Why does a business-class sedan need all-wheel drive?
It used to seem that in Russia, the Germans, for example, from Mercedes-Benz or Audi, who are very proud of their 4Matic and quattro systems, would gladly answer this question. But now Nissan, which presented its all-wheel-drive version of the Teana in our country, has also managed to share the advantages of all driven wheels on a D-class sedan. Well, I tried to find the disadvantages myself.
To get acquainted with the Nissan Teana Four, the Japanese manufacturer's representative office invited our editorial team to St. Petersburg, to the plant in Kamenka, where, in fact, this car is produced in a full cycle. That is: they assemble, paint, weld, and then, not without the help of our brethren, they also promote it.
Moscow-St. Petersburg
So, early morning, not the most polite staff at Sheremetyevo, an hour of flight, and I'm in Pulkovo. After rainy morning Moscow, the city on the Neva greets me with surprisingly bright sunshine. The day promises to be pleasant, and "Teanas" are already waiting in the airport parking lot. Big black cars stand gracefully in a row, shining in the sun. Their squinting looks aggressively gaze into the distance, as if searching for some officials from the capital. I open the heavy door and sit in the large and comfortable leather seat of the car, adjust the seat with buttons, and start the engine. Clearly, the car was expecting a business suit to visit, but it so happened that I sat down dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
Big black cars stand gracefully in a row, shining in the sun
Pulkovo-Kamenka
And even though my appearance would have suited any other car, just not the too serious Teana, I'm already driving it in the left lane on the Ring Road and feel absolute freedom of action. The powerful engine instantly reacts to any touch of the gas pedal, and the speedometer needle rapidly rises. The fact is that first Nissan offered to ride in the already known top version with a 3.5-liter 249-horsepower V6 engine. Except for the ground clearance, nothing has changed in this car. It is worth noting that all versions of the Teana have grown a bit — the car's ground clearance is now 150 mm (previously it was 15 mm less).
We drove up to the plant, a huge territory of 165 hectares, on which a relatively small building of the first stage of the assembly enterprise is located, occupying 35 of them. Before getting out of the car, I glanced at the fuel gauge; it turned out that, having driven about 80 kilometers from the airport to the plant, the powerful Teana had "devoured" a quarter of the 70-liter tank.
At the plant, which employs 1,500 workers and four robots, I had the opportunity to meet its new head, Dmitry Mikhailov. "In fact, production automation does not affect the quality of the products," says the newly appointed general director of Nissan Manufacturing Rus, who replaced Fujio Hosaka on April 1, hinting at the robots. Dmitry himself admitted that he came to the automotive business from the soft drinks industry, but it seems that he has been dealing with cars for a long time. Now he is one of the few heads of foreign car plants in our country for whom Russian is a native language. From the conversation, it became known that the enterprise's future plans include focusing on the brand's business segment and on Nissan models produced in Japan, not at the British plant. Well, and of course, the company is very interested in localizing production, because parts from Japan go by sea for 4-5 months. True, now in cars of Russian assembly there is only one domestic part — the brake pipe, albeit a small but vitally important thing.
Dmitry Mikhailov is one of the few heads of foreign car plants in our country for whom Russian is a native language
Kamenka-Zelenogorsk
When I left the plant building — there were already "Teanas" of a different color in the yard. In appearance, they differed from those on which my colleagues and I drove here only by the Four badge on the trunk lid. Their main difference was in the technical filling — all-wheel drive, 167 "horses" and four cylinders; two had to be removed because in the 4*4 version they simply did not fit.
On the Teana Four, I'm going to head towards Zelenogorsk, which is located on the shore of the gulf and until 1948 was a Finnish resort called Terijoki, which translates from Finnish as "resin river".
Again I sit in the already familiar large leather seat, start the engine with a button, enter the destination into the Russian-speaking navigator, and press the gas pedal. "The guys from Nissan should have given the 3.5-liter cars after the all-wheel-drive ones, or not given them at all," a thought flashes through my head. The difference with the 249-horsepower sedan is felt immediately; during sharp acceleration, the car starts to roar. It can also go fast, but despite the improved sound insulation of the cabin, the engine's call about the lack of power is still audible. But this is if you tear from the start; in normal mode, the same comfort is felt inside, and cars in the left lane still yield the lane, even if you don't ask them to.
It's a pity that this car got me on a fine sunny day; you won't find dirt or water even with a search. I couldn't test the all-wheel-drive system, which, depending on driving conditions, electronically distributes torque between the front and rear axles in an optimal proportion. The system can be switched between Auto and Lock modes. During normal driving, torque is distributed almost like in the front-wheel-drive version.
I never managed to test the all-wheel-drive system
In the middle of the journey, I decided to experience all the delights of a business sedan and, turning into a business person for a while, asked a colleague to be my driver for a bit and get behind the wheel.
After I tried all the seats in the Teana, I came to the following conclusion. There are cars for the driver, there are for rear passengers, but this sedan seems to me a car for the front passenger. It is to the right of the steering wheel that you feel most comfortable in the cabin. In this leather seat with a power-adjustable leg rest, you feel like a very significant person, say, some mid-level official nostalgic for the Soviet past, when they all rode in the front. One thing is depressing: unlike the driver's seat, the passenger seat has no lumbar support, without which, in my opinion, you won't ride long in the front.
If the front seats are fully comfortable, pushed back to the max, then it will be a bit cramped in the back
If you push the front seat all the way back and extend the aforementioned leg rest, your place turns into Boeing business class. True, tall passengers in the back, when their knees press into the backrest, will experience the most genuine "economy". However, in the normal position of the seats, it is also very comfortable in the back, and the suspension perfectly swallows even the most terrible road irregularities that I encountered on the way from St. Petersburg to Zelenogorsk. Inside the car, everything is quite high-quality and soft, except for the plastic "wood", which, in my opinion, adds a certain shabbiness rather than luxury. However, such "wood" is now everywhere; some even like it... which is strange.
Inside the car, everything is quite high-quality and soft, except for the plastic "wood"
How much does all-wheel drive cost for the people?
The price of the Teana 4x4 starts from 1,075 thousand rubles. For this money, in addition to all driven wheels, you get a leather interior, power-adjustable front seats, a 7-inch monochrome display on the dashboard, and 6 audio system speakers. The top-end Teana Four will cost 1,243 thousand rubles, and here there will already be 11 Bose speakers, a color display, the aforementioned leg rest, and much more.
And let Mercedes-Benz or Audi continue to praise their all-wheel-drive systems, while Nissan, without trying to win anyone's laurels, simply states that the Teana Four is the most affordable business sedan on the Russian market. And arguing with such a statement is useless.
Grigory Nemirovsky
We thank the company "Nissan Motor Rus" and personally Tatyana Natorova for the invitation.
This and other Nissan cars can be purchased from official dealers