In the range between despair and hope. Test drive of the Lada Granta liftback

The interior of the new Lada Granta has undergone a serious renovation procedure. Today we offer our own photographs of the interiors of the Lada Granta 2018-2019 model year in different body styles. There are quite a few changes in the interior, so we will tell you everything in order. The first thing that catches your eye is the updated front panel or dashboard. In fact, this is a modernized panel from the same Kalina. But such a panel will only be available in more expensive versions with good equipment. Basic modifications Grants will receive the old dashboard. A completely new instrument panel with an enlarged monochrome on-board computer screen and bright orange backlight looks very original. If you look closely, you will notice that there are small wells around the speedometer and tachometer dials. In the central part of the console there is a new stereo system with a radio and a monochrome dial.

The plastic is still oak, especially on the door trim. One of the things that I really liked were the new heated seats. At the same time, the chair has a height change function, that is, a lift. The driver's seat can be moved up and down a few centimeters. More pronounced lateral support appeared. A driver of almost any size will feel more comfortable behind the wheel of the new Lada Granta. The rear sofa has also been modernized. The shape of the rear seats has changed and new headrests have appeared.

Below we offer photos of the interior of the new Lada Granta in different bodies.

Photos of the Lada Granta sedan interior

Salon Lada Granta 2018-2019

Photo of the interior of the new Granta

Dashboard Granta sedan Granta interior photo

Armchair Lada Granta

Radio of the new Lada Granta Door trim Granta

Granta photo of the new salon
The hatchback differs from the sedan only in the rear. In particular, the more compact body has a rather modest trunk.

In the range between despair and hope. Test drive of the Lada Granta liftback

— If you look at three-quarters from the rear, it’s almost a coupe-crossover a la BMW X6! - Yeah, and if you listen to the howl of the gearbox, then this is an old Moskvich...

It was 2014, I had just started working at the Autobusiness newspaper, and during one of my first tests I came across a Lada Kalina with an automatic transmission. I was still surprised then: how much progress had come, how good the Lada Kalina II had become! Because against the background of Kalina I it really was a berry. But!

In 2019, I sit in, essentially, a restyled version of that car and don’t understand what AvtoVAZ has been doing these four years. Against the background of the same Kalina, no fundamental difference in the sensations of the car is noticeable. Yes, the booklet says that many of the body panels were redesigned, the washer nozzles were removed from the hood and moved to the windshield frame trim. A new design has appeared, imagine, rims and hubcaps. Now there are rear parking sensors, a “powerful” air conditioner, a heated windshield, a light sensor, a rain sensor and seat height adjustment. But the feeling is still the same - they didn’t push it, they didn’t finish it, it could have been better.

You get behind the wheel and the “jokes” immediately begin. The ignition key has buttons for opening and closing the central locking and opening the trunk. Moreover, to open the latter, you do not need to press the button for a couple of seconds - the lock is activated immediately after pressing. You sit down, turn the key in the ignition - and at the same time you accidentally open the trunk by touching the button with your finger. You get out, close the trunk, and get back in. You wonder: what was that all about?

The howl of the transmission has not gone away, the sounds of an old Soviet car take you back to childhood. Nostalgia is great, but it's 2022, sorry. The booklet says that the gearbox shifting speed has been improved and noise has been reduced, but the latter is somehow not noticeable. If the Jatco automatic version does not have this howl, then the manual version does, and this greatly spoils the impression of the car. In the first two gears, when you let off the gas, you really feel like you’re in an old Moskvich.

The carpets remained the same as in that Kalina - nothing has changed. They lie crookedly, clearly not from this car.

And in general, everything is somehow not particularly neat - look through the gallery. The assembly is not the best, there are uncovered bolts everywhere...

We joked that the car was probably not a Russian assembly, but a Lithuanian one, welded from two halves at the factory. This is not true, of course, but the joint on the threshold looks funny.

There are four welding points on the right side of the trunk opening, and five on the left side. And they are all located differently. The robot in production was probably drunk. But the left wing is welded stronger than the right, which inspires confidence in the left side of the car.

At the same time, everything is quite beautiful from below; there is a fairly durable anti-corrosion mastic that even covers the thresholds.

An important improvement is that the handbrake from the G8 has been removed, and now it is replaced by a completely modern design.

