Lada Vesta SW
Lada X-ray
This issue causes a lot of controversy and has generated a lot of resonance among enthusiasts, experts and potential buyers of a new vehicle from AvtoVAZ. All-wheel drive on the Lada Vesta is not confirmed, but the concern does not give official approval, playing to the public and stirring up interest in some possibility of the presence of a 4X4 variant on one of the model releases.
What will the front-wheel drive Lada Vesta SV Cross give?
Despite the all-wheel drive, off-road travel will not seem like an easy walk. It is worth understanding that the passable abilities are moderately developed. However, despite the differences from more successful competitors, the new modification will be able to surprise its owner:
- controllability, especially when the road is icy or dirty, will increase significantly;
- the transmission of torque to all wheels will make the driving style less significant, which will definitely contribute to the comfort of driving for beginners;
- irregularities that are constantly encountered on the road, including speed bumps, will no longer bother you even at night;
- The equipment is always top-notch with the manufacturer’s most powerful production engine.
Ground clearance of 203 mm is an impressive result. Improving the suspension will clearly reveal the full potential of the SW Cross. Getting there on roads of any quality is a reality. It’s another matter to decide to go completely off-road, so beloved by some avid fishermen and hunters. Here the likelihood of slipping is higher, so it’s not worth the risk without an additional traveler’s kit.
Tarzan returns? Test drive all-wheel drive Lada Kalina XXL
The car seems too fast for Tarzan. After all, those all-wheel drive Tarzans built on Niva units had a standard 83-horsepower engine (as an option - a 75-horsepower French diesel), and this Kalina moves so easily in traffic that catching up with it becomes an almost impossible task. Finally, we stop at an intersection, and I manage to hand the driver a business card, introduce myself and explain what I actually need.
We roll to the side of the road, and Alexander willingly talks about his car. He started as an engineer in the VAZ Engine Design Department, ended his career at AVTOVAZ as the head of the measuring and testing bureau, and at the beginning of the 2000s he went to work on the Tarzan project . That development, having made a lot of noise, unfortunately, sank into oblivion, but Alexander remained the proud owner of Tarzan-2 in the back of a twelve-wheeler. And when a few years later, actually at the price of scrap metal, he “turned up” a new Tarzan frame, Alexander had no other options for a new personal car except an all-wheel drive built according to proven recipes.
In 2012, a new first-generation Kalina was purchased, almost completely stuffed: the leather interior, air conditioning, music and goodies in the form of parking sensors and a rain sensor were included in the kit, and the only thing missing was a standard navigator, which in Kalina was then built in between the speedometer and a tachometer. A year later, through the efforts of Alexander and his friends, this Kalina turned into something that could be called Tarzan-3 - in fact, when registering this car as a converted one, the Vehicle Type Approval that the “classic” Tarzans had was very helpful.
Why a hatchback and not a station wagon? Perhaps this is the question the owner is asked most often. The answer is simple: the final choice of body was decided by the recently launched Nissan Juke, and the Kalina XXL became a kind of response to the Japanese SUV.
Despite its unusual appearance, “Kalina-Tarzan” looks very harmonious from any angle, not least thanks to the “carbon-look” body kit, which Alexander’s friends, young specialists from Togliatti, made in their free time.
Design
Kalina XXL has an off-road arsenal, created according to Tarzan’s patterns, but improved and adapted to the owner’s requirements. It is partly the successor to the technologies of the Tarzan project (here, to this day, you can order a “Tarzan” frame and, with the help of the company’s specialists, turn your front-wheel drive VAZ into a piece-built SUV), in addition, it has a lot of its own developments on the topic of tuning all-wheel drive cars, so part of the work is on Kalina XXL was held here.
A frame was rolled under the body of a standard Kalina, on which elements of an all-wheel drive transmission were mounted - one front axle from a Lada 4x4 in front, and a second one, exactly the same, but rotated 180 degrees, in the rear. But this is probably where the 100% parallels with Tarzan as we know him end. First of all, because of the power unit. The Kalina XXL does not have a Nivov engine, but the original Kalina engine, only converted from “transverse” to “longitudinal” and slightly modified.
