Test drive Volvo XC90 2002 - 2006 SUV

What to do with us, the Sultans?

Little money is bad: there is not enough for what you want. There are many problems again. Choice problems. You can afford almost any car, but only one is needed. Why do we need a fleet? We do not need a fleet. It remains only to throw a coin. Or read auto magazines. But preferably, not too engaged. For example, ours, because the objectivity and incidence of our horse. As well as modesty. Joke!
In the category of luxury cossarians (so, now, it seems, expensive, powerful, but passenger all-terrain vehicles are called) do not push through. All solid brands over the past few years lit up here with their top models. It is not at all difficult to choose not a three competitors, but a whole dozen. But, taking a closer look, you notice this other caliber, it is not entirely new, and the other does not fit in power. So the comparison has crystallized: Volvo XC 90, updated by the BMW X5 and Infiniti FX35. The dimension coincides. And with the motors scatter. The most powerful Bavarian: 4.4 liters and 320 horses. FX35, naturally 3.5-liter, 280 mares. But the modest in the liter, but the boost of the Swede also squeezes with 2900 cm3 272 liters. With. More recently, X5 gave out only 286 forces and was closer to competitors. But the 2004 model was gone.
The dynamics is quite obvious that all three crossovers accelerate not only very quickly, but even faster than it is necessary in civil conditions. There are reasonable doubts about whether the drivers who have not undergone special training will cope with the management and cope with the supernatural traction? But to disperse the most powerful car is still half the age. But to stop a very weighty shell, released, by the way, by your will, is already more difficult. Despite all the auxiliary electronic systems, the brake discs of colossal diameter and wide tenacious rubber, the laws of physics cannot be deceived. The chances of demolishing with a high iron hood all living things in its path are much higher than that of a car, which means that you need to drive three times carefully.
Acceleration of BMW with a completely recessed gas pedal is amazing. All old impressions and familiar assessments must be forgotten by a new impressive standard of truly dynamic acceleration. But the most interesting thing is that the X-Fifth can behave and quite intelligently if you use the accelerator dosed. And this is not difficult to do this thanks to a long -flowing and sufficiently stiff gas pedal. And it seemed to me that the ability to drive smoothly no less merit of the Bavarian machine than the ability to easily reach almost aircraft overload, pressing into a chair. The new six -speed intellectual box ZF was also extremely pleased. Automatic costs are practically not manifested here. Switching occurs almost instantly and imperceptibly, and braking by the engine when resetting is even more effective than on mechanics. I would formulate the X5 acceleration style as a two -stage throw to a frantic throw forward with a noise, a roar and exorbitant absorption of fuel, it gives a clear opportunity to ride with a feeling, with a proper, with a placement.
   