“Tidy” is excellent - it reads well and looks modern. The on-board computer has a lot of additional information, for example, a voltmeter and coolant temperature, which is displayed down to degrees. You can actually see how the temperature fluctuates from 85 to 100 degrees. At 100 you can hear the cooling radiator fans turning on. In modern cars, all this is artificial; the “arrow” does not show the real state of affairs or does not exist at all. But here everything is visible in real time - and it’s cool!

There is more sound insulation, especially in the luggage compartment. And the lockers are generally made of soft material, like in more expensive cars, in order to neutralize the sound of stones on the arches! We have never seen anything like this on Russian cars, it’s really not bad.

Although it is still noisy, and there is too much aerodynamic noise on the highway. It got better - and thank you for that.

There are two very serious advantages of this car. Firstly, it is a 16-valve 1.6-liter engine, the famous “Shesnar”. 106 hp, official 10.6 seconds to “hundred”, but it feels like just some kind of “hot hatch”! The engine is very flexible, very dynamic and at the same time economical. It drives just like the hot hatchbacks of the 1990s, even with the same power steering during acceleration.

Consumption on the highway is around 5.2 liters. Not a car, but a summer resident's dream! I even highlighted this in a separate paragraph. This is very important in this segment.

Now hold on: the pistons on the engine are now... plugless! Do you still remember this word? This means that if the timing belt breaks, the piston will not “meet” the valves due to special grooves on the bottom of the piston. The motor is great!

Secondly, these are pendants. The front is a regular McPherson, the rear is a beam, but how great they are tuned in terms of energy consumption and comfort! It’s just some kind of ball, not a car; no irregularities will confuse it. In the city it “jumps” over curbs and speed bumps; outside the city it races along gravel roads like a rally car. Install the frame, change the tires - and this car can be used in rally sprints. There is no such suspension either in Logan or in other “state budget” cars. The most “omnivorous” chassis.

There is no controllability, it’s not even worth talking about. If you want to take turns at the limit on Vesta, then Granta is clearly not created for this. And in general, what can you expect from a car built on a platform from the 1990s?

The trunk volume is 440 liters, but it feels larger. And it is very practical: if you fold down the seats, you can bring a lot of seedlings to your dacha. But folding the sofa is not so easy. First you need to remove the shelf, then the headrests, raise the seats, fold the backrests... The event takes longer than in “foreign cars”.

The back row is not the most spacious, the backs are almost vertical, but there is enough headroom. And emptiness: no armrest, no cup holders, no lighting, just one pocket in the back of the front passenger - and that’s it. And ceiling handles. Hold on to them and silently go to the dacha with seedlings. That's the whole fate of the rear passenger. There are no chargers either, only one cigarette lighter in the front... We went to the editorial office to charge the iPhone for filming stories on our Instagram.

“In the range between despair and hope” is an album by the now popular group “Pornofilmy”, which talks about the harsh Russian reality. Lada Granta is also in this style - a cheap, simple car that organically fits into the concept of life in this range.

There is not much comfort in it, but it has a low price, affordable credit, practicality, super armor-piercing suspension, and a powerful and economical engine. What else is needed under these conditions?

There is still hope. It's a trivial question of sounds and attention to detail. A Lada with a manual transmission is perceived as very cheap due to the howl of the gearbox, but with a Jatco automatic transmission it’s a completely different matter. This “automatic”, in principle, suits the engine very well, it is tuned perfectly, although it only has 4 ranges. Just remove the whine of the boxes and Granta feels completely different. Make the assembly more careful, disguise the bolts and “invent” a normal key - you will have a completely decent car at a low price level in the budget segment. So we are waiting to work on the bugs.

In the meantime, we don’t find a “wow effect”, as was the case last time with the change of generations of Kalina. There is only a new look and some improvements. Although it’s worth paying tribute: this Granta looks really good.

Yuri GLADCHUK Photo by the author and Maxim CHEUS ABW.BY

The editors thank the official importer of LADA in Belarus minsk-lada.by for providing the car for the test

Notes in the margins

We spent a long time wondering what GSI 0 was. It turns out that this means that the gear shift warning beep is turned off. That is, you can turn it on, and the car will emit a signal when it is necessary to shift gears up or down! We have never seen anything like this either. More precisely, we haven’t heard.

Music system, tea, not Bose, but you can listen. But there is Bluetooth and speakerphone.

The standard tires are not Belshina, not KAMA, not Matador, but Pirelli. This is not bad!

