Test drive Octavia Scout, Vesta, Mazda CX-5 and Lexus GS F
A “robot” in a traffic jam, a crossover in a dump truck and other tasks for cars from the AvtoTachki garage Every month, the AvtoTachki editorial staff selects several cars that debuted on the Russian market no earlier than 2015, and comes up with different tasks for them. In September, we staged a two thousand kilometer march for the Mazda CX-5, drove through traffic jams in a Lada Vesta with a robotic gearbox, listened to an acoustic synthesizer in a Lexus GS F, and tested the off-road capabilities of the Skoda Octavia Scout.
Roman Farbotko compared Mazda CX-5 with BelAZ
Imagine 300 Mazda CX-5 crossovers. This is approximately the entire underground parking of a small shopping center - exactly as many CX-5s a Japanese company sells in Russia in four days. So, all these crossovers can be loaded into one BelAZ. The Model 7571 is the largest mining truck in the world, with the most expensive wheels ($100 each) and the most powerful 4600 horsepower engine on the planet. To meet the giant, which the Belarusians are planning to equip with an autopilot, we went to the Mazda CX-5, one of the bestsellers on the Russian market.
Atmospheric motors environmentalists are already classed as an endangered species: with the transition to Euro-6, automakers began a wholesale transition to turbocharged engines. The Japanese resist to the last, and they do it for a reason: their "atmospherics" are the most honest and reliable. The top Mazda CX-5 is equipped with a 2,5-liter “four” with a capacity of 192 horsepower. A very elastic and surprisingly economical engine is exceptionally good at highway speeds - fuel consumption, even at a ragged pace with traffic jams and “pedal to the floor” accelerations during the trip, fit into a reasonable 9,5 liters per “hundred”. Mazda at high speeds behaves obediently and even in some moments in a premium filigree way, sensitively reacting to all my whims like a sharp change of lane on wet pavement.
On the Belarusian roads, the Japanese crossover is still a rare guest. Although Mazda is officially present on the market of the neighboring republic, it can only boast of piece sales. At the same time, local roads are full of different Mazda models of venerable age: from the legendary 323 F with lifting headlights to the first generation "American" 626. True, with the entry into the Customs Union, the gray import of cars to the Belarusian market has come to naught, so a whole abyss has formed here between Mazda generations.
“We still have people who believe that the car should be big and look cool. And it doesn’t matter how old it is - Belarusians always prefer a well-traveled foreign car with a mileage of over 200 thousand to a new budget sedan, ”the seller of one of the local Autohouses shared his observations, assuring that our CX-5“ looks status.
Ivan Ananyev saw the perfect car in the Skoda Octavia Scout
A couple of years ago I entered the period of life "35+, two children, apartment, summer residence" with the most practical golf class car possible. The third-generation Skoda Octavia wagon transported more for me in three summer months than all my previous cars put together, and even helped organize a branch of the construction market at a summer cottage. He hauled planks and stacks of tiles, heavy bags of mortar and fuel briquettes for the fireplace, interior doors and even a cast iron stove so heavy that it seemed that the car was about to compress the rear suspension to the bumpers. And then, unloaded and washed, the Octavia Combi in a few minutes turned into a family vehicle or a van for transporting children, in which the chairs snap into the Isofix mounts in one motion.
If at that time I lacked something in the car, then this was exactly what: more ground clearance, plastic body protection, and an all-wheel drive transmission, so that I could calmly travel along country roads smeared with autumn mudslides and confidently push the snowdrifts in parking lots in winter. I don't know how smart and practical the big Czech Kodiaq will turn out to be, but until now it was impossible for the Czech brand to even imagine a more versatile option than the Octavia off-road wagon. Only a good diesel engine could completely deprive people who adore simple things, order in the house and cardboard boxes from IKEA, but it was left to the Europeans.
In Russia, Scout is offered exclusively with a gasoline engine, which is good for a person who loves not only to drive, but also to drive. The character of the 180 hp turbo engine. quite groovy, and he can warm up the driver on the count of three, but there is a nuance. With all-wheel drive, they put not a seven-, but a six-speed DSG, which, as it seems, saves the transmission and does not allow the engine to breathe deeply. Differences are at the level of nuances, but the fact is that the all-wheel drive Octavia Scout does not ignite as thoroughly as the same car without a body kit and all-wheel drive. In addition, the Scout, with its higher ground clearance, has a stiffer suspension, which makes it more attentive to the choice of trajectory on bad roads.
All of these remarks are like nitpicking, but can't you find fault with the ideal car? Here we also include the jerks of the DSG box, and too voluminous rims that can be easily scratched on the curb, and very expressive bumpers that are not too appropriate for an off-road car. Unlike its predecessor, the current Octavia Scout is more about image rather than function, although, of course, it still remains more versatile than the standard car. The only question is whether the increased ground clearance and body kit are worth the amount that the Scout is more expensive than a similar all-wheel drive station wagon. Someone will surely find the answer by carefully scratching the bottom somewhere in a muddy pit near their own summer cottage.
