Ldv maxus. the appearance of an heir? Maxus description

", "Citroen", FIAT "relies" on the front drive wheels, "Ford" has created a universal chassis suitable for both types. But GAZ, it seems, is going to change its orientation. We were able to drive a front-wheel drive Maxus van and minibus, which are produced by the English company LDV, now part of the GAZ Group.

Like all cars in this class, Maxus has a wide range of modifications: a van, a minibus with 11 or 14 seats, cargo-passenger “combi” with two or three rows of seats. The gross vehicle weight is 2800, 3200 or 3500 kg with a load capacity of 1074–1616 kg. The two wheelbase options differ by 750 mm - this is the length of the insert in the central part of the body, noticeable by a small window on the side. The solution, controversial from a design point of view, is impeccably constructive and technological - almost all other body panels on the short and long cars are the same.

Depending on the length of the wheelbase, the roof height also differs: short-wheelbase modifications have low or medium, and long-wheelbase modifications have medium or high. The maximum volume of the van reaches 11.4 m3.

For ease of loading and unloading, the delivery van must be low-floor, which means that the frame and transmission must be removed from under it - the Maxus has a monocoque body with powerful side members and a front-wheel drive layout with a compact transverse arrangement of the power unit. The latter selected is an Italian VM turbodiesel with a volume of 2.5 liters and a power of 95 or 120 hp, with an aluminum head, four valves per cylinder, an intercooler and a common rail power system. In general, in Europe, small car manufacturers often make only the body, filling it with components and assemblies from other companies, including specialized ones. So the Maxus is equipped with a five-speed KIA gearbox, a Valeo clutch, Delphi front struts, a Dana rear axle, and Bosch brakes.

The test cars had a powerful 120-horsepower engine. According to subjective feelings, it is quite calm at low speeds, but after 1700 rpm, under the whistle of the turbine, it wakes up and shows enviable agility, driving the speedometer needle to the 150 km/h mark. Considering the excellent noise and vibration insulation, convenient control, high selectivity of the gearbox and soft but powerful brakes with ABS, the English truck can easily keep up with the flow of passenger cars. At the same time, the average fuel consumption is promised to be only about 8 l/100 km, so an 80-liter tank will be enough for a thousand kilometers. I liked the high maneuverability - despite the almost four-meter base, there were no problems with turning. But the generator and air conditioning compressor clearly need protection, at least from dirt - they are located at the very bottom in front of the engine.

The cabin is quite functional, there are no cheap tinsel or unnecessary pretensions, but everything is done quite neatly. The driver's seat has five adjustments, but the steering column is fixed. This is perhaps the only complaint about ergonomics, and even then it is rather formal - sitting behind the wheel is quite comfortable. The internal width of the cabin is 1720 mm, so there is plenty of room for three. Equipment includes air conditioning, audio system, headlight range control, electric windows and mirrors. Safety has not been forgotten - of course, three-point belts, and in addition to them two front airbags. By the way, when testing the design, 16 cars were crashed in crash tests - a huge number for such a small company. Particular attention is paid to increasing the mileage between maintenance - it reaches 20 thousand miles or 32 thousand km!

In general, Maxus is a completely modern product and its appearance in Russia can only be welcomed. What are the prospects? By the end of this year they must complete adaptation to Russian conditions and carry out certification. During 2007, cars will be brought to us from England; it is too early to talk about the price, although we can expect interesting offers, given the desire of the GAZ Group to promote a promising model to the market. At the same time, production will be prepared in Nizhny Novgorod, which is promised to begin in 2008. The planned volume for the first year is quite modest - three thousand cars. Well, then... Considering the advanced age of the Gazelle, the young “Englishman”, on the development of which 500 million pounds were spent over five years, may well become its heir.

