Test drive by Renault Vel Satis since 2005 hatchback

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A business class car should be a sedan or a station wagon - the vast majority of manufacturers adhere to this unwritten rule. However, there are daredevils (or desperate?) Who are trying to break the peace of a prestigious segment. For example, Renault distinguished itself in 2002, having forgotten the line of quite ordinary Safrane and demonstrating a new generation of cars with the beautiful name Vel Satis.
The French were determined, they wanted to crush the foundations of the business class. Well, the Renault chief Patrick Le Keman led them behind him. Creating a new corporate identity, he moved into the future auto design by seven -mini steps. The first serial swallow was the incomparable compartment of the Avantime mini-wen. How much delight, how much sighs of admiration caused his appearance! We sighed much less, learning about the death of the model: Avantime was too revolutionary for the mass consumer to understand and accept it. In 2003, the car was removed from the assembly line due to almost zero demand.
The second on the list was Vel Satis. He was lucky, he came out after the radical predecessor, when the auto-powerfulness was at the very least ready for the new exploits of Renault. Unlike a relative, Vel Satis is still in service. However, sales of a widest representative of the business class were neither shaky nor Valkko, and in 2004 rumors crawled that the flagship of the brand could be removed from production. The company quickly denied them, saying that Vel Satis would survive under any circumstances, despite demand.
He remained, and last year was subjected to easy restyling. The appearance is changed minimally. This is good - a unique image is preserved. And how many have you seen on the streets of Vel Satis? Can you say that the car has become embarrassed and you need a serious remake of the exterior? Hardly.
External changes on the move will be noticed only by a person from the club of fans of Vel Satis. Otherwise, you will have to go into a press release for help. There are more chrome elements in the exterior, the headlights are slightly adjusted (the form remained the same), chrome -made peaks of the exhaust system are added. Wheel disks have a new design.
And the body is really unusual! Either a hatchback, or a slightly flattened mini-wen. In general, it is very similar to popular compact lines. Only with a correction for size - the length of the car is nearly 5 m.
No business class sedan is compared with Vel Satis in terms of ease of landing, because the latter has a higher roof 13 cm than the average class representative. Hence the solid increase in the salon space. Inside Vel Satis giant. Very spacious car! The ceiling does not press, landing is slightly closer to the vertical compared to low sedans, but far from bus. Large chairs are comfort and at the same time hold well in corners. Among the electro -regulations, there is a rather rare - the position of the upper back is adjusted separately.
The interior is made more traditionally than appearance. The front panel lines are smooth, unobtrusive. The design is calm. High -quality soft plastic almost everywhere. The chairs are covered with good skin, the fitting of the details is impeccable. Pleasant trifles like stylish watches on the front panel or secret cup holders and a box for the little things that are hidden under a wooden bar above the mess. And the ergonomic miscalculations are not pleased, which, apparently, are victims of art. For example, the central console is elegant, but small ventilation control buttons and audio systems are uncomfortable. A habit is required.
I sit back - behind myself. The ceiling is far away, the legs do not rest against anything. The beauty! For the rear passengers, a separate climate control unit, curtains in the doors, boxing boxes and other options that determine the high level of comfort are provided.
How the car is going! He doesn’t go - he floats. The 3.5 liter engine is barely distinguishable somewhere in the bowels of the motor compartment. At idle, it is not heard at all, and only pleasant echoes penetrate high into the salon. Yes, and extraneous noises from the street practically do not penetrate. Renault has no problems with sound insulation, as expected, no. Having enjoyed silence, I turn on the high -class Cabasse audio system, which is equipped with a 3.5 liter version in the base.
It feels like a Vel Satis road as a kind of symbiosis of a passenger car, a SUV and a mini-wen. The suspension is comfortable. However, only passengers can fully enjoy comfort. Judging by my observations, they like everything. But the driver sometimes will have to strain - the behavior of the car is sometimes ambiguous.
The long -speed Vel Satis suspension will arrange a driver who prefers the generally calm driving style. The force on the steering wheel, albeit alternating (depending on speed), but in most cases insufficient. The steering wheel is empty, and, moving in a straight line, you have to steal to the touch. Moreover, it is often sting, because the car is sensitive to the quality of the route. For example, on the Ran of Vel Satis spontaneously shifts to the sides in a fairly wide corridor, which makes you tighten the bagel tightly. Passing the broken areas, I have repeatedly noticed that shock absorbers could not cope with the fluctuations in the unsaved masses and unpleasant blows and vibrations are transmitted to the body. With intense acceleration, the machine lifts the front, and with a sharp braking pecks with the nose.
However, despite all these shortcomings, Vel Satis is able to quickly go through a running turn. It is clearly, albeit with a small swing (if the road is uneven), prescribes speed arcs. True, if the asphalt is broken in the turn, the car can easily jump off the trajectory. All this allows us to conclude - the kinematics of suspensions are designed for perfect European asphalt. When you go along a smooth highway, Vel Satis seems to stick to the road. Clear reactions, confident trajectory movement. However, it is worth being on a broken road, and the chassis does not cope. It is better to lose speed and enjoy the comfort on which Vel Satis is so generous.
Like Espace, a very good impression of the engine-ACPP tandem, developed by the joint efforts of Renault and Nissan. The machine is smart and quick, the transmission switches without jerks, smoothly. The motor has an even character, he offers the driver 85 % of the torque at 1200 rpm, and is pleasing at the top with a confident grab. The machine has a powerful brake system - the diameter of the front disks is 324 mm, and the rear - 300.
In our market, two modifications of Vel Satis are offered, which are very different in price. For Vel Satis with a 2 liter pipeline, dealers ask for about $ 42,000, and for a 3.5 liter version - $ 18,000 more! Does it make sense to overpay? It is clear that with these motors the machine gets into different weight categories. In any case, with a price of $ 42,000 Vel Satis is a very profitable offer. But if there is $ 60,000 in your pocket, then involuntarily you begin to look towards other brands. Many do this. They are not ready to ride such an expensive hatchback of a business class with such a radical design. And in vain, you should try. The solutions embodied on the Vel Satis turned into a unique set of consumer qualities, which classic sedans cannot offer simply physically.
And personally, Vel Satis is pretty like a rebel who not only violated someone there, but proved the solidity of his alternative. I am sure that many choose it for this reason too.
Renault Vel Satis prices and equipment
The car can be purchased with a 2-liter turbo engine ($ 41 999) or with a 3.5-liter V6. ($ 59 999). The gearbox is only automatic 5-speed. The basic package of a 2-liter machine includes ABS, BA, ASR, ESP 2, a full electrical package, 6 airbags, an on-board computer, automatic parking brake, rear parking sensors, xenon, rain sensor, automatic turnover of headlights, audio system with a CD player, 4 speakers, separate climate control, fabric salon, leather steering wheel, 17 inch alloy wheels. Additionally, you can order a leather salon ($ 4190), an audio system Cabasse ($ 1190), front seats with electric drive and heating ($ 1190).
The basic equipment of a 3.5 liter model is characterized by a leather salon, 18 inch alloy disks, front seats with electric drive, heating and memory (only on a driver's), Cabasse audio system with CD changer, car launch system without the key, sunscreen curtains, outer mirrors with electric chromium coating and additional drawers. The base can be supplemented with a wooden steering wheel ($ 300), other Pleiade wheels ($ 100), additional airbags ($ 500).
For all configurations, the staining of the body of the metalline will cost $ 580, an electric hatch of $ 999, the front parking sensors - $ 300.
Text: Leonty Tyutelev
  
 

Source: Motor magazine [May 2006]