REPRINT FROM #11 2000
REVIEW OF SCHNELL D4
BULLS EYE!
In the SUV segment, the Schnell D4 is an interesting newcomer, and fact is that many things does speak in its favour.
“Do we really need another SUV?”
That question is far from stupid at the moment. It seems like every manufacturer wants to have one in their model programme now. And sure, who does not want to have a piece of a lucrative, growing market? Especially in the US, where sales figures are about to beat the ones for passenger cars.
One of the latest models released is the Schnell D4. On the outside a fairly modern looking car, that have abandoned the boxiness of most vehicles in this class for smoother, more rounded shapes. But is the inside as modern as the outside, or is there just a shiny new shell over outdated technology? Our road test will give you the answers.
DRIVING CHARACTERISTICS
The drive system is a 50/50 split AWD. You don’t have to think about touching anything, the power is always going to all the four wheels. And we found out that it could be seen as a good compromise between driveability and offroad capacity. The car feels very stable and secure, yet you are able to push out the tail if you want to. It will “never” break out uncontrollably though (never as in never during normal driving) and the handling is very good, especially for its class. We could reach numbers as high as 0.91 G on the skidpad. And, of course, during bad weather conditions, you have an even higher advantage compared to most cars. ABS and traction control helps in that case, but it doesn’t have the latest technology that also adds stability control.
But it is actually somewhat competent off the road too. Don’t believe for a moment that this is a real offroader, it doesn’t have any ambitions to be one either, but AWD with a viscous differential, large amounts of ground clearance and fairly big wheels and tyres will help you a lot. We dare to say that it can be driven anywhere you want to drive unless you are actually actively choosing to drive off road.
In city driving it can feel a bit clumsy if you are used to a regular passenger car, but we’d say that it is mostly a matter of getting used to it. A large executive sedan has a bigger footprint, actually, and the high seating position gives a good overview of the car. There is also variable ratio power steering which works well.
The brakes are unusually large which means no fading problems, and also moderate stopping distances. 100-0 is done in 40.4 metres, and there is of course ABS.
VERDICT: ****
PERFORMANCE
166 hp and 2.3 litres in such a heavy car doesn’t make for a rocket, right? Well, maybe not. But it has to be said that it does offer what you can expect nowadays. A top speed of 226 km/h, 0-100 in 9.19 seconds, 80-120 in 6.96 seconds and the quartermile in 16.62 seconds is fairly regular numbers and we find no reasons to complain. It’s more than adequate in a type of car that doesn’t exactly beg you to drive fast.
VERDICT: ***
COMFORT
The engine is a bit loud, even if sound insulation is good, the drone can get a bit tiresome on the long drives. Seating comfort is relatively good and the seats have a nice half leather/velour upholstery. The suspension is a rather normal affair, you are not exactly riding on a cloud, but it soaks up bumps relatively well. For a SUV, the tyre profile is kind of low, which makes the ride a bit more harsh on bad roads.
The Schnell D4 gets an average rating here. It really doesn’t shine comfort wise, but then again, few of its competitors does either. It still could be called reasonably comfortable and is not behind its competitors in general.
VERDICT: ***
ROOMINESS & PRACTICALITY:
A large box on wheels should also be reasonably roomy, right? Well, the Schnell is. But it is by no means exceptional. It has decent passenger space, not much more, and a 793 litre cargo area. Large, but some regular station wagons offer even more. The longitudinal AWD layout is somewhat space consuming, and like many SUVs, you’re easily tricked into believing the car is larger than it actually is.
This may sound like sour critisism, but it isn’t. The car is both roomy and practical but one should know that it has its limitations too. If you need an MPV, this is by no means a replacement.
One good thing: the legal maximum payload is as high as 1430 kg. You won’t overload that the first thing you do.
VERDICT: ****
The cargo compartment is roomy, but not unlimited.
EQUIPMENT
For a SUV with no direct ambitions to compete in the luxury class, the level of equipment is still pretty high. Electric windows and mirrors, climate control, leather/velour upholstery, CD player, anti lock brakes, traction control, leather gearknob, brushed aluminium inserts on the dash, alloy wheels - all is standard equipment. Especially for its price, we didn’t feel like something was missing.
VERDICT: ****
ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN
Nothing is holy anymore. Schnell is now in a joint-venture with japanese Hakumai which actually is the largest shareholder of Schnell now. And the engine is co-developed with Hakumai, which gave us some worries since they have rarely impressed us with their engines in the past. But it did show that our worries was not justified. The 2.3 litre unit puts out 166 hp at 6700 RPM, kind of a positive surprise, but what we really liked with it was its nearly flat torque band, giving 167 Nm already at 1000 RPM with a peak of 210 Nm at 4000 RPM. That makes the 6 speed manual almost unnecessary since you can skip gears without any troubles. But we can’t complain about the operation of the gearbox.
For a modern engine, we are not impressed with the NVH levels though, we have driven better. But it has a peppy throttle and clean emissions, and is all in all a nice unit that features modern technology like VVT and VVL.
VERDICT: ****
QUALITY AND RELIABILITY
Predicted reliability for the Schnell is generally somewhat better than average. That could be said for the feeling of build quality too. Nothing impressive - but generally good. Far from a bank vault but everything sits there, works and doesn’t rattle.
The body structure is well protected against rust, but with no use of aluminium or galvanized steel, prepare to find surface rust in some years since there is just regular steel panels. But probably we won’t be talking 70s levels of rust now, thank god.
VERDICT: ***
ECONOMY
Count with relatively high ownership costs. Servicing is expensive at $866.50 while fuel economy is acceptable for the type of vehicle - still 9.4 litres per 100 km is not exactly what could be called economical anymore. But it should be said, though, that $27500 AMU for what you get is by no means expensive, and we predict a high second hand value.
VERDICT: **
SAFETY
You are relatively protected inside a car as big as the Schnell D4, by nature so to speak. Mass, long crumple zones and large distances to surfaces inside the car you may hit, is always a good thing.
On the other hand, we would like to say that it is by no means excellent compared to other cars in its class, rather on an average level. Some of the latest equipment are missing, for example there is only one single airbag, none for the passenger and no side airbags. Generally, the SUVs are still a notch below passenger cars in this area, so the Schnell D4 is by no means alone.
VERDICT: ****
FINAL VERDICT: 31/45
The Schnell D4 is one of the more interesting newcomers in the SUV segment. The perfect car does not exist, and the Schnell D4 is far from perfect, yet we think that Schnell has nailed it when it comes to what the customer expects from a car like this. Where it has to shine, it shines. Compromises have been made where they don’t matter as much - but maybe even more important, nothing is compromised so much that it is actually bad.
We predict a bright future ahead for the Schnell D4. Schnell have aimed right - and hit bulls eye!
Thanks to @interior for the car!