Test drive Volkswagen Bora 1998 - 2005 sedan
Turning streams
Who is or, more correctly, what VW Bora is, I think everyone knows, well, or almost everything. AG was also talking about this at one time, I will not be afraid of this word, a wonderful car, and about its coolest version - Bora V6. The reason for writing this article was not restyling or modernization, as we usually happen, but the appearance of a number of new engines in the model range, including the proposed VW Bora.Actually, telling about Volkswagen cars, and even more so to reveal to readers something new about them is extremely difficult for the simple reason that this brand is very famous or, as they say, is promoted with us, but to write about VW Bora yet Difficult. A surchactic advertising campaign combined with a magnificent genealogy and honored ancestors, as well as a mandatory excellent build quality, made this car one of the most popular in our republic, which complains not of all new cars. It is difficult to say what more affects the opinion of customers who vote with their wallets and credit cards for VW Bora - either the magic of the Volkswagen star, or the combination of the advantages of these cars, but one way or another, and the number of cars of this brand on our roads is growing a year from of the year.
The new engine, for which we, in fact, started the whole event, is not something outstanding: 2.0-liter, 115 horses. In the range there are motors and more powerful and calmer, but, according to many of my friends, it is this engine that is most successful with the Bora model. Honestly, I believed in it right away, I barely managed to drive in this version. The first reaction is to go out and look at the nameplate hanging on the trunk lid. Judging only by dynamics or, more precisely, by your feelings during acceleration, you might think that V5 or at least 1.8 Turbo will be written there. Yes, I later learned from the catalog that acceleration from a place to hundreds takes 10.5 seconds, but during the test no one would have thought about reproaching this Bora in insufficient accelerating dynamics. And how did it all begin? They took a small sedan on the test, in general, not claiming the loud title of Driver Cars ...
This (or this?) Bora seems to be not as simple as it seems from the very beginning. Behind the appearance of a diligent family sedan, a rather sharp and dynamic car is hidden. No wonder in VW Bora promotions all the time focus on the sports of the model. It would seem only a two -liter engine, but how much energy is in it. And the point is not so much in power as in the predominance of sports surroundings. The elastic three-spoke bagel, the front seats with a rather sensitive side support and the devices with the edging for aluminum would look much more appropriate in some kind of sports compartment, but these accessories also do not look foreign elements on Bora. Still standing still, the car is already tuning the driver for active driving, and after that you are no longer surprised that after a second screening of the starter, the engine suddenly responds to an unexpectedly formidable low -frequency roar. And if at idle and low revolutions its sound does not exist, then it is worth pushing the gas pedal more hard, and about 2000 rpm begins such a song ... the higher the speed, the higher the voice of the engine becomes, and when the tachometer arrow reaches The red zone, the neighbors in the stream begins to seem that somewhere nearby, Superbike unexpected at this time of the year appeared. Moreover, the sound turned out to be so thoroughbred that sometimes you simply implicitly expect an almost rally shooting when dumping. But nothing of the kind, of course, happens. Moreover, inside the sound of the exhaust is more likely only nominally, so to speak, for information, completely not annoying and not even interfering with talking in an undertone. From such a rather unexpected inconsistency of the appearance and character of Bora 2.0, you begin to start up well, and when you again look at the small numbers of the speedometer, you are surprised to notice that the speed has long exceeded the hundred. Moreover, if you do not take into account the singing engine and the neighbors moving back in the stream, nothing more in the behavior of the VW Bora speaks of high speed mode. Excellent soundproofing and verified aerodynamics completely absorb the sensation of speed, at least to a two hundred -kilometer mark. Further, I admit honestly, it was not possible to accelerate, and it could not be otherwise: the maximum speed of Bora is 195 km/h, but judging by how the car behaved, nothing criminal, from a car point of view, I have no need to expect it from it.