Generally speaking, on Alexander’s previous car, Tarzan-2 in the back of a VAZ-2112, a “front-wheel drive” engine rotated 90 degrees was also “experimentally” installed, so the layout of the engine compartment of the Kalina XXL had something to build on. True, in the case of Kalina, the engine had to be moved forward as much as possible, almost to the point of being “butted” with the radiator fan, in order to place the cooling pipes in the rear part.
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In the process of finalizing the car, the engine turned from a 1.6-liter to a 1.8-liter with the help of a kit from Super-Auto, which includes “stickless” pistons, connecting rods and a crankshaft - in 2014 we talked in detail about these 1. 8-liter engines for Lada Priora. The engine modified in this way produces 123 hp. With. and about 165 Nm instead of the “stock” 98 hp. With. and 145 Nm. to the usual Nivov speed transmission through a special steel spacer - the so-called adapter plate.
The transfer case is also not fully traditional Niva. Or rather, not fully “Shniv”, if we mean the additional third support. Here it is electronically controlled, which, by the way, is also not a revelation: similar “transfer cases” were installed on some Tarzans from the Lada-Consul era. However, the owner of the Kalina XXL went further and, in addition to abandoning the traditional Niva transmission control levers in the cabin, implemented the disabling of all-wheel drive.
Lada Kalina XXL
cost of work (excluding components):
120,000–150,000 rubles
The developed options helped here too - “Tema+” offers customers on Lada 4×4 and Chevrolet Niva mechanical disconnection of the front axle (“Niva” becomes rear-wheel drive), cutting the transfer case coupling in half. Using this solution, Alexander implemented a rear axle disconnection in his car, allowing the Kalina XXL to be front-wheel drive when needed - and the disconnection is not mechanical, but again electronic. All transfer case control functions are implemented through standard VAZ electric drives... power windows.
When it became clear that the engine would develop about 120 hp. pp., the idea arose to add speed to the car - so the high-range gear ratio in the transfer case, using a purchased set of gears, changed from the standard 1.2 to 1.0. Now in fifth gear, a speed of 120 km/h is reached at 3,000 rpm instead of the previous 3,400 rpm, and a noticeable margin remains in terms of dynamics.
Another feature of the Kalina XXL transfer case is that the “lower gear” here is activated simultaneously with the center differential locking. These functions can be “separated”, but so far the creator of the car does not see any practical sense in this - they say, since he has already driven to a place where a reduced one is needed, then at least blocking will not hurt.
The rear anti-roll bar, based on the Chevrolet Niva principle, is attached on this car only to the gearbox, and is “decoupled” from the suspension - after all, the standard front suspension of the Niva, which, as we remember, is used here as a rear one, is quite short-travel, and I wanted to compensate for this , and the first tests showed that on a flat surface the stiffness of the suspension springs is enough for confident cornering in normal modes.
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Unlike the “canonical” Tarzans, the car has a parking brake driven by Lucas – it looks favorably compared to previous versions of “handbrake” due to its resistance to moisture penetration. And some innovations appeared after the start of daily operation of the car, which at the very beginning was, in fact, sea trials of the prototype, which was gradually brought to the required conditions.
In particular, the clutch was changed three times (Luk, VAZ and, finally, Sachs) until an option was found that ensured minimal jerking of the car when starting and shifting. And in addition, the “spare wheel” under the trunk floor was replaced by a toroidal tank - the Italian gas system, which made the Kalina XXL a dual-fuel car (the gas tank remained standard), appeared shortly after one of the first trips, when the fuel system was “cut down” with low-quality fuel. How this happened at a gas station of a famous brand is a different story.