Evgeny Bagdasarov drove a black Lada Vesta with a "robot" in traffic jams
If in the film "Black Lightning" the main role was played not by "Volga", but by Vesta, it would have flown low, not fast, but it had flown. A few months ago, a sedan of an inconspicuous gray color and with "mechanics" did not make much of an impression on me. Yes, in comparison with the Kalino-Grant family - heaven and earth, but according to the Hamburg account - an ordinary state employee of class B, at the level of foreign competitors. The Vesta benefits from sophisticated design and crossover ground clearance.
In the press park they complained that Vesta in the color of a black wing is not interesting to photographers, and that you don't often see it on the road. But with this color the car acquires superpowers - cinematic mystery and impressiveness unusual for "Lada" appears in it. The maximum configuration and "robotic" transmission add points - for almost $ 9 344. There is ESP, side airbags, comfortable seats, quite decent multimedia with rare CityGuide navigation and a rear-view camera.
“Robot” is difficult to praise, especially if it has one clutch, but in the case of AMT, VAZ engineers really did their best. This is far from the worst of these transmissions and looks good even in comparison with the French 4-speed "automatic". Jerking during acceleration "to the floor" cannot be avoided, but in general the "robot" tries to act smoothly and predictably. The price for the smoothness was dynamics: up to "hundreds" Vesta accelerates in 14,1 seconds, so overtaking needs to be thought out in advance.
If you gently press the “gas” pedal, the car starts off briskly, without delays and does not irritate with jerks in traffic jams, but when you try to accelerate, it reacts sharply with a delay. With the pedal pressed to the floor, the car accelerates in jerks - to go smoother, you need to guess the moment of the gear change and release the accelerator a little. In general, the "robot" tries to act smoothly and predictably. Dynamics became the price for smoothness: Vesta accelerates to “hundreds” in 14,1 seconds, so overtaking must be thought out in advance.
However, when you take your family to the dacha, you don't notice a particular lack of dynamics, and smooth reactions and a soft suspension are just on hand: passengers will not be shaken or seasick. You notice something else. A large stroller, which fits right up into the XRAY trunk, fits into the vestovsky one, only the cradle has to be removed and placed parallel to the chassis.
A couple of days later, I was already driving to Moscow alone and specially turned onto the winding Rogachev highway. At a fast pace, the car remains predictable, but lacks precision. The crossover suspension is good in the pits, but it doesn't turn the car into a real SUV. On the asphalt it would not hurt to understate it by a couple of centimeters. Such a chassis already requires a more powerful motor and other steering settings. So the prototypes of the sports and off-road Vesta shown at the Moscow Motor Show are an absolute must.
Nikolay Zagvozdkin listened to the Lexus GS F acoustic synthesizer
"Seriously? Is this Lexus worth $81?” – my friend, even having felt each of the 821 horsepower in the GS F, did not believe in the numbers from the price list. To be precise, it costs $477. and, according to my friend, for this money it would be better to buy "something whose price will be immediately visible." For example, Maserati Levante ($85), Porsche Cayenne S ($305), Nissan GT-R ($75) or Porsche 119 ($81).
However, I disagree with that. For me, the GS F is a litmus test, a test for a true car fanatic who always misses summer. In the English language for such people there is a brilliant, perfectly suitable word petrolhead, literally - "petrolhead". Only such, noticing in passing two round exhaust pipes, darkened lights and a rear wing on the trunk lid, will mark the main thing - this Lexus, perhaps one of the last modern sports cars, retaining the old-school naturally aspirated engine: 477 hp. the Japanese removed from five liters without turbines and superchargers.
Therefore, its sound is special: smooth, rather quiet, taking off only when the engine is started or when you spin the engine to cutoff. This, however, is the merit of not only a five-liter aspirated, but also a cunning acoustic setting.
The GS F is a car that can get used to heavy-duty models. He is as loyal to the driver as possible, forgives him most of his mistakes, carefully catches in a skid, willingly follows the wheel and generally creates a complete feeling that you are driving a racing car, which you already know how to drive almost perfectly. A dangerous feeling, by the way, if you change seats immediately after Lexus, for example, in a Nissan GT-R.
The time spent behind the wheel of this sports car was one sheer pleasure, and I can imagine that this sedan can be used for everyday driving, and not just for the track. Although, of course, I would like to ride it in the winter, to be completely sure. Honest, powerful aspirated, responsiveness, ease of control - all this for $ 81. The choice of a real "petrolhead", which does not care that it is respectful to give way in a row and look at his car with caution, assessing the high cost, no one will.