Volvo, despite its turbocharged engine, demonstrates some downtime of reactions. You stomp abruptly on the gas, and the car does not obey the command not instantly, but after a semi -second thought. The same thing happens when choosing a transmission. It seems that you can’t call an unnecessarily thoughtful box, but to climb the transmission down, for overclocking, it would be possible to quickly. A couple of times I even found myself in a rather critical situation, when I was forced to cheer up a powerful and dynamic cholesterol 90 with a quiet, unzer word! But how good the Swedish brakes are! Although, is it surprising? Or does anyone not know how the Scandinavians care about security? In a good way, Infiniti surprised me, from which for some reason I expected less agility. Apparently, the correct Japanese technique gives the best result due to higher efficiency. Acceleration FX in American, assertive and inevitable. The craving is even and confident. And according to overseas standards, Luxury Nissan is not too sensitive to changing the position of the accelerator and brake pedals. Alas, who pays that and orders music. No wonder the model is not delivered to Europe through white channels. So our car arrived from behind the ocean, which is noticeable, for example, in vertical format of the rear number.
Management if you want to evaluate the behavior of the car in turns in terms of clarity and accuracy of the maneuver, then you should not do this after racing on the BMW. Because, how much do not compare, there are no equal Munich machines for controllability yet. Not invented! And among SUVs, including. Absolutely passenger behavior, with a minimum of rolls and non -deviations. In many ways, this is facilitated by a pneumatic suspension that supports a constant clearance, regardless of the load and acceleration of longitudinal and transverse. Anyone who has not tried, will not believe, but the two -ton car perfectly follows the instructions of the driver. Except the most stupid. That is, if in a steep and fast turn you want to famously pass by a fan or throw your tail forward, you are unlikely to succeed. On X5, as in other modern models, the triggering wheels are blowing a system of tracshn control, which, using the abenee sensors, slows down the wheel that has been broken into the box. But the updated BMW also had a fundamentally different idea of \u200b\u200bcombating a skid. In the case, let's say, if the back is ahead of front and the car tends to throw the stern according to the larger radius, half of the power instantly (for 100 milliseconds) is transferred to the front axle, which immediately pulls the car, straightening the trajectory. The XDRive sistema holds all the wheels under constant control, instantly directing the moment to where it is required. If on the prerestyled x5 68% of the moment it always went back, and 32% forward, then with xDrive to the front axle accounts for 32 to 50%! And as the photographer Nozdrin did not ask me to grasp me more poial before his fortification, placed between the border and the pillar, I could not live up to his expectations for expressive movement of X5 sideways in the snow. As soon as it was worth trying to prescribe an active snake, the car unobtrusively, but unequivocally reduced the speed. In short, you can’t fuck.
The product of the Swedish auto industry, manufactured under the patronage of the overseas corporation, also distinguishes technical perfection. The proprietary Volvovskaya coupling Haldex with electronic slippage controls connects the rear bridge that is not involved if there is no slip. But you just have to start slipping the front wheels, the moment is leaving them back, and when the wheels are row the four, the clutch with the road stabilizes. In a state of rest, XC 90 behaves like a typical passenger front -wheel drive car. Its center of gravity is not so high that the rolls appear, and the passage of turns shows a pronounced insufficient rotation. As with the dynamic features, and in relation to controllability, Volvo is characterized by a slight delay in reactions, which gives the driver a chance to cancel a reckless team. This does not mean that a powerful, fast and expensive car does not respond too quickly to the turn of the steering wheel, it simply smoothes and swallows small fussy strokes, which the driver sometimes performs unintentional. And I would record this smoothness of the maneuver not in the graph of disadvantages, but rather to the pluses.
Infiniti FX, at the basis of a rear -wheel drive car. We rarely come to us by American versions of the usual models of 4+4 with one leading axis. But behind the ocean in a dry warm climate, four drive wheels do not need a waste of money and gasoline to the wind. When another leading bridge is added to the basic monotive version, then, as a rule, it is connected automatically, upon demand that we are on the American Nissan. That is, a dish, without a axle box, FX behaves like a classic, it can really be thrown into a skid that he will soon begin to resist, but the first impulse to throw the rear axle is possible. And only when you begin to adjust the position of the machine on the road, reducing the gas and turning the wheels out of turn, the VDC system will enter into business. The control system is disconnected, which means that you can afford to drive yourself if there are skills in combating a skid. But it is worth being very careful, because a heavy car torn into the southwide is not easy. This is exaggerated by the noticeably higher sensitivity of Infiniti to reduction. An unusually sensitive steering wheel, coupled with huge wheels, provoke an EFIX to leave the trajectory and require constant steering. The center differential here, by the way, is blocked.
Ergonomics and comfort and here the representative of each automobile clan is not at all like a competitor. So, the BMW X5 remains VMW, at least the Dobanglov period, when the torpedo cast from heavy and elastic black plastic. And the driver felt like a pilot who was ahead of the exit on the carpet bombardment of enemy cities. With an indispensable indication, apply a point blow right on the head of the ruler, hated by true democrats of all countries. No wonder X5 is produced in the US Spartanburg and mainly for local residents. In short, if you were lucky enough to go behind the wheel now, alas, the last five E39, then telling about the sensations at the wheel there is no need for everything, as it should, everything, as always. Perhaps there are no shortcomings. Even the abundance of black buttons does not irritate already painfully they are all correctly built in importance and frequency of use. What to complain about here? .. Yeah, invented a noticeable vibration from the operating V8 engine in the cabin. It is transmitted to both the steering wheel, and to the chairs and the pedal not much, but noticeably. The rest is the ideal: comfortable leather chairs, a high-quality wooden tree in appropriate quantity, a magnificent review, and most importantly proportionality to the usual lightweight car class.
Volvo also professes the family style: intelligent outlines of the dashboard, already familiar ventilation symbols, deep landing. But the flaws are immediately striking. From short pillows of the front seats, knees hanging in the air. And the KP lever, moving along the M-shaped trajectory, does not rest against position D, but, with a sharp movement from P, it slips immediately into the +/- sector. When you only touch, this is imperceptibly, but then the motor coins in the first gear, and instead of further automatic switching and acceleration, you have to move the lever to one position back. In the XC 90 asset, you can write a magnificent review in a circle, a refrigerator for non-alcoholic beer between the seats and the DVD player with the screens in the front head restraints.
Infiniti interior is a disaster. The combination of various materials, colors and textures is aggravated by wild transitions and unthinkable interfaces of parts. It seems that each element of the cabin painted and transferred a separate designer, or, rather, a student of the designer. The chopped lines may cheer someone behind the wheel, but they clearly contradict the eastern teachings of Feng Shui, who preachs ergonomic and soothing combinations. Homogeneous buttons lined up in a row require careful memorization by heart. The steering column extends to the depth much less than she would like, but vertically she travels along with a shield of appliances. An interesting solution is the same as on the Nissan 350z, but, no matter how I was disturbed, the upper part of the rim significantly overlapped part of the instrument panel. Holding switches with sharp edges are made of cheap ringing plastic and resemble a children's designer. The leather-sloping front seats are located at the floor, and even the tall driver barely rises above the window sill. The review forward is limited by highly sticking out, showing out, wings, and it is better back through the mirror and not to look painfully tunnel narrow. And the side triangular mirrors will not show much. The only thing that frankly pleased was the quality of acoustics, which allows you to plunge into the world of music and forget about annoying little things.
Practicality here in the leaders of Volvo is a huge trunk, a spacious second row, a lot of illumination. I don’t know how with further repair and maintenance (and they are traditionally expensive at this brand), but for its safety you can not be afraid of CHC 90 occupies one of the highest steps in crash tests according to Euro NCAP 34 points. X5 almost catch up with the XC 90 in this indicator 33 points and up to 10 airbags. BMW boasts a slightly smaller inner expanse than Volvo, but there is quite enough space and passengers and baggage. It is especially convenient that the fifth door is double. The upper part, when leaning, describes a smaller arc, which allows you to act in a limited space of garage or parking. And the lower sash forms the surface unified in level with the trunk floor, and if you wish, you can transport, say, a motorcycle on the side there. And in Infiniti ... to climb into the back seat for an adult, but only having hit his head on the roof, and if it succeeds, squeezing the foot into the gap of the door. Although, already being inside, you don’t feel some crowding.
The resume probably should not explain our preferences. This time they are obvious. Outstood FX35 partially atone for it, so to say, the moderate price. But already, almost the most catchy and spectacular car in the luxury cross-breeds class. In addition, adherents of the classical layout will appeal to him and no at the same time rejection of all -wheel drive opportunities! And potential customers, possibly, have their own scales of assessments that are different from ours. CHC 90 is probably the most outstanding model in Volvo. She inspires confidence in her abilities and gives power over the elements. This is a car for introverts who do not seek to shock others and let them dust in the eyes. You do not need to be a seer to guess the obvious separation forward of the Bavarian alternate. I note that an updated modification is easily recognized by a changed pattern of nostrils and double headlights. Although the hood and the bumper X5 have also changed. It is not surprising that the BMW, which appeared in this segment among the first, is still in the leaders.

