Instead of a Patriot: Is it worth buying Great Wall Hover
Seven-ten years ago, one of the main dilemmas for those who were going to buy a new frame SUV for minimal money was the choice between the UAZ Patriot and the Great Wall Hover. Today, almost nothing has changed – with the amendment that the Hover can only be purchased second-hand. The statistics of our colleagues from Avito Avto says that the variation in prices for these cars is great due to the presence of different versions and long conveyor life, but in general, they sell something alive for at least 300-350 thousand, and for a decent car it’s worth laying about 500. Should I give half a million for the frame Chinese SUV, and what to look for when choosing?
Before you start talking about choosing a used Hover, it is worth making a few clarifications. First, besides the “simple” Hover, the Hover H3 and H5 models were produced, but they are structurally similar, differing in appearance, nuances of a complete set and equipment, therefore, in fact, we will talk about them too. But secondly, Hover as a car, and not as a name, left the market quite recently: we drove to the name DW Hower a year ago, and a few months ago we talked about the problems of the plant and the actual cessation of production. That is, those who are already familiar with Hover or want to buy it, can find, if not a new, almost new car. Well, we will talk about cars that have already turned at least five years old – otherwise the half-million budget will not meet.
As we already know, Hover is a frame SUV, therefore, in addition to the body, during the initial inspection, attention will have to be paid to the frame. It should be borne in mind that finding a car that has never been off-road is almost impossible: almost always, the Hover was bought as an alternative to the UAZ Patriot, and the operating scenario was rarely urban. Therefore, there is no need to be surprised at the bottom and frame rust – however, quite clear conclusions can be drawn from the volume of dirt in the cavities, the presence of penetrating corrosion of the bottom and frame damage, as well as the freshness of the anticorrosive material. she was courted. If end-to-end corrosion is already present, and old clay is packed between the muffler and the bottom, then you can try to look for a car that has been operated more sparingly. And do not forget about the frame number: it should not be damaged by corrosion and have other defects – well, it should coincide with that specified in the documents, of course. The chances of meeting a broken number are not great – a simple Chinese SUV is not very popular with hijackers, but other scenarios such as “piecemeal” assemblies after an accident with a frame replacement should be remembered, so as not to encounter a purchased car in the traffic police.
The body, by the way, resists corrosion reluctantly – but against the background of the same Patriot, which is literally “out of boredom”, some owners consider Hover several times more successful. Yes, at the age of seven to ten years, the “Chinese” will definitely not be perfect, but it all depends on the care. If the owner not only rode it in the fields and forests, but was not lazy to clean and tint rusting chips from stones and branches, Hover at least would not be “freckled.” Rust spots on the thresholds, the lower edges of the doors and around the windshield are very likely – and the fifth door is swelling and rusting, especially in the area of the license plate attachment. Muddy and scratched chrome – the inevitable evil, the blessing here is one or two and miscalculated, except that the door handles can depress. The headlights also grow cloudy and yellow extremely quickly, so you should not be surprised. Here you can mention the current sunroof: if you need one, take the time to check its performance and tightness. The latter is not always perfect, and sometimes the hatch is simply filled with sealant “out of harm’s way.”
Due to the budgetary nature of Hover, its suspension is simple, but has its own characteristics. One of these favorite owners is the torsion bar front suspension, which you can “twist” to increase ground clearance by arranging a small “elevator” with minimal investment. True, if you overdo it, the internal tripods of the drive shafts fall out and break into the first hundreds of kilometers, so often after the “elevator” the next step was to solve problems with the limiting angles of the hinges. But the back here is as simple as possible: a continuous bridge with springs, which presents a minimum of problems – although there have been cases of damage to the gearbox, and you need to listen to the bridge.
Transmission Hover – also without any surprises: this is a typical part-time with a rigidly connected front axle and a lowering row in the razdatke. Accordingly, it is necessary to check here, first of all, the performance of the front axle connection scheme, which could be either mechanical, with a lever, or electronic, with a washer or buttons. Electronic control razdatkoy more capricious, and separate love deserved a mechanism to disable the left front-wheel drive, replacing here the mechanical hub hubs.
