Test Drive Volkswagen Bora 1998 - 2005 Sedan

The importance of faithful choice

Nowadays, the right choice is important than ever. Especially in the case of the acquisition of such an unetebled thing as a new car. Today, almost every mass model is offered in several bodies, with different engines and gearboxes, not to mention the impressive lists of additional equipment.

 

Therefore, it is often about a specific model, but on the whole family, from which the buyer and it is necessary to choose the only car, which corresponds to its own ideas about comfort, its taste and temperament of Volkswagen Bora belongs to the extensive Golf IV family, which also includes the hatchback , wagon and convertible. Bora himself exists in two versions - a sedan and a wagon with the corporate name Variant. Cars of this series are equipped with power units with a capacity of 68 to 204 liters. with. driven to the front or on all wheels, five and six-speed mechanical boxes or automata. On the test, the wheels visited the sedan in a fairly atypical version: with 1.6-liter gasoline engine and automatic checkpoint.

 

In fact, the GOLF IV / BORA family is not absolutely independent. It is built on the Volkswagen corporate platform, which combines such diverse machines as Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia, Volkswagen New Beetle and Seat Toledo II, Audi TT and SEAT Leon. The release of borsal, made in the style of the Volkswagen CJ 1997 concept, began in the fall of 1998. He, like his predecessor Vento, received the name of one of the winds of the winds. The model became a confirmation of the trend - breeding hatchback and sedan for various market niches since the second Jetta: Bora is not only decorated solid golf, but also does not have a single common body part. The harmonious appearance of the sedan is formed by large flat surfaces - even the rear lights, and they impress the monolithic inserts. The industrial focus of the design in the case of our car is emphasized by silver color. Huge wheels and cheese wings make in the face of the car notching sportiness.

 

Inside everything is simple, clearly and functionally. I do not want to repeat the beaten truth about the close stylistic relationship of interiors of cars of all companies that are part of the Volkswagen AG concern, but they will not dismiss this fact. Having recently on modern Skoda and Audi, in Bore, with closed eyes, we can from the first attempt to find all the necessary handles and buttons. The only difference is as a plastic used in the interior decoration, and that is small. The main underwater stone with this approach is that at once several cars at the same time copied with successful solutions and misses - in particular, we have repeatedly put on the location of the microclimate control unit, the driver forcing the driver for a long time from the road. It is necessary to mention that the 2001 model year cars are slightly different from the early copies: light changes affected the optics and design of the dashboard.
 

The location of the dials and pointers remained the same, but from now on, they are framed by metal edging, which is well combined with a brilliant lining of the lever of the gearbox selector. The remark arose to the Speedometer scale - digits a lot, and all of them are tiny, but the visual digitization of the fuel level pointers and the temperature of the coolant cannot but rejoice. The dashboard backlight looks very unusually: the red arrows on the background of neon-blue scales; All buttons in the cabin are also highlighted in red.

 

Ergonomics of a driver's seat is good without any. Great seat with height adjustment, sports leather steering wheel with three knitting needles, adjustable both in vertical and horizontal planes. Both pedals are shifted under the right leg, the leftmost space is provided for the left. About competent and in German, the verified headlight management is not already talking. In place and such attributes of a modern car, such as glass and mirrors, multi-level heated seats plus mirrors with a surface that reduces the risk of blinding. If there are high people on the front seats with comfort, the rear passengers will not feel so volotion. There is not enough space for knees, and attempt to take a more vertical pose can make it difficult to honest ceiling, especially if you yourself are not from dwarfs. There are no pockets in the rear doors, but there are two cup holders and a wide armrest with a retractable container. The back of the rear seat folds in parts or entirely, and both parts of it can be chipped in order to prevent the thieves to get to the contents of the trunk through the salon. And Bora's trunk is spacious and very convenient - both on the organization of the internal space and for loading and unloading.

 

1.6-liter 16-valve motor itself is very successful: responsive to the movement of the accelerator, smoothly and confidently pulls from the bottom, and somewhere with 4000 rpm there is an invigorating pickup. It seems that one hundred horsepower should be enough for a bullshit to move around the city, but the specifics of the machine operation affect. To work with such a transmissision, the engine lacks torque: from the place of Bora, somehow reluctantly, and a sharp pressing of the gas pedal in motion leads to the fact that the box is thinking, and then, as if sprinkling, connects the lower gear. He helps that this gearbox is controlled by electronics with an adaptive algorithm of work, that is, the machine itself adapts to driving style. So, if you slowly whine in your area, transfers are shifted at 2200 rpm, and if you drive to the whole support, then the switching time will transfer to the range of 5000-5500 rpm. In combat mode, the box are becoming more predictable, but it does not quite correspond to the very ideology of the machine. We admit immediately: according to the ratio of handling - the smoothness of the stroke with Bora can argue very and very few cars.

 

The muscular suspension of the machine is absolutely not sensitive to all kinds of small irregularities, and the hitting even in large holes lead to the fact that only smooth shocks are transmitted on the body. At the same time, you can't call soft suspension: it still feels in the cabin, as it works out the profile of the road. In the corners of Bora, it is surprisingly reliable - the car is very quickly, but at the same time smoothly responds to steering steering, and the steering wheel, filled with reactive effort, thoroughly informs the driver about what is happening with the wheels and allows it to fully control the situation: you can play the steering wheel and the accelerator while holding the machine on Slip face, you can break the wheels and take a turn with the demolition of the front axle. Of course, when attacking the aging, the machine is a weak help, but it has its advantages: with a sharp discharge of gas in Bora turns, it does not show the slightest inclination to the drift, since the transmission exits the speed gradually. An important circumstance, which is clearly improving the psychological well-being of the driver, can be considered temperate body rolls. The machine looks convincingly on a straight line - with increasing speed, the steering wheel is heavy, keeping a clearly tangible zero position. Did not pump the brakes with their good feedback; If there is not enough opportunities for an effective deceleration, an ABS with electronic distribution of brake force on the axes is entering. During the test time held on the dust asphalt, we encountered her work once - on purpose trying to block the wheels; The rest of the coupling properties of wide tires was more than enough.

 

Summary: Volkswagen Bora can be viewed as a car, potentially capable of going to drivers with different requests, - a decisive role is assigned to the right choice. The modest motor with a machine gun is perfect for a beautiful half: this is a neat machine, understandable, obedient and without dangerous. On another flank there are powerful versions with a 150-strong turbo engine, VR5 engine and even VR6 capable of demonstrating the ability to fully in the car design. And then you and Bora will overtake the wind.
 
 
 
 

 
 

A source: Magazine "Wheels" [№47 / 2001]