“Off-road cars” as cars of high flotation ability, long since excite imagination of domestic motorists. And it is clear: more optimum for our climatic conditions of the car simply not to find, and the last winter became next to volume acknowledgement.
On pages of the given section of our site we will acquaint you about tendencies in the world off-road cars, some design features of various all-wheel drive cars and, actually, about “jeeps”.
One of most progressive of all camp of off-road cars can consider so-called “cars for productive leisure” - “parquet” off-road cars. Having appeared in the mid-nineties, this class which first representative is Toyota RAV4, has got set of admirers worldwide and already even has started to be divided into subclasses, gradually superseding traditional off-road cars from the market.
But if right at the beginning the class SUV was represented by only aforementioned model of firm Toyota, moreover Opel Frontera at some desire quite could approach under this definition now SUV is practically at each motor-car manufacturer, including Koreans and Americans. And some in modelling scale have at once some cars of similar sense which is issued at times already even in the second generation. It is natural, that the market could not accept at once so much identical outwardly and on mission of the cars, therefore practically each of the firms, tried to “stake out” a place in the given market sector, has started to search for the niche. One did the rate on limiting functionality of the models, others - on the low price, road performance, appearance etc.
In such dynamical development, for last decade on light there were so much cars which are backed out for frameworks of habitual classification, what even the lexicon of automobile journalists has appeared is too poor correctly to define a site of this or that model in “hierarchy” off-road cars. And that the potential buyer both new, and second-hand SUV could represent really for what it is intended and on what its future “jeep” will be capable, we will submit to it this material.
Well and what our today’s heroes? Four-and four models of class SUV, are “weakest” of four-and four models, in sense of successes on a cross-country terrain. Such models are a priori calculated on minimum off-road operation and represent as though “transitive” model between all-wheel drive ergonomics and a general purpose off-road car. From the first they took practically all design, and from the second - the general design and the increased road gleam. However, recently appears more and more models which stand any more only between the car and an off-road car, but still try to take away a small share of the market from minivans. Also not far off occurrence SUVs, representing symbiosis of an off-road car and a sports coupe, with the powerful engine and rather uncommon indicators. The main thing that it is necessary to remember - SUV any more is not an off-road car in full sense of this word even if it is very similar to that.
SUV have also other constructive difference - at them the integral body occasionally strengthened by a frame integrated into it, independent suspensions of all wheels and a connected all wheel drive. On snow or dim road such scheme of work of all-wheel drive transmission is very convenient: the car itself solves, during what moment to it to be front, and in what - all-wheel drive. The principle of overcoming of obstacles is simple to ingenious - increase speed, and you will necessarily slip! And in most cases really slip - on friable snow, on broken to a first coat, on friable sand. But if overcoming of an obstacle is necessary become serious a little, than simply snowdrift then automatics which is responsible for work of an all wheel drive, works already against you.
Some modern SUVs are equipped much more perfect and prepared to serious off-roads to voyages by system. And if earlier the application sphere SUV was very strongly limited to road conditions now some of them presume to themselves something big. We take, for example, “twins” Ford Maverick/Mazda Tribyte - at all characteristic for SUV design features those to the full they any more are not at least because in many respects surpass all schoolmates in flotation ability. Well, can, not on many, but at least more modern design allows them almost on a maximum to use potential of all-wheel drive transmission.
Having considered all lacks of competitors, Ford and Mazda have made simply ingenious course: by simple improvements they managed to achieve in some cases considerable improvement of flotation ability. And it is concrete - on slippery and viscous coverings, including on deep snow. Serious tests in which diagonal posting of wheels and strong blows on a body and a suspender are quite real, for such “super-parketnikov” are still extremely undesirable. But to pass on ice, let even uphill - without ceremony. The secret is simple: the frictional clutch playing a role of an interaxle differential in Maverick/Tribyte, has blocking possibility. That is if a condition the given cars too are, as a matter of fact, all-wheel drive, and the rear bridge is connected during a slipping, it rather limits its flotation ability. But they have special button “Lock” with which help this clutch can be blocked, and till the moment of switching-off of the given option the twisting moment between a lobby and a rear axle is distributed in the ratio 50:50, that erects flotation ability of data SUVs practically to level of off-road cars of a general purpose. It is natural, that each owner would like to have a SUV, just in case, such function in the car, but there is it, unfortunately, while far not at everyone.
Summing up, it would be logical to note: SUV-class cars still remain the most attractive variant for our motorists. Their everyone its models guarantees to the owner much bigger degree of freedom, not demanding thus any “victims”, both moral, and material. The only thing “but” - to the owner of such car needs to be known, that it is possible to do, and that is extremely undesirable for it “an iron horse”. If desires of the owner and car possibility coincide, it will be really successful choice. We hope, you have understood what to be defined in advance with type and a “class” accessory of the car to productive leisure not less important, than with its technical condition and cost.