Rural Tsar: is the German crossover suitable for traveling in Russia

Weekend travel is now the most relevant format. But getting to know Russia, you also get to know the capabilities of the car. Therefore, a crossover is just what you need to get out of the Moscow region and not be nervous about broken roads. Crossover crossover strife – the Opel Grandland X, which recently appeared on the Russian market, was created in European greenhouse conditions. Izvestia found out if it is well adapted to winter.

Compact “Grand”

It seems that the sights of the Tver region have been photographed and described a thousand times, but this is not so. For example, there is the village of Kushalino – the patrimony of one of the most mysterious Russian tsars. The path from Moscow is not short, and the road is not the most ideal, just right to check the car.

The Opel Grandland X is a typical product of European crossover fashion. Despite the Grand prefix, this car is a little smaller than the VW Tiguan, with an economical 1.6 turbo engine (150 hp). And despite the powerful off-road body kit, it’s still a front-wheel drive city car… All-wheel drive is available only in a hybrid unavailable in Russia.

For those in need of driving off the asphalt, Opel offers the Intelli Grip electronic assistant with ESP settings for various “extreme” surfaces: sand, snow, mud. With sand, as it turned out in the previous test, it copes more or less. How about snow?

The engine start button must be pushed in with force. The sound of the engine is quiet and somewhat frivolous, and in fact the Grandland X seems to be a more impressive car than it really is. Meanwhile, the interior thaws pretty quickly, the heated windshield confidently melts the snow that fell at night. Heated seats do not rush to fry passengers, even when turned on to the maximum.

The frost is light and the snow on the Yaroslavl highway turned into a brown slurry. Due to the peculiarities of the aerodynamics of the stern, the tailgate instantly gets dirty, and with it the rear-view camera fades. By the way, the door of Opel is composite, which means that it will not rust, no matter what reagents may fall on it.

Grandland doors are protected by heavy-duty unpainted plastic overlays and completely cover the sills. But it would not hurt to provide an additional rubber seal, otherwise snow mixed with mud will actively adhere to the inside of the doors. Above, there is a sealant and a clean threshold, but from any out-of-town trip Opel will bring soil samples with it. With such talents, it’s time to send a crossover to the moon instead of the Chang’e-5 module – he will bring more samples with him.

Prince of Foreign Bloods

Although the Grandland X was created under the leadership of PSA on a French platform, its exterior is less extravagant than that of the Peugeot Citroen crossovers, and the interior is discreet in German. This Opel not only looks, but also rides dynamically, as befits a German car. The steering wheel reacts sharply, the brakes are harsh. The payoff for handling is tight suspension. However, on winter tires, it seemed to me less stiff now than in the summer.

The motor, despite the fact that it is called Prince in a low voice, is not afraid of work. With a six-speed “automatic”, it works harmoniously both in traffic jams and during acceleration. You definitely don’t regret the lack of sports mode. And the consumption pleased – about 8 liters per “hundred” on average.

Strangeness of character

The front seats are very comfortable – just right for a long journey. No wonder Opel is collaborating with the German Association of Orthopedic Physicians. The driver can adjust the length of the pillow, adjust the position of the lumbar support. Meanwhile, there is no exemplary order in ergonomics. Bottles can be placed only in door pockets – there are no cup holders in the center, instead of them obscure recesses. Windshield brushes leave large, uncleaned areas; an average driver will find that sun visors are not wide enough to protect him from the sun.

You can’t call a quiet car. In the cabin, the hum of tires solo, especially if you get on rough asphalt, and here are not the most noisy friction wheels. The suspension also turned out to be loud, although its energy intensity is quite enough for movement on broken asphalt. On large pits, something starts to creak, in the area of ​​the glass roof.

Washer in the snow

The secondary roads are already covered with snow and are rather treacherous. You are immediately convinced of this by turning off the stabilization system – the wheels of the Grandland X begin to slip. Here it is, the vaunted Intelli Grip system. Already in the “road” mode, it operates as safely as possible – the wheels do not slip into slipping even with a sharp addition of gas, with overspeed the crossover begins to slide out of the corner. If you switch with the washer to “snow” mode, the risk of slipping is even less. Electronics does not make the Grandland X an SUV, the two driving wheels will still give way to the four driving wheels, but they will be allowed to get out of the snowdrift, but more is not needed.

And also at Grandland excellent LED headlights – in winter in the Russian wilderness just what you need. And most importantly, once I turned on the automatic mode and forgot, the car adjusts the lighting itself depending on the speed, driver behavior and the presence of oncoming cars. In general, despite the small and inexplicable oddities, Granland X was a pleasant surprise. It would be slightly adapted to our conditions, by the way, this also applies to prices.