In terms of controllability, Volkswagenovites are large docks and, if desired, can easily release something really extreme, which was proved by the example of the Golf V6/ Bora V6 models. But the whole point is that, for all its expressiveness, the Bora 2.0 in no way forces the driver to constant the practice of driving or studying the techniques of high-speed steering, so that he can cope with the car. Still, Volkswagen - the car is primarily massive, designed mainly for drivers with conventional preparation, taking into account this, and all the characteristics were selected. And this is good when the car has very good indicators, but at the same time it remains interesting for both a beginner and a professional. Even in such a scrupulous issue for designers, as ensuring the perfect balance in terms of smoothness/controllability, you can always find a compromise, and Bora seeks to prove it with all means. The driver’s mood did not make them too tough, on the contrary - for our roads it turned out the most. Small transparency in the fight against minor defects is fully compensated by excellent damping qualities, which allows more or less actively attacking relatively large obstacles. Moreover, even in the standard configuration, Bora is equipped with fifteen -inch wheels, and on some modifications R16 are generally installed.
Otherwise, this is still the same familiar Bora - high -quality, reliable and even, one might say, fashionable. Indeed, despite its clockwork character, it still remains a very convenient sedan, the ergonomics of which was honed on several generations of cars. In some ways, it can even be called a reference one, for example, in terms of the thoughtfulness of some interior details. It would seem that ordinary things are done so original, but at the same time naturally that you are just amazed, as no one had thought of this before. Here, take at least an ordinary glass - it was placed on the ceiling, where the passengers have a ceiling hilt. Conveniently, I can testify to you as a bespectacled man: always at hand, but at the same time it does not interfere at all and does not take up space on the central console. Yes, and the same ceiling handles, as you have probably already heard in commercials, are made with silicone decelers, so as not to really annoy the passengers with their cheap clicking.
The instrument panel is made of soft plastic, but the central console, on the contrary, flaunts with a stylish cold aluminum trim processed, as said in the avenue, according to LOOK technology. True, in combination with the dark upholstery of the salon, this tulp becomes very inconspicuous, and only upon closer examination or bright sunlight does it begin to play its scales. But modesty, as you know, decorates, and in this the VW Bora salon can serve as an indicative example. There are no cluster colors or causing perplexity of their quality of details, only the best. True, all this is a little grayish, one might even say, boring, but for the quality and ease of use, as well as for the absence of any ergonomic miscalculations, Volkswagen is always responsible.
Specialists were no less intently engaged in the organization of the driver's workplace. No, there is nothing non-traditional or unusual here, but some things are again done a little more convenient and as if more natural. Say, the wiper switch - in almost all cars it in order to cause a single wave of the brush: you must first turn on, and then turn off the small move mode. Everything is much simpler here: you press the smell with a little finger on the steering wheel, and, as it were, similarly to blinking the headlights of the headlights, the brushes respond to this movement with one wave of necessary at that moment. The praise also deserves the very concise control panel of climate control, although it itself is located slightly low, at the very bottom of the middle console, so it will be inconvenient to use it on the go. But the released place in the middle of the beard can be used for the installation of some sophisticated audio-video equipment, and in 2Din format, that is, you can simultaneously install both the radio and TV, and all this without any surgical work. If you are not an avid audio for, then free space is quite natural, after some time, it turns into a glove compartment. However, all sorts of small and not very pockets are already enough both in front and behind, except that the glove box itself is a little small. More precisely, it’s not even unlikely, but simply its shape is not the most optimal, and if the CD chain is also located there, then it will really be able to accommodate only gloves, and perhaps a road atlas. But it will be successfully replaced by much more spacious side pockets on the doors.
The advantages of this particular model in terms of organizing the workplace and convenience generally include a rather extensive adjustment of the driver's seat in height, which allows you to sit almost resting the crown on the ceiling. True, in terms of visibility, this does not help in any way: on the sides and forward it is clearly visible, but the edges of the trunk lid are still not visible, even though you get up on the seat every time. This blindness backs back a little when maneuvering in a tight space, but thanks to a small radius of the turn, it does not develop into the problem. But the small right mirror, the branded Volkswagen disease, inherited by and all the stepsons, is slightly annoyed in the city crowding, especially at dusk or bad weather. However, not everything is so bad: according to the assurances of colleagues, this mirror did not cause inconvenience. So, perhaps, this is just my subjective opinion.
So what do we have? High-quality and solid, even given the dimensions of the golf class, a car, which is also relatively inexpensive. Of course, in this class you can find cars and cheaper, but is it worth it? After all, the new car does not always remain so, and in addition to the high level of reliability and the lack of small defects, Volkswagen boasts almost the highest residual price. That is, in a couple of years, when you want to change your Bora to another, perhaps a new generation, its price will once again surprise you.
Pavel Kozlovsky
