The most common and relatively inexpensive sedan from a domestic manufacturer is the Lada Granta and its basic version. According to the tasks of AvtoVAZ, this car was supposed to act as a replacement for the Lada fifth and seventh models, which had already become a classic of the Russian automobile industry. Especially the Standard package.
This Lada Granta car is the basic one in the line of new sedans produced in Togliatti. The first copies began to go on sale at the very end of 2011. At first, its cost was 229,000 rubles. This was the basic version. However, from April 1, 2012, it increased by 10,000 rubles. Then AvtoVAZ representatives said that the price increase was caused by inflation. But some experts are of the opinion that the rise in price is primarily due to the high demand for this brand of car, what is included in the car and what are its characteristics?
Technical features
The technical capabilities of a car primarily characterize its overall level. Lada Granta is a basic layout compared to other versions of this line. There is nothing superfluous in it. At the same time, the parameters of this Lada model are as follows:
The basic version is equipped with a power unit in the form of a four-cylinder petrol engine of 1600 cc. Develops power of 82 horsepower. At the same time, the motor can create a maximum torque of 182 Nm. The power plant was not created specifically for this model. Especially for the minimum configuration. It is just a copy from another representative of AvtoVAZ, namely Lada Kalina.
- In the original layout, the car is equipped with a manual transmission.
- The steering wheel is raised high and can rotate four full turns.
- In terms of its dimensions (4200:1700:1500 mm), Granta does not exceed the usual dimensions of Sedan class cars. The curb weight of the car is 1.515 tons. The minimum ground clearance is 16 cm. The wheels have a size of R13 - 175/70.
- The Lada of this version received from the designers a luggage compartment with a capacity of 500 liters. This allows you to travel longer distances.
- Braking systems installed on the Grant chassis are standard, combined type: front - disc, rear - drum.
- The car's appetite for fuel is determined by the nature of the drive. In city traffic, the Lada Granta consumes up to 9.3 liters, and when driving onto a suburban highway, the consumption will be 6.1 liters. A combined driving style will increase gasoline costs to 7.3 liters per 100 km.
- The dynamics of acceleration to hundreds is 9.5 seconds.
- Any distinctive design solutions for the appearance of the machine are not used. This is the minimum configuration.
Price mystery
In fact, there is no mystery here - there is a whole range of engineering solutions, it is they that made it possible to make a modern car with a starting price of 229 thousand rubles. Firstly, by taking the Kalina design as a base, the developers saved money because the main elements of the body had already been calculated and tested. In addition, the Granta design was carefully developed using digital technologies and methods of the Renault-Nissan alliance, which reduced the cost of its development. Secondly, to reduce the cost of production, the number of parts in various components of the car was reduced; this was achieved through the development of a new design of components - without compromising the most important characteristics: safety, quality, convenience and reliability. For example, the radiator trim is integrated with the front bumper. If we remember “Kalina”, its bumper group contains nine parts, while “Granta” has only three. There are 52 parts in the instrument panel of the Lada Kalina sedan, and 39 in the Grants panel.
Thirdly, another little trick from AvtoVAZ engineers: 90 hp were “removed” from the 1.6-liter engine. (in “standard” – 84 hp). It could have been more, but VAZ deliberately did not make the car more powerful so that owners could avoid paying excise tax and operating the car would be cheaper.
The price for the “norm” version starts at 256,000 rubles, and for this money you can buy a “Grant” with electric power and front electric windows, a height-adjustable steering column, an on-board computer, central locking, 14-inch stamped wheel rims and other pleasant little things. The exterior of the “norm” is refined with body-colored bumpers and a radiator grille molding.
Advantages and disadvantages
The exterior of the Lada Standard configuration is not impressive in any way, it is even somewhat unsightly. What's included in this version? This image of the car is created by unpainted mirrors, rear and front bumpers, and door handles. In addition, the overall picture is further aggravated by the presence of disc hubcaps and a radiator grille, but this is the most minimal configuration for you. A negative point is also the lack of tinting and the car is not equipped with electronics. One should not expect anything else, since the Lada Granta is an economy class car. Therefore, the car definitely needs tuning solutions, especially its minimum configuration.
Tuning itself is something between creating an individually unique image of your “iron horse” and upgrading the car’s control systems. In further versions, AvtoVAZ made the necessary adjustments and slightly modified the exterior and equipment of the Lada. Now the car looks more presentable and, first of all, thanks to the “casting” on 13 wheels.
What's included in the popular car? Granta is equipped according to basic modern requirements. All necessary passive safety equipment is available: AirBag for the driver, inertial belts, latches for a child car seat. The Lada Standard version has daytime running lights, a spare wheel and the ability to fold the rear row of seats. The main advantage of the standard layout of the Lada Granta in the most minimal configuration is the low price, which is affordable for many fellow citizens.