OUR HELP

The small English company LDV (Leyland-DAF Vans) was formed in 1993 on the basis of a branch of the collapsed Leyland-DAF alliance in Birmingham. In December 2005, LDV was acquired by the investment company Sun Capital, and in July 2006 it was purchased by GAZ Group. Martin Leach, formerly President and Chief Operating Officer of Ford Europe and CEO of Maserati SpA, was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of LDV, and Steve Young, who held senior positions at British Leyland, became CEO. "(British Leyland) and "Ford Europe". The owner of LDV shares was a specially created British company GAZ International, a subsidiary of GAZ OJSC. In 2006, the LDV Holdings plant in Birmingham, which employs 850 people, will produce about 10 thousand new Maxus trucks and minibuses, and the enterprise turnover will be $260 million.

FIAT Ducato Medium base, medium roof, body volume 10.0 m3, load capacity 1425 kg, 2.3 l engine (110 hp), 5-speed manual, Medium equipment, RUB 575,000.

LDV Maxus Short wheelbase SWB, medium roof HR, body volume 7.8 m3, load capacity 1422 kg, 2.5 l engine (120 hp), 5-speed manual, standard equipment, RUB 524,000.

The comparison suggested itself: one truck already has a Russian registration, the other still has a residence permit, and both are very attractive in price - about a third cheaper than purebred “foreigners.” We take a 10-point test scale as a basis (8 points is the norm), apply it to cargo criteria, take measurements and...

BREADTH OF CHOICE

Ducato offers frequent “cutting” of three bases: 2850, 3200, 3700 m - and three roof heights: 2150 (only on short-wheelbase vehicles), 2470 (on vehicles with medium and long wheelbase), 2860 mm (with long wheelbase ). In combination, we get four options for body volume, with which, unfortunately, the total weight and load capacity are strictly connected: 7.5 m3 - 2815/990 kg; 10.0 m3 - 3300/1425 kg; 12.0 m3 - 3500/1505 kg; 14.0 m3 - 3500/1455 kg. Because of this, there is no way to optimize the configuration for high- or low-density cargo: the most compact machine will easily fit one and a half tons of packages of water, and 14 m3 of diapers or flowers will not carry even half a ton. The power unit is the only one. So, four options for vans with a starting price of 490 thousand rubles. The range also includes a 15-seater bus, a cargo-passenger combi and an ambulance are on the way.

All-metal Maxus vans are produced with two wheelbase options: 3100 and 3850 mm - and three roof height options: 2070 (only on vehicles with a short wheelbase), 2315, 2540 mm (only with a long wheelbase), which gives four possible cargo volumes compartment 7.0; 7.8; 10.3; 11.4 m3. The gross weight of the vehicles is 2800, 3200 and 3500 kg (long wheelbase), and the payload range is from 917 to 1616 kg, which is almost 2 quintals wider than that of the competitor. The power unit is an Italian VM39C turbodiesel with a volume of 2.5 liters and a power of 95 or 120 hp. In total, two dozen possible combinations of volume-weight-power only for three-seater vans, prices for which start at 504 thousand rubles. In addition, there are 11- and 15-seater buses, as well as several combi and chassis options.

An interesting nuance: only the smallest modification of the Ducato, with a 7.5-cubic-meter cargo compartment capable of accepting 990 kg, is not subject to the limit of carrying capacity to 1 ton (when entering the center of some cities). And among the “Maxuses” there are only a couple of long-wheelbase large-volume vehicles, since the short ones are lighter and with the same total weight of 2800 kg they take on board a little more than a ton. It seems that in both cases the marketers made a blunder: it was easier to “untie” the FIAT’s carrying capacity from its size, and certify short “Maxuses” for 999 kg of cargo.

FIAT Ducato - 7 points

LDV Maxus - 9 points

CABIN

You need to be careful when getting into a FIAT: it won’t take long to slip on a step covered with slippery plastic, as happened to our photographer. A driver taller than 180 cm will rest his right knee on the podium of the gear lever. But the steering column is adjustable for tilt, the seating position is high, commanding, and excellent visibility in all directions is facilitated by two-section mirrors. It's a pity that the latter do not have any remote adjustment; you simply have to press on their corners. And heating is not even in the list of options.

