HAVAL DARGO 2022

Good ground clearance and penetration

We will not hide: we were surprised to see how many owners from China note the cross-country ability and clearance of the Dargo among the main advantages. The point here is not in the car itself, but in the specifics of the Chinese market. Due to the good quality of the roads and the low demand for four-wheel drive vehicles, the issues of ground clearance, cross-country ability, and so on are very rarely raised in China.

Nevertheless, the vast majority of Haval Dargo owners noted the undeniable pluses of a ground clearance of as much as 200 mm. With such parameters, the crossover confidently moves around the city, drives up to point-blank range to any curb and does not constrain the owner in any way. Contribute to this and the angles of entry and exit of 24 and 30 degrees, respectively.

But not all Chinese are exclusively city dwellers. So, people from the mountainous Tibet and Hubei often came in handy with a rear differential lock on an all-wheel drive car. True, they also noticed that they had to drive high in the mountains exclusively in the “sport” mode so as not to lose engine power.

It should be noted that during the tests of the Chinese media, Dargo also showed good cross-country ability, overcoming a number of diagonal displays.

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But, like any car, the Haval Dargo has its drawbacks. It’s time to talk about them.

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Don’t get involved in sports

If the “robot” on the Dargo is close to the Jolion model, then the two-liter turbocharged gasoline engine is close to the Haval F7 and F7X crossovers. The power of the units is similar – respectively, 192 and 190 liters. With. But on the Dargo, the motor has been upgraded, in particular, it has an aluminum block, which accelerates warm-up after a “cold” start and optimizes the thermal regime. The user of the car does not particularly feel this, but there is hope that thermal optimization prolongs the life of the motor.

It can be seen with the naked eye that the Dargo and F7 / F7X crossovers are very different in terms of aerodynamics. However, despite this, there is no feeling that engines of comparable power are enough for the F7 / F7X and not enough for the “suitcase” Dargo. Yes, it is quite “cubic” in appearance, but it accelerates very cheerfully. In all modes, except for off-road (this is their difference from the road is more than noticeable). Of course, having experienced the dynamics in ECO and Sport modes, anyone will feel the difference, but it is generally comparable.

And in absolute numbers, too. The stopwatch shows that the Dargo is still inferior to the aerodynamic crossovers F7 and F7X in acceleration from 80 to 120 km / h. The first one does this in at least 7 s, the second can squeeze out 6 s. Just not without problems.

I remember these tests: on both F-crossovers, strange dips were observed during sharp accelerations. The engines seemed to “slow down” at the beginning of the acceleration, for a second or two, after which the acceleration continued, but the loss was guaranteed. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn’t, but it happened so often that it was hard not to notice.

It was sad, but on Dargo I also noticed similar failures. And the fact that they were not very regular. But even when they weren’t there, the off-road crossover never managed to “leave” from seven seconds in an acceleration of 80-120 km / h. 7 seconds in both Sport and third gear (slower in fourth, and even more so in fifth). Only, as it turned out, failures can be avoided. And in a rather simple way.

When communicating in the Haval press park, I asked what the failures of the F7 and F7X motors during acceleration could be connected with. It has been suggested that in this way the manufacturer protects the gearboxes from the “zeal” of zealous riders. Now it seems to me that this is not the case. And that, suddenly starting acceleration from 80 km / h, I am trying, in fact, to deceive the car. How does this happen? Moving along the highway for a hundred (is it worth it to “brake” if the road is free, perfectly visible, the asphalt is dry and clean, and the terrain is practically absent?), I start slowing down to 80, and as soon as the desired speed limit is reached, I press the pedal “gas” to the floor. That is, I force the car to reduce the fuel supply – and suddenly, suddenly, I demand to increase it. The failure is not surprising. How is this proven? The fact that if you start smooth acceleration from 70 kilometers per hour, and accelerate to 80 “to the floor” and start counting seconds, the result will be much better and no failure will follow. How simple it turned out.

However, on the Dargo I can’t get past seven seconds at 80-120 km/h. So the “cubic” car is still not as fast as its more streamlined counterparts. However, you will not feel the lack of dynamics on it for sure. If you don’t bother with counting seconds, changing modes and other similar things, then it’s enough just to notice that during a sharp acceleration, the “robot” drops the gear from seventh to third.

But the implementation of dynamics and maintaining a high speed are two different things. I think the aerodynamics of the Dargo also plays a part of a negative role, but first of all, the chassis settings contribute to not the highest directional stability of the crossover at high and very high highway speeds. Let’s add massive wheels, which the car willingly follows. So, I don’t think you should get involved in sports driving Dargo. 120-130 km / h – this is its comfortable high-speed “ceiling”. Of course, the car is capable of more, even retains a pleasant dynamic. But, in addition to dynamics, it does not deliver pleasure from speed. Is it not as noisy as you would expect from a “cubic” body.

It’s on the highway. I’m trying to accelerate on a gravel road with occasional bits of asphalt. And then I catch the crossover on the desire to steer the rear axle, almost in a rear-wheel drive. It’s not clear why. I try to downshift and it immediately gets better. On a straight line it is convenient to use fifth or fourth gear, in corners it is better to use third. But in general, I don’t want to get involved in dashing cornering at all. Crossover does not. By the way, if you switch to automatic mode, then the gear numbers will be much higher: more often the sixth, less often the fifth. At the same speed (80-90 km/h).

What about the stabilization system? She is… silent. Doesn’t try to hold the car at all. For the sake of interest, I give a sharp “gas» on the sand area – the same. The car just powerfully “sweeps its tail.” Does it work at all? Yes, we managed to make her show herself: on a sandy rise. That is, off-road, she “wakes up”, but under normal conditions she makes herself wait.

What else is interesting in normal conditions? This is the work of adaptive “cruise”. On the Jolion model, it “adapted” to the missing obstacles, in other words, the car suddenly began to slow down, even if there were no other cars or any other objects ahead. Dargo is not so zealous “serves” the driver. That is, it slows down if you catch up with another car, and accelerates if you change lanes. But sometimes it also unexpectedly slows down on its own – only slightly. I’m trying to determine under what conditions this happens. And I find out – at the corners of the highway. If you move in a free lane, the crossover can “notice” another car moving, for example, on the right (in a left turn) and mistake it for an obstacle. He reacts in the same way to the dividing fence and even to large signposts over the highway, but this is if the road goes downhill. At the same time – I specify – the car only slows down slightly, and then quickly restores the set speed.

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