SEAT TOLEDO test drive since 2004 sedan

Opening "Toledo"

The new Seat-Toledo on the fourth-generation golf platform made his debut exactly a year ago, in the fall of 1998. It is produced with the body of the four -door sedan in the trim levels of Stella, Sport, Signum and V5. The range of engines includes three gasoline - 1.6; 1.8; 2.3 liters and two options for a 1.9-liter turbodiesel (90 and 110 hp). The gearboxes are five -speed mechanical. With motors 1.6; 1.8 can also be installed four -speed machines.
 



Saturday Barcelona met a thirty -degree heat. On the deserted parking of the Central Office of Seat in the industrial district, the Franco zone patiently waited for me with a new toleo needle. Moreover, the most powerful is in the V5 configuration.
 
Okay, I liked the anticipated car at once: the physiognomy is stylish, but without excesses, the sixteen -inch tires of Michelin Pilot HX unobtrusively hint at a good charge. And the wealth of the interior will give odds to many rivals of even a higher class: luxurious creamy skin and suede, electric drives of everything and the whole, cruise and climate control, an flight comprehensive compartment, a powerful audio system with a six-disc chunger, four safety pillows and many invisible electronic systems designed to facilitate Life to the driver. Among them are ABS, Takshn Control, EDS - Differential Electronic blocking, braking the masking wheel, EBV - emergency braking amplifier; MSR is a system that prevents blocking the drive wheels during a sharp transition to a reduced gear. Even navigation and stabilization systems can be set for an additional fee. In short, only a helicopter is cooler. And then not everyone.
 
The question where to go did not arise - of course, in Toledo! - A city with a two thousand -year history, in the past - the capital of Spain. Roman circuses and aqueducts, Alkasar and the gates of the Sun - here each stone breathes antiquity. What are the Romans, long before them there was a settlement of the Iberians, which gave the name to the city - toletum.
 
However, the time has been in the afternoon for three hours, and to Toledo it is necessary to dismiss seven hundred miles and preferably dawn. At a good pace, I leave Barcelona, \u200b\u200bsince the city is familiar. Autoretime A7, then turn on A2 - forward, forward! The speed on a paid road is limited to 120 km/h, and yet many go much faster. I accelerate and I - the hundred -fingered engine just asks for gas.
 
In general, the motor is a separate song: five cylinders, a configuration that received the VR designation, that is, a V -shaped, but with a small angle of collapse, made in one block, as in a row (hence R). At the same time, the burden, like a tractor, is perfectly balanced and quiet to the impossible - a couple of times, from the habit of not hearing the motor, jammed it when touched.
 
In general, he accelerated pretty well - three hundred kilometers to Saragosa flew in less than two hours. Further, the turn to Madrid to the usual free road, the quality is no worse than the highway. Through the seventy kilometers, the mountains went, I dropped the speed - and some Saab went around me right away. Well, I think, if you can go quickly, then why not? It was then that the American slides began-up and down, right and right. The car seems to stick to the road, sensitively obeys the helm, almost does not roll and absolutely does not squeak with tires even in difficult turns - it seems that it did not come close to the maximum modes, although the remaining behind Saab soon disappeared in the rearview mirror.
 
Madrid walked around the district, although he understood that I was losing a lot. The last jerk - and at nine in the evening I drive into Toledo. I skip modern suburbs ... and fall into the Middle Ages. Okay, we’ll figure it out tomorrow, today I’m squeezing like a lemon - it’s already midnight in Moscow, and in the morning there were three more hundred kilometers through the Pyrenees.
In the morning I am fulfilling the mandatory program - on a secluded shady site, I met the car for two hours meticulously. The road clearance is modest - only 120 mm, but a small -looking trunk is impressive - an almost correct parallelepiped with a half -cub. And this despite the fact that under its floor there are a full -fledged reserve and a basket with a tool. However, here you have to pay for everything - the high trunk noticeably limits the visibility back.
 