Granta is available in three versions: Standard, Norma, Lux. The Russian automaker has specially launched the production of several variants of the Lada in order to be able to satisfy the needs of different categories of car enthusiasts. Moreover, the higher the price, the safer and more comfortable the ride.
The same “Kalina”?
Although the Lada Granta was created on the Kalina platform, it is still a completely different car - new and modern. About 400 original components have been developed and manufactured for Granta (AvtoVAZ purchases approximately 260 of them from suppliers). The car has new front and rear fenders, hood, trunk lid, front and rear body frame parts, lighting equipment, front and rear bumpers, instrument panel, heater, seats, power windows, door trim, steering wheel, front and rear windows, glued side windows glass, passive safety system, engine cooling system, exhaust system, interior and trunk upholstery, fuel system, gearbox drive. As can be seen from this list, “Granta” has come a long way from its predecessor “Kalina”.
In addition, modernized front and rear suspensions have been developed for Granta. In trim levels with power steering (“standard” and “luxury”), an increased caster of the front suspension is provided, which significantly improves the vehicle’s directional stability. Since increased caster leads to increased steering effort, for these versions of the Granta a booster with increased compensating torque is provided. In addition, the “Granta” in the “norm” and “luxury” versions will receive a new “short” steering rack, which reduces the number of steering turns to three and significantly improves the car’s handling. The “sharp” steering wheel is more informative, so the driver feels the road better. As journalists noted after a test drive of the Granta, the “rearrangement” maneuver at a speed of 40–50 km/h is performed without difficulty, the rolls in turns are small, and the steering effort is quite acceptable. Also for the front suspension, a new strut module has been developed with a modified design and characteristics of the upper support. In addition, the anti-roll bar and body supports have been strengthened.
As for the rear suspension, for the first time in AvtoVAZ’s practice, production vehicles will have a rear suspension with a negative camber angle (–1°), which is installed at the factory and does not require adjustment during operation. This change significantly improves driving characteristics and provides greater stability of the car on the road. By the way, this “know-how” came from the field of high-tech motorsports. The negative camber angle from the racing tracks first migrated to small-scale batches of Lada cars, for example, to the Lada Kalina Sport, and since September last year, all models of the Kalina family have acquired this innovation in the rear suspension.
We also managed to get rid of Kalina’s “childhood diseases”. In particular, the ECM controller has been moved to the front panel in the footwell area of the front passengers. The horn was placed higher, and it is no longer so afraid of road reagents. In order to reduce the risk of airing, the engine cooling system has been redesigned. The overall level of noise and vibration is reduced - for example, the stove fan motor and the machine engine itself are quieter. The design of the gearbox drive has been changed: the defect-prone electric reverse lock has been replaced with a mechanical one, and the frequently torn lever cover has been replaced with a more durable one.
LADA GRANTA CLUB
The author's spelling and punctuation have been preserved.
Disclaimer: everything written below is my personal experience as a driver and impressions as an owner received from operating a particular car.
Written for those people who want to receive objective, unbiased information in order to make a decision about purchasing (or refusing to purchase) a Lada Granta car. So. year 2012. The family already had a previous generation Opel Astra, a hatch, manual. The question of buying a second car arose due to the fact that I had to go to work every day, which was 100+ km from home and the car, of course, on the one hand, should be as reliable as possible (after all, the mileage was 1000 km per week! !! - both in winter and summer), on the other hand, the car should be inexpensive to maintain - you understand, I didn’t want to leave all the money I earned on service. Well, of course, I wanted acceptable comfort, because spending 3-4 hours on the road every day is, I’ll tell you, a pleasure (of course, I don’t take into account the specifics of working as a taxi driver ). The portrait of the future car emerged as follows: budget about 400, an air conditioner is required, preferably a new one. Accordingly, only VAZ fell under these parameters. Like most residents of Tolyatti, the main driving experience was with VAZ products: I started with 21053, then 21102, Kalina and Kalina again. I didn’t want to take the Priora, because they weren’t very different from the 10K – and I regularly repaired the 10K, so I looked towards the Grants as a fundamentally new car. I saw Grant for the first time in a sports guise at circuit racing and I really liked it - the wide body kit, 17-wheelers did their job and in the end, through great connections (this was the very beginning of production and they were really in short supply) a car was bought in Perseus color ( dark blue metallic). There were simply no options for the engine and gearbox, so for 350 rubles I got an 8-valve engine with 87 horses and a manual transmission. A small