HOW DO THEY LOOK
Nikita Rozanov
In the authoritative Automobil Revue car car, each car from the tested three seems completely different. A German car is called a station wagon with increased road clearance, a Japanese vehicle of high -cost luxury class, and a Swedish all -wheel drive SUV. However, from the point of view of design, everything is much simpler. Three rivals of the surname representatives of the smallest class SUV, who had already managed to form primary signs of appearance and even style. The unambiguous recognition of the brand and almost causing appearance in our trinity, of course, is available. But the best recognition, of course, is BMW, and no one can challenge it. In second place, the functionally patched face of Volvo, and the last overseas guest Infiniti, to the emblem and the arrogant squint of the eye of which the domestic consumer simply had not yet managed to get used to it. The side is approximately the same, but the predatory silhouette of Infiniti overshadows not only the images of this tested pair, but also everyone who will try to crawl out with its design. Look at the ratio of the main volume of the body and superstructure is a completely new and original architecture of the car! And finally, the view from the back. The time is most noticeable here: BMW demonstrates the caution of the drawing inherent in the design of the 90s, Volvo, intricate, but characteristic vertical of lighting equipment, colored with bright red overflows, and infiniti is farewell, and this is even more arrogant, squinting narrow lamps and v-vi The figurative outline of the rear window, which in the manner of hot Alfa Romeo salutes everyone who is left behind, Victory!
Inside: according to the already established genre, the design of the inhabited space of the SUV jacket, stylish and almost shocking. The panels of the entire three devices operate the new -fangled theme of horizontal or boards and clearly dissolve from the unnecessary fashion of plastic ties with the console and a lining of the floor tunnel. However, by and large, this is only a props, which indicates a desire to look stylish. The finish corresponding to aluminum or wood is observed in everyone and exactly so that the design does not cross the border strip that separates the SUV with another class. The most characteristic and stylish steering wheel, of course, is in Infiniti, which looks just an integral part of both the console and the plastic system of the entire interior. In comparison with this, the BMW steering wheel can only remind the times when the team of Chris Banlal has not yet been engaged in its style.
Summary: if the image is among the first social priorities for you, then, having checked the price list with the printout of your bank account, feel free to make a choice in favor of any of the participants in the dough. From the point of view of the style of the time in which we live, they are almost equal.
 
Text Vladimir Smirnov photo Alexander Nozdrin
 

Source: Cars