An ergonomic miscalculation: when entering and exiting, the driver touches the high-raised parking brake lever with his thigh - the designers placed it on the left to free up the central passage in passenger versions. Electric windows only work in automatic mode: to open the glass slightly, you need to touch the button twice.

The test Ducato is from the first batch, and perhaps that is why its cable drive gearbox is poorly adjusted. The gears are not where you are looking for them, and sometimes you even confuse them - the shift of the lever between 2nd and 4th gears is only 12 mm!

The doors of the Maxus can be opened using a remote control (the Ducato only has a central lock). The cabin is narrower than the Fiat one (the difference is 90 mm), but even in it three large men in winter clothes sit, their shoulders barely touching each other. Unlike the FIAT, bare metal and screw heads are almost invisible, although the plastic is chipped in places.

I will note the lack of steering wheel adjustments (however, at my 180 cm, I sat quite comfortably) and the not very convenient location (in the middle) and configuration of the dashboard - a tribute to unification with the right-hand drive version. The hood release handle is on the right.

Among the annoying little things: there are no hooks for outerwear, it’s easy to get confused in the sequentially located buttons of the electric windows, and the noise of the cabin ventilation drowns out the engine even at first speed! But the mirrors are equipped with electrical adjustment and non-switchable (!) heating.

A seat with height and tilt adjustments and an airbag protecting the driver, three three-point inertial belts, audio equipment with two speakers are the advantages of both cars.

FIAT Ducato - 6 points

LDV Maxus - 7 points

BODY

The FIATA has a 10cc compartment height of 1880mm, so most loaders will be able to straighten up freely. The side door measuring 1770x1290 mm allows you to freely operate a Euro pallet with a width of 1200 mm. At the same time, the loading height is only 570 mm - perhaps the best in the class! The inside of the compartment is lined with plastic up to the level of the windows; above the cabin there is a spacious mezzanine for personal belongings.

The cargo compartment of the Maxus, with a volume of 7.8 m3, is also modest in height: only 1715 mm. The fear of hitting your head forces you to duck. A small side door measuring 1420x1090 mm is unified with the low version and does not allow loading a pallet (the long wheelbase version has a larger door). On the inside, only the doors are sheathed with fiberboard sheets, the spare wheel is located above the left arch, and its mounting under the bottom is an option.

General advantages of vans: rear doors swing open 90 or 180 degrees, a pallet can be placed between the wheel arches with a good margin. A common drawback is that the stamping on the rear wall of the cabin somewhat shortens the length of the compartment in the upper part.

FIAT Ducato - 9 points

LDV Maxus - 6 points

DRIVING PERFORMANCE

The Ducato is a hundred kilograms heavier and a dozen “horses” weaker than the Maxus, but even with ballast (that’s why the shot was needed!) it gave no reason to complain about the slowness. The thrust-to-weight ratio was quite enough for dynamic driving at the pace of passenger cars, while the average fuel consumption was 8.1 l/100 km! And the competent selection of transmission gear ratios resulted in only a slight - just over a second - lag behind the Maxus in elasticity exercises in fourth gear. The Ducato's character is calm and flexible, the suspension is soft, the engine is very quiet and, like its opponent, demonstrates a noticeable pickup after 1500 rpm. The car stumbled slightly only when braking: the third in a row revealed an increase in travel and effort on the pedal - it seems that the brakes lack temperature stability.

Starting the Maxus engine is unexpectedly delayed: the starter works for about a second, you involuntarily pay attention to this. An empty van demonstrates downright passenger agility. The lag behind the FIAT in the initial phase of acceleration is explained by unrolled tires and their greater slippage. With 1220 kg of ballast, two large-format crew members and a set of satellite measuring equipment, the Maxus weighs the maximum permitted 3200 kg, but even in this case remains very dynamic. Alas, even a full load is unable to soften the harsh nature of the suspension, reinforced for Russia: the shaking makes it difficult to take notes on the go. Talking too, but due to the roar of the engine during acceleration modes. You need to get used to the brake pedal: the first 70 mm it falls almost without effort. But the turning radius of the Maxus actually turned out to be half a meter less than that of the Ducato.

