Vesta Sport’s signature “typhoon” color looks gorgeous. It has a metallic effect, but you can only see it closely. The front track, widened by 18 mm, is covered by plastic fenders - an original body part of Vesta Sport. The first version of the press release talked about reducing the ground clearance from 178 to 162 mm (- 16 mm), in the next edition - to 147 mm (- 31 mm). I went to check it myself and measured 155 mm (-23 mm) under the crankcase protection. Still not bad, but you're starting to be cautious. The front bumper is lowered even more: on a regular Vesta it is separated from the asphalt by 270 mm, on a “sports” one - only 185 mm. For the first time on a Lada: following the rotation of the steering wheel, the corresponding fog lamp - left or right - lights up, illuminating the turn. The idea is good, but it had to be implemented with different optics. Vesta's fog lights are not able to provide additional lighting.
Vesta Sport’s signature “typhoon” color looks gorgeous. It has a metallic effect, but you can only see it closely. The front track, widened by 18 mm, is covered by plastic fenders - an original body part of Vesta Sport. The first version of the press release talked about reducing the ground clearance from 178 to 162 mm (- 16 mm), in the next edition - to 147 mm (- 31 mm). I went to check it myself and measured 155 mm (-23 mm) under the crankcase protection. Still not bad, but you're starting to be cautious. The front bumper is lowered even more: on a regular Vesta it is separated from the asphalt by 270 mm, on a “sports” one - only 185 mm. For the first time on a Lada: following the rotation of the steering wheel, the corresponding fog lamp - left or right - lights up, illuminating the turn. The idea is good, but it had to be implemented with different optics. Vesta's fog lights are not able to provide additional lighting.
| LADA VESTA 1.8 MT | LADA VESTA Sport | |
| Dimensions and weight | ||
| Length Width Height | 4410 / 1764 / 1497 mm | 4420 / 1774 / 1478 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2635 mm | 2635 mm |
| Front/rear track | 1510 / 1510 mm | 1528 / 1514 mm |
| Ground clearance under crankcase protection* | 175 mm | 155 mm |
| Ground clearance under the front bumper* | 270 mm | 185 mm |
| Curb weight | 1380 kg | 1322 kg |
| Engine | ||
| Working volume | 1774 cm3 | 1774 cm3 |
| Power | 90 kW/122 hp at 5900 rpm | 106.6 kW/145 hp at 6000 rpm |
| Torque | 170 Nm at 3700 rpm | 182 Nm at 3600 rpm |
| Transmission | ||
| Type, model | M5, JR5 | M5, JR5 |
| Chassis | ||
| Wheels | 15″, 16″ | 17″ |
| Tires | 185/65 R15, 195/55 R16 (Matador, Pirelli) | 205/55 R17 (Continental) |
| Front strut rod diameter | 20 mm | 22 mm |
| Front strut working cylinder inner diameter | 30 mm | 32 mm |
| Front pillar housing outer diameter | 48 mm | 52 mm |
| Rear shock absorber rod diameter | 12.4 mm | 14 mm |
| Rear shock absorber working cylinder inner diameter | 27 mm | 30 mm |
| Rear shock absorber housing outer diameter | 40.9 mm | 45 mm |
| Aerodynamics | ||
| Front axle lift | 33.0 kg | 7.8 kg |
| Rear axle lift | 22.2 kg | 11.6 kg |
| Dynamics and fuel consumption | ||
| Fuel | AI-92, AI-95 | AI-95 |
| Maximum speed | 186 km/h | 193 km/h |
| Acceleration 0–100 km/h | 10.2 s | 9.6 s |
| Fuel consumption: urban/suburban/combined cycle | 9.5 / 6.2 / 7.4 l / 100 km | 10.6 / 6.4 / 7.9 l / 100 km |
*ZR measurements.
Buyers from the budget segment, oh, how they want to stand out from the ocean of their own kind! So the Sport, GT, Extreme, etc. nameplates appear on cars. As a rule, factory tuning does not affect driving performance in any way. There is no deception: the consumer wants - the consumer gets. The Lada Vesta Sport with a 145-horsepower engine is a different story, with more than two hundred modernized or new parts compared to the original Vesta 1.8 MT sedan.
Form
It's hard to imagine what Lada would be like without Steve Mattin. He was a success in all the VAZ projects he took on, and Vesta Sport is no exception. They didn’t spoil the standard car with a shocking body kit; they put on a catchy make-up, but without vulgarity, except that they went too far with the rear bumper: the side false diffusers on it are superfluous.
I wrote the previous paragraph and I can just hear comments about “show-offs for beggars.” Let me note that AVTOVAZ is not a pioneer here. AMG packages for basic versions of Mercedes, M body kits for low-power BMWs and the S line option for “vegetable” Audis are not the worst examples to follow.
