Test drive by Renault Kangoo 2003 - 2005 Minivan

Not only for fun

Passenger and cargo Renault Cangu has been produced in France (mob) since 1997. The cargo van with an express express index has no windows in the back of the body. Express maxi with an enlarged cargo compartment is also released.
 
Renault Kanga is equipped with a 1.4 l with a power of 55 kW/75 liters with a gasoline engine. With. and a diesel engine 1.5 l (48 kW/65 hp) in combination with a mechanical gearbox. A four -speed Proactive automatic machine was also installed on a car with a gasoline engine. In 2001, a full -wheel drive Kangu 4x4 was released.
 
In 2003, the appearance, interior were modernized, a 16-valve gasoline engine of 1.6 liters, 70 kW/95 liters appeared. With. and turbodiesel 1.9 liters, 63 kW/85 liters. With.

Multifunctional cars like Kanga in France are called Lyudospas, in free translation - a lot of space for fun. Spaces on wheels, of course. Around these mobile spaces there is a serious competition. As soon as Peugeot and Citroen was updated last year, a partner and Berlingo, Renault immediately answered the modernization of Kanga. By the way, unlike competitors, Kanga has a serial version with all -wheel drive transmission, which immediately raises its status in the eyes of travelers choosing complex routes. True, this is not officially supplied to Russia.
 
Sandword and shelves
Cosmetic operations made Kang more stylish, in the spirit of the new design of the company. And now even a cursory glance at him is enough to accurately determine the belonging to the rhombus clan.
 
Enjoying the impressive space of the salon, I try to figure out in detail what is new inside. The front panel is original: visually it is divided into three parts. A kind of sandwich: white bread, butter and black caviar from above. The role of bread is played by a powerful lower part of the panel of light plastic. It includes a glove box, a central console torn from the floor with a receiver and four control handles - heating, ventilation and air conditioning; Bloc of adjusting the rear -view mirrors and headlight corrector; The rear window heating switch. In the role of oil - a strip with ventilation deflectors. The black layer is crowned by the caviar. Such a comparison by itself was born due to the granular texture of plastic. In the black part of the front panel - devices, a display of an audio center, excavation under the small things on the right side and a grid of loudspeakers along the edges.
 
By the way, the new panel, combined with a changed shape of the basic elements of the body, significantly increased the passive safety of Kanga, reducing the risk of injury to the knee joints.
 
In the lateral pockets of the front doors are hidden units of electric windows control. The door sides of a rather hard light plastic, from which the front panel is made, but to add comfort, the armrest was covered with a cloth. The sliding rear doors are deprived of softening circumstances, and the windows in them can only be opened.
 
The true convenience for people traveling and practical, of course, in the abundance of shelves and drawers. In addition to the traditional glove, there is an open shelf above the windshield and boxes with folding lids under the ceiling behind the front seats, two on each side. The shelves look modest, but in volume they are very impressive: about 100 liters.
 
On the Spanish turn
Check the updated Kangu happened on the roads of Spain. Some disappointment befell me when, sitting behind the wheel, I did not find its adjustments, although I knew that the designers worked on the steering mechanism. It turned out that the changes only affected the folding device for a traumatic column.
 
The driver's seat is adjusted in the longitudinal direction and along the corner of the back of the back; Neither lift the pillow nor lower. At the same time, the seat is convenient and you can get a job quite comfortable. According to the designers, in the manufacture of chairs, new foam is used, which provides better side support. Caring for the driver is also manifested in large, truly comfortable rear-view mirrors with electroregulation.
 
While you go around the city and often squeeze the clutch, you do not immediately notice the absence of the site under the left leg. And having left on the track, you understand that it would not be superfluous.
 
The engine is quite alive, but not too much. When moving to rise, a lack of traction is felt in the range from low to medium speeds. But the new canga is noticeably quieter than his predecessor. This was facilitated by a change in the attachment of the power unit, as well as new noise -absorbing panels.
 
At speed over a hundred, impulses of the side wind are very noticeable. The driver needs to be ready for them, leaving for open space. It seemed to me that in the turns the car is prone to side swing, but at the same time keeps the road quite tenacious. Perhaps you should slightly change the suspension settings.
 
However, Kanga was not created to satisfy the ambitions of riders. Its task is to ensure comfort and joy in long trips.
 

The rear sliding doors are convenient and practical. Wide plastic overlays on the sidewalls harmonize with bumper overlays.
 

Under the ceiling, large shelves, as in an airplane.
 
Vladimir Solovyov. Photo by the author
 
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"