ABS is on the list of options for both cars, but the front-wheel drive layout guarantees stability on slippery surfaces and good cross-country ability even when empty.

FIAT Ducato - 8 points

LDV Maxus - 8 points

EXPLOITATION

Both vans have a two-year warranty, but the Ducato has it without mileage limitation, while the Maxus has it for 125 thousand km. The warranty on galvanized bodies is eight and six years, respectively. For Ducato, the maintenance frequency is 15 thousand km; The oil needs to be changed every 30 thousand km. Maxus recommends an oil change after 25 thousand km, although some dealers are trying to impose intermediate inspections.

Both cars are adapted to our conditions as standard: they have high-capacity batteries and powerful steel protection for the engine compartment. The clearance under it for the Ducato is a modest 155 mm, while for the Maxus it is an enviable 195 mm. And the 205/75R16 wheels of the English van are more durable than the 205/70R15 of the opponent.

FIAT Ducato - 8 points

LDV Maxus - 9 points

OVERALL RATING

“Ducato” appeared in Europe back in 1993, but can still serve as a standard - it is well conceived, has a wide range and could well become a favorite if not for the above-mentioned unfortunate miscalculations.

“Maxus” is an example of the full implementation of a good concept; it captivates with a wide selection of modifications and excellent adaptability to bad roads. However, let's not forget that for now this is an English product at a Russian price. What qualities it will lose and which it will gain with the development of assembly in Russia is a question. And will it even be produced here?! For now, pre-production has been postponed. For financial reasons.

FIAT Ducato - 7.6 points

LDV Maxus - 7.8 points

Yuri Nechetov:“Paradoxically, I’m not sure that my personal choice would have coincided with the test results. Some of the Ducato’s shortcomings can be eliminated on your own; the machine is well known to repairmen and is provided with spare parts, and private owners tend to service it independently. And “Maxus” still has to create a name and reputation for itself.”

Low

The car is assembled at the Birmingham plant in England. And that says it all, made for man.

In 7 years of operation it has never failed. We have experience in operating minibuses; Gazelle, Ford and even Mercedes. Maxus is the best. It is unknown for what reasons the GAZ concern abandoned these minibuses, although as soon as they refused, they immediately raised the prices for the Gazelle. A very good LDV club on the Internet. You can always get qualified help on technical issues, we have used it more than once. All technical documentation is available. A very good book that describes in detail how to repair a car with your own hands in an accessible language. If your hands are in place, then repairing the car yourself will not be a problem. Good savings for your personal budget. Unfortunately, my husband and I are no longer at the age when we can repair a car ourselves. If we took off 20 years, we would never give up Maxus.

There is a good service station in St. Petersburg. The technicians are competent and the prices for car servicing are not prohibitive.

Currently, the market in Russia is saturated with spare parts for LDV. Original spare parts are of very high quality. If you install a spare part, you can forget about it for many thousand km.

pros

On the road, the car's handling is excellent, stable on the road, good maneuvering.

Minuses

Previously, spare parts were expensive, but now they seem to be the same for minibuses. They are no longer produced in Russia - this is the only negative.

Is it worth buying such a car? What will your next car be?

Very organic design, like a toy. Compact but roomy. On the road, like a car.

Advice for future owners:
1. have your car serviced on time
2. use original spare parts, fortunately there are plenty of them now.
3. use high-quality lubricants and, if possible, high-quality fuel.
And it will serve you for many years to come.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

In August 2006, at the Moscow International Motor Show, a “new generation van” LDV Maxus with a gross weight of 3.5 tons was demonstrated at one of the GAZ stands. Rumors spread that they were going to produce it instead of the popular Gazelle. What kind of Maxus is this?

And what did we see when we arrived at GAZ at the invitation of the press service of the Nizhny Novgorod automobile plant? A van very similar to the Ford Transit. Even the nameplate on the radiator grille resembled a Ford one, only with large letters LDV.