For Lada Cross the corporate color is orange, and for Vesta Sport it is red. There are a lot of bright accents in the cabin, but without going overboard. Special thanks for the leather trim on the steering wheel and gear lever. The French mechanics JR5 is the only important unit that has not been modernized. They moved from a 122-horsepower car without changing the gear ratios and clutch. There are no complaints about the switching accuracy. The plastic decor in the cabin is carbon fiber and piano lacquer. The brightness of the red inserts on the control panel is optimal: it does not burn your eyes at night and does not impair the readability of the readings. | |
A cool design find - a black ceiling. And by the way, it's not that cheap. Along with the trim, we had to order all the interior fittings above the lower edge of the windows in a new color. |
Metal pedal covers are also included in the required set. In red lighting they look infernal. |
Everything inside is familiar, but no longer average. Alcantara and carbon fiber inserts are the law of the genre. In the end, budget status does not oblige everyone to vegetate surrounded by dull gray fabric and black plastic. And there is no need to blame Vesta for unnatural materials: at its price, this is in the order of things.
Color and notes
Well, here's the answer. First of all, it's... gray. For a city dweller, accustomed to distinguishing dozens of shades of lead and darkness, it strangely does not seem boring. In many ways, it is this – and not the bright red metallic in which the aerodynamic bumpers are drowned – that is the potential calling card of Vesta Sport. While all the cats are gray, Peter's gloom is loyal to my car and does not eat, but plays with its color. I play in response.
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Lada Vesta Sport car, “Typhoon” shade
Photo: Lada
The Vesta Sport wind instrument is a pipe with a diameter of 60 mm, diverging into two completely non-sham ends at the diffuser of the rear bumper. Even at idle, the engine grumble is louder than usual. And at speeds of “five thousand, don’t be shy,” the talkative exhaust produces decibels that the sound insulation is unable to hide. “Lada” with a loud release: ten years ago for me this was exactly what was considered a sport in the residential areas of Moscow. After all, you can’t hang on horizontal bars...
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Car Lada Vesta Sport
Photo: Lada
Lady X: a girl from Togliatti has become prettier and invigorated
Test drive of the updated Lada Granta
Fortunately, over the years Lada has taken a closer look at both the horizontal bars and the track. In the intimate list of changes, the Sport exhaust system is only one of two hundred and twenty-eight items. Despite the fact that under the hood of the heated Vesta there is the same naturally aspirated 1.8-liter engine as in the regular sedan, its power has been increased from 122 to 145 horsepower, simultaneously raising the maximum torque by 12 Nm. These figures are due to new settings of the control unit and changes to the fuel system and gas distribution mechanism. The Sport version engine received a camshaft with a higher cam profile, a fuel system with higher pressure and “its own” valve timing adjustment. At the same time, Lada looked at the boosting process not from the position of faster/higher/more powerful, but took into account the elasticity of the engine and the breadth of the range in which it will operate, sending the average owner to work with a morning kick.
In queue!
Considering the similarity of the sedan and station wagon below the belt line, I couldn’t help but ask the VAZ team a question: will there be a Vesta SW Sport? The answer depends on the demand for the sedan. The transformation will cost more than in the case of cross-versions: the five-door will have to carefully work out the aerodynamics. The rear disc brakes are borrowed from the Vesta SW Cross (the front ones are original, ventilated, with a diameter of 300 mm). The brake pads all around are domestic, TIIR brand.
Considering the similarity of the sedan and station wagon below the belt line, I couldn’t help but ask the VAZ team a question: will there be a Vesta SW Sport? The answer depends on the demand for the sedan. The transformation will cost more than in the case of cross-versions: the five-door will have to carefully work out the aerodynamics. The rear disc brakes are borrowed from the Vesta SW Cross (the front ones are original, ventilated, with a diameter of 300 mm). The brake pads all around are domestic, TIIR brand.
Perhaps the main question is how much? VAZ has not yet announced the price of the Sport version. I managed to find out the starting point: a car in a basic, well-packaged configuration will cost just under 900 thousand rubles. A single package of options with navigation, a rear view camera and a heated windshield will raise the price, presumably by thirty to thirty-five thousand.
Wake up
One in the morning, five thousand rpm, third gear. On the left and right sides, episodes from the school course fly by: Palace Square, the Bronze Horseman on Senateskaya, a sharp right towards the island on the Malaya Neva, and in my head are the remains of “atomic” espresso and advice from the racer and Lada Sport development boss Vlad Nezvankin. “Don’t be shy, turn it up to five thousand.” We are on a speed excursion around the center of St. Petersburg. Good night, city!