digression: probably many will say, like the VAZ is broken, ancient, uncomfortable, etc. I don’t know how anyone feels, but my 2 previous Kalinas left the most favorable impression - both in terms of quality, comfort of movement and cost of maintenance. I drive carefully, I look after the cars - not exactly shaking over them, but I ride regularly for maintenance and they haven’t let me down. Well, comfort is different for everyone: some people find it unpleasant to drive in a Mercedes after a Maybach. After the Grant test, I personally liked it - it’s clear that it could have been better in terms of comfort, but the seat promised to protect your back on long trips, the high-mounted jack for a tape recorder suggested that you could play some good music, the trunk gave me confidence that, if necessary, it could accommodate a bunch of family belongings (unlike the Opel, by the way, which could fit a couple of bags at most), so we took it. By the way, the trunk performed well during the trip, but more on that later. Separately, I would like to note the spaciousness of the interior - compared to Kalina and Priora - A LOT OF SPACE!!! The plastic in the cabin is yes, hard; yes, oak. But I didn’t intend to paw him all the time, so I never paid attention to it. I liked the steering wheel - moderately grippy and thick. The headrests are a bit ugly - it felt like in order to reduce the cost, one normal headrest was cut in half. After I saw similar headrests in the MAZDA CX 7, I stopped worrying about it. In principle, there were no rear headrests, but this did not bother me at all - firstly, there are always only children in the back; secondly, excellent visibility back. Of the goodies, the only standard equipment was 14 alloy wheels, which, in combination with standard 175/65 P14 tires, simply sank into the huge arches and gave the car a grotesquely ridiculous look. Plus it was mercilessly noisy. Therefore, immediately, namely half an hour after leaving the salon, without having yet received a license plate, normal Yokohama S-Drive 195/60 P14 tires were transferred from the previous Kalina. It has become better - both in appearance and in driving characteristics. The next step was the purchase of good music (don’t forget, after all, 1000 km a week ) - Kenwood took the head, the Kix acoustics were component in front, the rear was pancakes in a wooden shelf, an active 30 cm subwoofer was quietly nestled in the huge trunk. They also took their place. parking sensors, a Barracuda anti-theft lock and an alarm with auto start are an indispensable thing when you run out in the winter at 5-30 in the morning to go to work and the car is already warmed up/cooled down. I was very disappointed that the package did not include an air conditioner - I had to install it myself. The rear hemisphere was tinted from stupid things. Well, of course, all the little things - a recorder, a radar detector, frameless brushes and something else. Subsequently, I replaced the turn signals with cool Chinese flashlights, turned on the running lights (of course, Chinese) + the apotheosis was the diode glowing VAZ emblem on the radiator (guess which country? ) So, let's go. Within a month of operation, all the aspirations and hopes expected from the car were confirmed. Nothing dripped, leaked, rattled or creaked anywhere. There was a strong feeling of a solid car at the level of a decent foreign car. The car held the road superbly, accelerated acceptably, and therefore it was decided to drive it to the Caucasus on the upcoming vacation (about 2000 km one way). It will probably seem that I am singing the praises of this car too much. No, there were also shortcomings and I will definitely tell you about them. During the indicated month of commuting, the only thing that upset me was the car’s behavior on the highway in ruts - you know those stupid longitudinal grooves on the road. I sinned on non-standard tires - I thought that the 195 width was to blame, but when I talked with the guys on similar cars on standard tires, I realized that this was not the case. The problem was real, because catching a car, even if not at high speeds (up to 110), is a dubious pleasure. Having rummaged around on the Internet, I saw that people are rolling 17-inch rollers with a width of 215. I scratched my head on this topic for a long, long time. Of course, outwardly everything looked great and the reviews were laudatory, but the chakra responsible for fears was doing bench press. Still, this is completely different money, and the low-profile tires were embarrassing. People put it at 215/40 P17 - this is the maximum size I have seen. And on our roads, a low profile is ruined in no time. Everything was decided by chance, as always. On one of the sites there was an advertisement for the sale of wheels with VAZ offset and bolt patterns, with a wonderful design. The discs were made to order, but for some reason they didn’t sell, and without hesitation I bought it…. Now it's time to choose tires. First of all, I decided on the size - the 40 profile was too small, and I decided to take 45. In absolute terms, it was approximately equal to the standard profile, so I thought it would do. That's how it turned out later. I’ll say right away that the Granta on such wheels is a completely different car. First of all, driving performance. The increased width completely eliminated the influence of rutting - the car simply stopped noticing it. The increased outer diameter raised the ground clearance by 2 cm - small irregularities simply ceased to exist. I'm not even talking about geometric