But it's not the emblem, it's the design of the van. A large windshield providing good visibility, large xenon headlights and a functional bumper. Why functional? Because it is an air intake connected to the air filter communications.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

The internal body volume of 10.3 m3 practically puts the LDV in the same line as vans such as the Citroen Jumper, Volkswagen LT and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with a gross weight of 3.5 tons.

The rear doors are hinged and can open 270°. The loading height of the platform is 510 mm.

The side sliding door opens a large opening into which a fairly large load can pass. The internal volume of the body and its design allow loading Euro pallets.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

The Maxus's body design is unobtrusive and not very attractive. At the same time, it is convenient to get into the cabin, since the doors open wide, the opening is large, and its lower part is equipped with a convenient step.

Maxus- the car is English. In the UK the steering wheel is mounted on the right side. But the van is also sold to countries with left-hand traffic. This means that manufacturers need to move not only the steering, but also the pedal unit, and most importantly, the panel and instrument cluster to the left side. This is a costly and labor-intensive task, since the instrument panel changes its design and electrical communications. In order not to bother with rearranging the devices, LDV solved this problem radically: they installed them in the middle of the panel in its upper part. Now, if necessary, only the steering wheel and pedals are “moved,” which is technologically much simpler and cheaper.

But for the driver the effect is very interesting. Imagine: you get behind the wheel, and in front of you, instead of instruments, there is a shelf for papers and pens. It’s completely unexpected the first time, but then you get used to it.

The driver can fully ensure his own comfort while driving an LDV. The seat cushion is adjustable not only in distance to the steering column, but also in tilt forward and backward. Naturally, the angle of the backrest plus the lumbar pillow is adjustable. Let's add to this the anatomical seat and good lateral support. The steering column is also adjustable.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

Passengers are not offended by the comfort either. Two of them can fit in the cabin, so the passenger seat cushion is one with the backrest. Only the headrests are separate. To this we must add a full electrical package, as well as storage boxes above the windshield, and the description of the cabin is complete.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

To get a full feel for the LDV Maxus van, we asked specialists from UKER OJSC GAZ to install devices for monitoring fuel consumption and dynamic characteristics of the vehicle and take measurements on the test roads of the factory's test site. The measurement results are given in the table.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

But even without numbers it was clear that the VM diesel was 2.5 liters and rated at 120 hp. has excellent dynamics. Of course, in a short period of testing it is impossible to fully feel (that is, feel, not evaluate) the operation of the motor. But by the smooth operation of the engine - both at high speeds and at low speeds - we can say about its excellent characteristics. The gas pedal works without delays or jerks. The 5-speed cable-driven gearbox also creates no problems: shifts are fast and precise.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

It turned out to be impossible to check the operation of ABS, because the roads were dry, and the brakes themselves had no complaints.

Since measurements were taken in two weight categories, the smoothness of the ride could be easily determined on a cobblestone road.

When equipped, the English van, equipped with a single-leaf spring rear suspension, does not “goat” on cobblestones and maintains straight-line movement quite reliably.

© Ekaterina Baleeva

The van was loaded with ballast from bags of shot to a total weight of 3.5 tons. Once again we drove on the cobblestones. The car ran a little softer, but these are subjective sensations.

I didn't really like the steering. No, the hydraulic booster works well and, according to specialists from UKER OJSC GAZ, it is reliable, but the force on the steering wheel is increased: during turns you have to strain your hands a little.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the English van is a worthy replacement for the Gazelles, but in this regard a peculiar surprise awaited us. As it turns out, there will be no replacement. The automobile plant producing LDV Maxus was simply acquired by GAZ. So there was an English van, but it became a Russian one.

As Sergei Lugovoy, director of public relations for the Nizhny Novgorod branch of LLC Management Company GAZ Group, told us, LDV Maxus is currently undergoing expert testing at UKER and is preparing for certification and type approval.

LDV Maxus will be produced in England, but from the second half of 2008, vans are expected to be manufactured in Russia at the modernized GAZ production facility: first an installation batch, then mass production.