The spare wheel now replaces the repair kit - fortunately, Matador Izzarda tires with dimensions 205/70 R15 have increased resistance to side cuts. Fuel consumption on gasoline is low - with moderate driving, the on-board computer consistently displays the figure 8.6 l/100 km. A 30-liter gas cylinder is enough for 295 km when driving along the highway at a speed of about 120 km/h - which is easy to calculate as approximately 10 l/100 km. These figures are for front-wheel drive: in the summer on dry surfaces, Alexander uses his Kalina XXL as a front-wheel drive car. But in the rain, and even more so with the onset of cold weather, the car becomes all-wheel drive.
Not all work on the car has been completed. In particular, the inclusion of a low range in the transfer case is still capricious, but in the near future, Alexander says, this drawback will be eradicated.
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In addition, it is likely that in the future the car will have suspension from the updated Lada 4×4, also known as VAZ-21214M (currently the Kalina XXL still has the same, not modernized suspension), reinforced front wheel hubs (which have now also become serial on Lada 4×4), and there will also be a transition to a more powerful clutch - instead of 200, there will be a 210 mm one... But all this will require serious investments, which the owner has not yet decided on.
Why didn’t Alexander just buy himself a Lada 4x4 or Chevrolet Niva at one time? Firstly, none of the cars had such an engine (as they don’t even now), and secondly, there were no such “packaged” configurations that would include, in particular, a heated front window (now the Niva has one ). This is if we discard the “thirdly”: Alexander made himself such a car simply because he could :).
By this point, the entire project had cost him a very attractive amount, about 650,000–670,000 rubles, along with the price of the original Kalina of 375,000 rubles, but this was only due to the fact that Alexander did most of the work with his own hands. If you order a similar project from a company, then the work alone, without taking into account all the components, will cost about 120,000–150,000 rubles.
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In general, do you recognize it? Gas equipment, reinforced clutch, longitudinally mounted engine on an SUV from front-wheel drive, electronic control of the transfer case, plug-in (non-permanent) all-wheel drive... All these things were tried to be used at AVTOVAZ and even announced serial use on various projects related to the modernization of the Lada 4x4 family (and not only). But the promises remained promises, or rather, they became the undivided domain of small firms and enthusiasts like our Alexander.
Test Drive
But today we can try this exclusive in action. In terms of the interior, it is an ordinary Kalina - except that in the niche under the center console a small block for switching the "gasoline/gas" modes is barely noticeable. But a little higher, behind the lid that hid the ashtray in the first generation Kalina, there is something more interesting - the transfer case control unit.
There are three main buttons: one of them is a “request”, which excludes accidental switching, and two more control directly the disabling of the rear axle and the locking/lowering. Alas, we were unable to turn on the low gear, and while storming the next sand dune we pretty much damaged the clutch, but the off-road capability of this Kalina is still phenomenal!
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Due to short overhangs and crazy ground clearance, Kalina XXL confidently climbs forest gullies, and city bumps seem completely insignificant to it. And yes, it feels like the good old Niva while driving (the rear disc brakes, by the way, don’t do much good), but here’s an incredible fact: you can’t hear the transmission squeal at all, and the acceleration dynamics are much better!
The resulting design is especially dynamic in the front-wheel drive version (when you turn on all-wheel drive at the start, you still want more pickup), but with increasing speed, the disadvantages of the “Kalinovskaya” pedigree come to the fore - the steering wheel, equipped with a standard electric power steering, becomes empty, and the zero position is unnecessarily “smeared” " But everything can be saved... by connecting the tailgate - on the highway, all-wheel drive gives the car a little more stability.
At the same time, as soon as the steering wheel deviates significantly from the zero position - for example, in a fast turn or when passing a “ring” - there is almost no resemblance to a regular Kalina: the steering wheel is filled with albeit “electric”, but quite readable feedback and willingly returns to “zero” " These nuances show how painstakingly this car was tuned. This is probably why it is almost not perceived as a homemade product - rather, as a pre-production sample. Although this tuning project clearly has room for improvement.
What's next?
With the onset of winter, we promise to please you with another publication about this car, and this time the meeting will be of a purely practical nature - we will pit the Kalina XXL against one of the orthodox SUVs. Or maybe we’ll add someone else to this company. In the meantime, you can follow the development of the project - the Kalina XXL logbook is on the Internet under the inconspicuous name “Lada Kalina hatchback 4x4”...
dreams of something more for a long time . Still, it's great that Tarzan returns sometimes. Even if in the form of such piece-made specimens.