The seats are moderately tough, with developed lateral support. The front has five electrical adjustments with huge ranges, and the driver’s memory has even three setting options. The steering column is also regulated in length and height (this time still mechanically). It seems that a person of any dimensions here will be quite convenient. The salon was pleasantly surprised - with his 180 cm of height, sitting down, as he called, behind himself, he intended about 8 cm of free space in front of his knees. This is all the more unexpected that the platform donor Golf IV rear passengers does not indulge in space. For the order, we note: in comparison with the predecessor, the new Toledo has become 119 mm longer and 78 mm wider.
 
Well, now ahead, to the assault on the citadel - in other words, you will not call an extension of a two -meter width into the streets in the historical part of the city located on a steep hill. Once even one and a half meter came across ... not a street, but simply a cleft between the houses. Lord, how do people drive here? In ancient squares the size of a room, visitors to the miniature cafes calmly pushed their tables to let me go. At the same time, I did not violate anything, the movement is really allowed here! Surprisingly, the outer mirrors and paint on the sides remained intact. Thanks to Seat, it turned out to be a rather swivel car, and the rounded nose fit into the most unthinkable turns from the stone walls.
 
It was with such streets that I got to the inconspicuous gate of Alfonso VI, built back in the 10th century, to the beautiful cathedral - a 92 -meter cathedral, laid in 1226. However, there were less extreme routes, for example, to Alkasar - towering over the city of the royal fortress, the 12th century, Arsenal, and now the Army Museum. Around the latter in numerous benches, they sell what Toledo was glorious - swords and swords, crossbows and pistols, shields and armor.
 
Having flushed through the cramped streets, by the end of the day he moved to the horseshoe of the Tahoe River and on the other side he accidentally found a luxurious observation deck - a tall hill, from which the whole city is visible in the palm of his hand. Surprisingly, the asphalt Seat defeated this rocky slide without difficulty. Well, it's time to put a point. Tomorrow morning I will leave Toledo the old one, and by the evening I say goodbye to Toledo new. The first was simply fascinated by me, and the second ... And on the second I would like to come here again.

 

+ The painful motor, good stability on the road, excellent sound insulation, spacious, richly and carefully finished salon, wide range of seats adjustments, large trunk

- A small road clearance, a small right mirror, a limited review through an internal mirror due to a high trunk, a miniature glovemate.
 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
General data: number of places - 5; Equipped mass - 1303 kg; full weight - 1805 kg; maximum speed - 216 km/h; acceleration time from a place to 100 km/h - 9.2 s; fuel consumption in conditional suburban and city cycles - 7.2; 13.2 l/100 km; fuel supply - 55 liters; Fuel is unhealthy gasoline AI -95. Dimensions, mm: length - 4439; width - 1742; height - 1436; base - 2513; The track in front/back - 1513/1493; Road clearance - 120; trunk volume - 500 l; The turning radius is 5.6 m. The engine: five -cylinder, V -shaped, with the angle of the collapse of cylinders 15 (VR5), with distributed injection, is located in front; working volume - 2324 cm; cylinder diameter and piston stroke - 81.0x90.2 mm; compression degree - 10.1; Power - 110 kW/150 liters. With. at 5700 rpm; The maximum torque is 205 N.M at 3200 rpm. Transmission: front wheel drive; gearbox - mechanical five -speed; Transporting numbers: I - 3.30; II - 1.94; III - 1.31; IV - 1.03; V - 0.84; h. X. - 3.06; The main program is 3.94. Suspension: with reproach stabilizers, in front - an independent type of McExon, collected on a subframe, behind - longitudinal levers connected by an elastic transverse beam. Brakes: hydraulic disk, with a vacuum amplifier and ABS, the front are ventilated. Steering: rheck with an amplifier. Tire size: 205/55R16.
 

SUMMARY
Seat -Toledo is stylish and comfortable for ceremonial trips, convenient and practical for everyday driving, powerful and fast for driving along the highway.
 
Yuri Nechetov. Photo by the author
 
 
 
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"