Due to the sloping rear window, visibility to the rear is not the best...

... but there are parking sensors and large mirrors, which eliminates the problem.

Finishing materials, of course, are not of the highest quality. But so far nothing creaks - and that’s thanks for that.

There are no complaints about the clarity of switching, but the box still howls, and in low gears it is also loud...

At the top of the panel there is a convenient box for documents.

It's funny, but the reel says "2108". Did they take it from the G8, or what? Visually similar...

The trunk release button is now electromechanical. P - progress!

The trunk is closed using such a simple loop. In fact, it's quite convenient.

The light control unit is made simply and clearly. Even the more famous brands need to learn something, no joke.

The glove compartment is also quite good in volume, even two-level.

In terms of the efforts on the buttons and “knobs” of the climate system, everything is quite good. And the system itself even has an auto mode.

Phone, glasses - all this can be conveniently placed in front of the gear shift lever. There are also buttons for heated seats.

There are not enough chargers, there is only one cigarette lighter - that’s all. The USB port of the music system could not charge the phone.

The trunk is lined with felt, plastic on the sides, like, for example, in the same Sportage, no, it will not scratch.

The bottom of the engine is covered with metal protection. The clearance according to technical data is 160 mm, but it feels more...

Internal and external handles now open effortlessly, easily and clearly.

Pricing

On the Belarusian market, the Lada Granta liftback is presented in six trim levels, the cost is from 16,250 to 22,629 rubles. The engine can be 8-valve 87-horsepower or 16-valve 106-horsepower. Transmissions: 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. The basic Standard version for 16,250 rubles, or $7,900, has practically nothing, not even power steering. Only driver airbag, daytime running lights, ERA-GLONASS, ABS, EBD and other little things.

The car on test is Luxe/Prestige for 21,260 rubles, or $10,340. It already has rain and light sensors, rear parking sensors, heated seats, fog lights, electric windows (though without auto mode), a climate system, alloy wheels, a security alarm and other functions. The top Granta with automatic transmission is priced at 22,620 rubles, or $11,000.

Photos of Lada Granta hatchback interior

Granta hatchback salon

AMT Granta hatchback photo

Rear sofa of Granta hatchback Photo of Granta hatchback salon

Interior of Granta hatchback photo Steering wheel of Granta hatchback

Photos of the Grants hatch interior

Photo of the trunk of Lada Granta hatchback

Sheathing

The materials that make up the main part of the interior trim are fabric and plastic. The ceiling has a plastic base that gives it shape. On top, it is covered with fabric, similar to suede. The sun visors are also made of plastic. The color of the trim is the same as that of the dashboard, mostly dark in color.

Interior trim

The racks located in the front, rear and center have a light shade of the overall range. The entire interior, in fact, is made in one color, only with different shades.

The door trim harmoniously combines plastic and fabric in the form of patterns. On the driver's door, namely on the armrest, there is a control unit for all the car's power windows. Also, if the interior has more than one color, then a colored fabric insert can be installed on the door.

On the floor of the car there are mats made of rubber, and underneath there is a black carpet.

Photos of the Lada Granta liftback interior

Lada Granta liftback salon

Rear sofa Granta liftback

Music Lada Granta liftback

Automatic Lada Granta liftback

Granta liftback salon photo

Lada Granta liftback center console Trunk Lada Granta liftback Photo of the trunk Lada Granta liftback

Connection

General diagram for connecting a rear view camera:

In the trunk we connect the camera to the rear light wiring:

• +12V to green wire (reverse)
• "mass" to black

We connect the miniISO connector to the radio, the location of the wires in the blue block is as follows:

• Ground (outer part of the tulip) of the connector to pin 16.
• Plus (central part) of the connector to pin 19.

It is worth noting that if the MMC was installed on a car in the “norm” or “standard” configuration, then you will need to additionally supply +12V from reverse to pin No. 1 of connector A1 of the radio.

The process is also shown in the video:

New X-face

All representatives of the new Lada Granta line received a unified front design in the style of Vesta and X-ray. In addition to the modernized bumper, radiator grille and headlights, the nose of the Grant acquired a slightly adjusted hood and different shaped wings. At the same time, some other improvements were made - the washer nozzles moved from the surface of the hood to the panel in front of the windshield, and new soft fender liners appeared in the wheel arches, which better absorb the impacts of gravel flying out from under the wheels and also do not absorb moisture.