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Reasoning about the announced information
The competition is too high. AvtoVAZ understands the full degree of responsibility that was assigned after the announcement of the station wagon. They try to operate only with short-term plans that are carefully coordinated with each other. For now, most of the information is available from third-party sources.
Many are familiar with the data on the current state of affairs: AvtoVAZ prioritizes areas with the least chance of failure. The manufacturer is confident that the market is not yet ready to properly respond to the appearance of the all-wheel drive Lada Vesta SV Cross. All data received from dealers confirms the interest of citizens in purchasing cheaper options.
Technical characteristics of Lada Niva 2022
In comparison with the exterior and interior of the Lada Niva 2022, little is known about the technical characteristics. Most likely it will be a new 1.7-liter engine from VAZ, which is installed on the new Renault Duster. Such a unit on the new Lada Niva 2022 can accelerate to hundreds in 17 seconds, and the maximum speed is about 175 km/h.
The fuel consumption of such an engine is about 9 liters per hundred on the highway, and in the city you will need about 13 liters. Regardless of the selected configuration of the Lada Niva 2022, the drive will be all-wheel drive. But according to the manufacturer’s representatives, the engine will be paired with a 6-speed manual or a modern automatic transmission from VAZ.
The new Lada Niva 2022 is based on an improved platform, which is currently used on the same Duster. Ventilated disc brakes are installed front and rear. For an additional fee, the buyer will be offered many accessories, many of which will improve the comfort and cross-country ability of the Lada Niva 2022 SUV.
Information can be deceiving
The all-wheel drive SW Cross constantly appears in photographs taken by random amateurs. Photos, even if their authenticity is confirmed, are worth absolutely nothing. Such a global project cannot be hidden from the AvtoVAZ team. Journalists would instantly find out about such developments from the lips of the designers themselves, but there is no such information.
AvtoVAZ is still feeling confident without the Lada Vesta SV Cross. There is no need to expose your current state of affairs to risks; it is much more effective to simply adhere to the previously chosen line regarding other models. For now, drivers can just wait, and the search for the truth can safely be postponed until 2022. Next year will bring more surprises, but SW Cross may not be among them.
Tags: all-wheel drive
Interior of the new Lada Niva 2022
Comparing the interior of the previous generation and the new Lada Niva 2022, these are two big differences. Today there is little information about exactly what the interior of the new domestic SUV will be like. Due to the increase in space, the car received an updated front panel. The upper part is occupied by a color display to display information about the status of the new Lada Niva 2022; a little lower, the designers placed two holes for air supply, as well as a control panel for the car’s multimedia system.
A little lower, there is another panel, on it there is a menu for controlling the audio system, a laser disc tray and control buttons for security systems. For top-end trim levels of the first generation, engineers began installing air conditioning; the new Lada Niva 2022 added dual-zone climate control with heated front and rear seats. In some trim levels, the panel layout and shape may differ. To increase comfort, engineers will significantly improve noise insulation, which will prevent the driver from being distracted by extraneous sounds. The instrument panel of the new Lada Niva 2022 has acquired a new style, the tachometer and speedometer are located in the form of two cylinders, and the color display of the on-board computer is located in the center. The steering wheel is also new, with a large central part and three spokes, on two side buttons for controlling the functions of the systems of the new Lada Niva 2018.
Security systems Lada Niva 2022
As has already been said, the new Lada Niva 2022 SUV differs quite well in terms of external data, as well as in characteristics. The security systems of the new Lada Niva 2022 were not left aside. The full list will become clear after the official presentation of the new generation.
The main thing that will be installed on board the new Lada Niva 2022 is assistance, stabilization and control systems for SUVs. These systems include a stabilization system, tire pressure monitoring, a set of airbags, body tilt monitoring and an all-round visibility system. This is the minimum list of what can be installed on the new Lada Niva 2022.
