Renault Latitude test drive since 2010 sedan

Renault Latitude. Tolerance

Renault Latitude. Price: from 835,000 rubles. On sale: Since October 2010

In English Latitude geographical breadth. But this word has other meanings: freedom, vastness and tolerance. Moreover, it is the last translation option that is most suitable for the new Renault Latitude business sedan

Test pilot
Maxim Fedorov, 33 years old, automobile journalist, driving experience 7 years, personal car - Ford Focus II

The gas -pressed gaza pedal, the four -cylinder engine endured strainedly, and throwing the tachometer arrow for half a second one, Renault Latitude, like a weighty liner, began leking over the runway of the Prague Highway. Having occupied the train in the stream and trusting Tomtom's excellent instinct for the standard navigation, we calmly move to the given point of the Test drive route. I do not want to go quickly and take rebuilding from a row to a row. And not only because of the phlegmatic nature of the ligament, a two-liter motor plus variator, but also because of the lack of any understanding with the driver: feedback with the wheels is lost somewhere in the gears of the steering wheel, endowing the car with a rather nervous character.

However, the empty steering wheel is tolerant. Moreover, the car was developed in Korea (on the local market it is called Samsung SM5), where they generally look at such parameters through their fingers. Yes, and, according to Renault marketers, Latitude customers do not need honed controllability at all. For them, the main thing is comfort. They perceive the light steering wheel as a plus, not a minus: it is easier to twist in the parking lot. And that you don’t particularly drive the acceleration in traffic jams, but, standing in Zagor, the driver can enjoy the back massage, relaxing in the air of the salon filled with useful ions and inflated by the built -in flavor.

In general, the massager and the Aromo-Ionizer is presented in the load to the 3-zone climate control of the AROMO-Control as one of the most important competitive advantages over classmates in such a luxury has no other model of the D+segment, including the Nissan Teana contrastment. By the way, these models are only half the nozzle: Latitude front suspension was borrowed from Renault Laguna, and the back, although it is taken from Thean, is also finalized, so that the car would better carry the driving on bad roads. As a result, the chassis turned out to be an oak butt you can’t overdo it! And although when driving irregularities is noticeably shocking to break through the shock absorber to the chipper, you need to try well.

In the guise of Latitude, respect for Koreans is trying to get along with French elegance. But the idyll of such cohabitation manages to achieve only in the salon, where even a plastic imitation of wooden decoration looks quite harmonious. But the appearance of the machine causes an ambiguous reaction. Outside, the large Renault sedan differs from the original under the Samsung brand only by the radiator grill (in shape it is very similar to Loganovskaya), which clearly did not fit into the image conceived by designers. Well, we will wait for restyling ...

But how the perception of the car on its behavior on the road depends! It was worth transferring to the version with Nissanovsky 2.5 V6 and automatically, as I wanted to forgive Latitude all its flaws. This car is going! And not only because the six develops greater power than the four (177 versus 139 hp), and the machine, unlike the variator, does not slow down and does not force the motor to keep the momentum in the same zone, annoying the mournful song. The steering wheel here is completely different. Instead of an electric power, on a more powerful Latitude is an electric hydraulic power, which allows you to feel the car much better.

That's just the difference in the price of 2.0- and 2.5 -fraud versions in the same configuration is 130,000 rubles! Few buyers will want to overpay such a significant amount, so the main rate in Renault is made for less expensive modifications with the variator. You should forget about the racer’s ambitions in the 139 -horsepower Latitude once and for all, but you can rejoice at a rich configuration: in less than a million rubles you can take a car on full minced meat, with a leather salon and rotary bixenon headlights. Quite tolerant! But those who want a massage chair, a three-zone climate control and a panoramic hatch with an electric drive will have to cross a psychological price bar with six zeros almost one hundred thousand wooden.


We do not love
Next to the gearbox lever is the navigator’s joystick. The standard navigation will be available in Russia. At hand

The panoramic glass roof adds light in the cabin, but the ceiling drops too close to the heads of the riders. Light

With a 2.5 V6 motor, the sedan is not only faster accelerates than with a 2.0-liter unit, but is also better controlled. Rides


Driving
In the city, Latitude does not cause questions even with a 2.0 -liter engine. But on the highway, the version 2.5 V6 is definitely better.

Salon
The car is not only spacious, but also homely cozy. What is needed for tireless standing in traffic jams.

Comfort
You can’t call the suspension soft, but the shock absorbers cannot be broken off even on a broken country.

Security
Enter -level versions do not have ESP, but there are 6 eirbags on all modifications.

Price
With a similar level of equipment, Latitude is a little cheaper than Teana.


Advantages and disadvantages
+ A comfortable salon with good quality finishes, an energy -intensive suspension, a rich equipment.
- Sporting design, mediocre dynamics and control of the version with a 2.0-liter engine.


Specifications
Mark and model - Renault Latitude 2.0 (2.5)
Dimensions - 4887x1809x1483 mm
Engine - gasoline, 4 cylinders (V6), 1997 (2495) cm3, 139 (177) L.S.
Transmission - a stranded variator (6 -speed automatic transmission)
Dynamics - 186 (209) km/h; 11.9 (10.7) C to 100 km/h
Competitors - Ford Mondeo, Nissan Teana, Opel Insignia, VW Passat.


Our opinion
Unlike Europe, where Latitude will complement the existing Renault lineup, in Russia this novelty will replace Laguna hatchback. In our market, Latitude has much more chances for success than Laguna, since sedans in Russia account for more than 90% of sales of D-segment cars.


Author: Maxim Fedorov



 

A source: Magazine 5 wheel [December 2010]