In addition, English van production technology is being adapted to the production "Gazelle". These are, of course, different cars, if only because the LDV is frameless, front-wheel drive, with a transverse engine, and the Gazelle is the complete opposite. However, British production technology can be applied to our car. Time will tell how all this will come to life.

The appearance of the GAZ Maxus commercial vehicle on the Russian market was an event that had been awaited for a long time. The need for light-duty trucks and minibuses, due to the specifics of the domestic market, is great. Most often, it was covered by the well-known Gazelle, produced by the same GAZ concern. However, this car was inferior to its foreign counterparts in all respects, except for price. Maxus is the first attempt of our domestic automobile industry to create a truly competitive car with good performance, reliable, economical, and at the same time affordable even for small entrepreneurs.

The Maxus car is a successful design developed by the British concern Leyland-DAF Vans, better known in the world as LDV.

The popularity of Maxus in Europe was facilitated, first of all, by the extreme simplicity of the car, which not only made Maxus relatively cheap, but also simplified repair and service work.

A good proof of the commercial success of Maxus is that over the past few years, Maxus has repeatedly received prestigious awards and titles at major European motor shows such as “Best European Commercial Vehicle”, “Best Professional Van”, “Best Light Van of the Year” and even "World's Best Commercial Vehicle Fleet Van of the Year."

The low cost and high reliability of Maxus led to the fact that front-wheel drive Maxus vans were purchased by such reputable organizations as the British police, better known to us as Scotland Yard, and the Royal Postal Service.

Carefully conducted studies showed that this car is ideal for Russian conditions, and therefore the GAZ Group decided to acquire a controlling stake in LDV, after which passenger and trucks under the GAZ Maxus brand appeared on the roads of our country.

Below we will tell you what GAZ Maxus is, the first presentation of which took place at the Interauto-2007 exhibition.

By the way, at the same time the GAZ concern officially announced that the entire GAZ Maxus model range would be sold in our country: from cargo-passenger vans and minibuses to Maxus onboard vehicles of various carrying capacities.

Already now you can purchase an all-metal Maxus van, a Maxus minibus designed for 11 or 14 passengers, as well as Maxus cargo-passenger combination vehicles with two or three rows of seats.

Depending on the modification, the gross vehicle weight of the GAZ Maxus is 2800, 3200 or 3500 kg, and the maximum load capacity of the Maxus reaches 1600 kg.

GAZ Maxus is available in two versions: short-wheelbase and with a wheelbase increased by 750 mm, and the roof height also changes depending on the choice.

The GAZ Maxus delivery van with a working volume of up to 11.4 cubic meters is simple and easy to use. Its compact, but at the same time roomy, rigid supporting body is made of corrosion-resistant galvanized metal. The Maxus body is reinforced with side members and has a multi-layer floor in the cargo compartment. The GAZ Maxus van is recognized as the best in its class precisely in terms of the parameters of the cargo compartment, primarily for the successful design of the side and rear doors, which are very convenient when performing loading and unloading operations.

GAZ Maxus is a front-wheel drive car. The Maxus power plant is a reliable 2.5-liter turbocharged diesel engine made in Italy. Depending on the modification, the power of this 16-valve diesel engine, equipped with an intercooler, is 95 or 120 hp, which guarantees the GAZ Maxus good dynamic characteristics.

The Maxus gearbox is a manual five-speed, manufactured by KIA. The design is complemented by an impeccably engaged clutch from Valeo, highly reliable front struts from Delfay and a rear axle from Dana, as well as a road-tested Bosch braking system.

Already in the basic configuration, the GAZ Maxus is equipped with a pre-heater, and optionally with air conditioning, a larger battery, an improved ventilation system, etc.

It is safe to say that GAZ Maxus successfully combines traditional English quality with an affordable price. And the durable and at the same time simple design of Maxus, together with highly reliable components, make Maxus vans and trucks ideal commercial vehicles specifically for Russian conditions.