hp went to the test. (In addition, cars with a 2.2-l gas engine with a capacity of 147 hp will be supplied to the Russian market with a gasoline engine) and a 6-speed manual gearbox. This motor gives the car a very impressive dynamics acceleration to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds. Moreover, the gear rates in the box are selected in such a way that they allow you to fully use the power of the motor at the start and when accelerated at high speeds. The elasticity of the motor is impressive: the car confidently accelerates in the sixth gear, and when driving in a leisurely urban mode, you can safely turn on the fifth gear already at a speed of 50 km/h. However, by the status and ideology of Signum (especially with a 3.2 l engine), an automatic gearbox is much more suitable. Still, a business class car, which SIGNUM does not correspond to a pen without any stretch.
The car offers the rear passengers maximum comfort. The distance to the backs of the front seats of 985 mm more has not achieved one competitor so far. This allows you to sit in the second row, throwing your leg by the leg. Opel engineers designed the central rear seat in such a way that when a pillow is coupled, it forms a kind of console with a separation for storing various items. The back of the same central seat folds and can serve as an armrest. All three chairs (each individually) are added by one press on the lever that perches at the base of the chair. In this case, a completely flat loading space is formed.
Signum suspension was created to ensure comfort when traveling over long distances. At high speed, the car confidently holds even a bad road, without swinging on the gentle waves of asphalt. Such a setting is ideal for people suffering from a gastard version of the marine illness. In the city drive mode, Signum smoothness does not cause complaints: when traveling tram tracks, vibration is not transmitted to control organs, however, to call the car move soft or stealing means to scatter the soul.
Signum leaves the impression of a balanced, comfortable and at the same time extremely practical car. Although in this barrel of honey there is a spoonful of tar: Signum has extremely uncomfortable steering switches and a confusing circuit for controlling microclimate and on -board computer. The levers of turns and control of the wipers have no fixed positions. I could not get used to their algorithm in four days: it was not difficult to turn on the turn signals or wipers, but it was sometimes problematic to turn it off. It is extremely difficult to unravel the puzzles called the air conditioner and find the necessary data on the computer. Of course, these shortcomings could be called insignificant if the sliced \u200b\u200bgoverning bodies did not have to use too often.
Despite the obvious advantages of the car, the Opel management is in no hurry to guarantee that Signum will become a bestseller of the market: after all, the format of this model is too unusual for the advanced European market. Production volumes are outlined quite modest 85,000 copies per year. As we have already said, the Signum super -task is to attract new customers to the Opel brand and the reconnaissance of a new market niche. And a detachment of scouts is never numerous ...
Igor Komarov
 

Source: Wheel (company)