cross-country ability - jumping along curbs has become immeasurably easier. If anyone is interested: wheel brand 4GO SD097, Chinese tires Austone Athene SP7. I won’t dwell on the specifics, I’ll just say that the wheels and tires went through all the potholes of the year the car was used, nothing ever bent or cut through. A few words about the dynamics: it may have worsened, but I didn’t notice it. So, let's get back to the car. The car survived the trip to the Caucasus brilliantly - there were no problems at all, with the exception of increased attention from hot southern guys. Fuel consumption on the highway with air conditioning was approximately 7 liters - more than pleasant. On Kalina it was even smaller, but without air conditioning. The trip revealed a number of shortcomings: firstly, weak brakes (due to the increased width of the tires, the standard brake discs began to fail) and poor low beam. In all other respects, the car was impeccable (especially the trunk - the family consisted of 4 people, 3 of whom were fair sex, so the clothes fit half an apartment and there was free space in the cabin!!!) Regarding the brakes: first of all, I decided to install stronger brakes, because The diameter of the disc allowed the installation of 15 brake discs. Plus I decided to put disc brakes on the rear axle. I spent a long time choosing and settled on the Darbis set. The lap turned out to be about 20+ t.r., but the car began to brake simply atomically - I didn’t measure the braking distance, but it felt like it had decreased by 30 percent. After another racer almost drove into my ass once again, a Chinese sport nameplate was stuck on the trunk lid. After that, they began to cuddle less. By the way, out of curiosity, I took a ride in a standard Grant Sport - compared to mine, the Sport simply has no brakes. Although it certainly rolls more cheerfully. Regarding the light: at that time there weren’t really any alternative optics, so collective farm xenon was installed in the PTF and bi-xenon in the headlights. At my request, the guys made the PTF turn on immediately with the neighbor. I was afraid that the xen would blind people he met, but after checking it on himself several times (I changed to my wife’s car), I calmed down - everything was fine. While the whirlwind of eliminating deficiencies continued, the car otherwise behaved excellently. The electric power steering made the steering quite light, with decent feedback, and the gearbox did not cause any trouble. In other words, the car only required filling with gasoline and routine maintenance. Sound insulation is certainly not ideal, but turning up the music louder will immediately eliminate this drawback. Since the car behaved perfectly at 17, it was decided to take winter tires also at 17 - for reasons of geometric cross-country ability, but only 40 profile. Still, the 45 profile was quite close to the body, and given that the arches were clogged with snow, smaller wheels were needed. The 17 is a pleasure to drive in winter. Firstly, the car is more passable due to the ground clearance, and secondly, due to the increased width, the tires roll like a tank and brake better. Well, a short summary of ownership and impressions: 1. Period of use - a year and three months (sold due to moving to another city and two cars were no longer needed) 2. Mileage during this time - 60 thousand km. 3. Repair – once!!! (after the accident, the wheel bearing of the rear wheel collapsed, where the impact occurred) 4. Average consumption on the highway - 7, in the city - 10 (both in winter and summer I used autostart to bring the interior to a comfortable temperature). Gasoline is exclusively from Rosneft. 92 with some of their proprietary additives. 5. Oil change every 7 thousand km - gray Shell synthetic. 6. The longest haul in a day is 1800 km in 23 hours. My wife and I rode alternately. Backs are fine. 7. In addition to maintenance, I changed the alternator belt - just in case, I could have left the old one. 8. Roomy interior and trunk. 9. Absolutely reasonable cost of maintenance - I don’t remember exactly, offhand it’s about 10 thousand rubles. Advantages: “cheap and cheerful” Disadvantages: standard brakes, lights. Solution: installation of a tuning kit, of which there are a great many specifically for Grant (no need to farm anything); in terms of light - now there are alternative optics, more powerful halogens or decent xenon. This car is suitable for you if: 1. you need to drive and not show off 2. you have a large family (from three people) 3. you don’t want to spend a lot of money on maintaining the car and time searching for a service station 4. you don’t really care about the sensations contact with plastic and you prefer to satisfy your tactile hunger on a round female knee . This car is NOT suitable for you if: 1. people need to notice that you are driving. At least for a couple of seconds. And you have to notice and make sure that you are noticed and looked at. Or at least turned around. Ideally - envied 2. you know the difference in acceleration between 6 and 12 seconds to hundreds. 3. you know all the dismantlings of foreign cars within a radius of 100 km and you have time to search the Internet for spare parts and service stations “cheaper” 4. you have increased aesthetic demands and suffer from tactile hunger - when you get into the car, first of all you start pawing at the interior decoration. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE ON THE ROAD! Author of review of Lada Granta: konckistadorr Date of review of Lada Granta: August 9, 2016