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Car Lada Vesta Sport
Photo: Lada
Lada Vesta Cross drafted into the army
Military police and traffic police will switch to domestic cars
Actually, “his” is the 1.8-liter engine of the new Vesta Sport. No jokes or reservations - the flagship car of the current Lada family. Presented less than a month ago at a salon in Moscow, it evoked a strong desire to climb inside and escape from the chicken coop into the operational space of the summer Moscow region. Facts then prompted the crime: a modified chassis, new suspension and brakes, one and a half hundred horsepower and a clear Renault manual gearbox. At the same time, Lada President Yves Karakatzanis announced “more than two hundred changes in the design of the car.” From official to layman this was easily translated as “we have improved Vesta by 200 points.” Given the car's initial potential, the announcement was seen as a tease. “What is it like, a sports sedan, the Lada Sport division had a hand in creating?”
The dynamics are not amazing, but the main thing about it is the suspension.
Lada Vesta Sport: what is really sporty about it- The SOTRA 3D organizer will look stylish in the trunk of Vesta Sport. And don’t forget about the “Ш” sign: no one has canceled it yet!
Photo: AVTOVAZ
Last throw
From a traffic light, the Sport doesn’t “bullet”, but it also doesn’t look like a car whose heart lives “at the top”, in a narrow rev range. The maximum thrust of 182 Nm is available from 3600 rpm, and the nameplate acceleration to hundreds (in 9.6 s) is half a second shorter than the 122-horsepower “just-Vesta”.
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Car Lada Vesta Sport
Photo: Lada
Having caught the numbers, the skeptic will immediately note: “sport, not cake.” For example, for a 125-horsepower VW Polo with a manual transmission, the 0-100 km/h dash will take exactly 9 seconds. Quite a punch that Vesta with a Sport badge will not be able to respond to. Or can he still do it?
Night follows day, straight to the twisted Primorskoye Highway, and dancing with the five-speed gearbox lever is a pleasure to get acquainted with what Lada calls the modified Vesta chassis. No joke, it's truly a pleasure. In fact, it is here - in the suspension, steering mechanism and brakes - that the lion's share of the work is hidden, and the result is an eventful one.
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Car Lada Vesta Sport
Photo: Lada
In short, Lada has learned to drive with passion. Squeezing the red-decorated, slightly plump steering wheel, I throw the nose of the Vesta into a smooth arc and feel - pinch! - a pleasant surge of effort, while the wheels write the trajectory envisioned by the brain with almost one hundred percent coincidence. The car does not resist and rushes into the turn without hesitation or hesitation. I'm surprised, surprised again and want more.
Engineering secrets
Fashionable “Grants”: what to expect from an updated model of a popular car
The new Lada is offered in an updated design, with four bodies and hidden reserves
The secret is the tandem of components and work on them. Technically, the Sport chassis differs most from the regular Vesta: new steering knuckles, modified castor, which allowed for better feedback. The Sport version has shock absorbers with a thicker rod and a stroke shortened to 40 mm, ground clearance reduced by 31 mm with some semblance of an angle of attack (the ground clearance at the bow is less than at the stern) and increased downforce: three times in the front and two times in the rear .
After all, the specially designed 17-inch wheels, which more effectively dissipate heat from the brakes (also improved front and rear), have five mounting holes instead of four on the “civilian” Vesta. It's all about the Renault components used, which simultaneously increased the track of the Vesta and required wider front wings. They look ordinary, they are a little plumper near the arches and are made of plastic.
From Renault there is also a JR5 five-speed manual gearbox with cable drive. And it is clear and much quieter - a special gift for Vesta. There are no alternatives to it and, putting my hand on the nice selector, this is fortunate. So far, the Lada warehouse is only able to offer the updated AMT robot, and there are enough questions about its operation. It is easy to predict that with a transmission that is more thoughtful in nature, the spark of a charged Vesta, if not extinguished, will at least lose color/degree. Not to mention the old four-speed automatic that is offered on the Granta.
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Vesta Sport has its own voice. Thanks to a wider and louder exhaust system with sound design
Photo: Lada
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The front fenders are wider than those of a regular Vesta and are made of plastic
Photo: Lada
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Sport fog lights are trained to illuminate the roadsides - just turn the steering wheel
Photo: Lada
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At the rear, Sport can be distinguished by a different bumper with a diffuser and a central brake light, a spoiler strip and a pair of exhaust pipes
Photo: Lada
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The 480-liter trunk of the Sport version is identical to the regular Vesta. No changes here
Photo: Lada
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17-inch wheels designed by Lada chief designer Steve Mattin hide large front brakes with a diameter of 300 mm. Tires - grippy Continental ContiSportContact 5
Photo: Lada
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The Sport interior is a realm of black shades with bloody lighting. Including instrument dials. Stylish and not distracting
Photo: Lada
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Armchairs with combined upholstery and more developed sidewalls. These would be in “prosto-Vesta”
Photo: Lada
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The manual gearbox of the Renault alliance is not bad in itself and has no alternative to the Vesta Sport. In many ways this is a plus. The downside is that it has five gears, but the nature of the car just begs for sixth.
Photo: Lada
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Unlike civilian Vesta, the “special” Sport modification will be produced not in Izhevsk, but in Tolyatti, at the Lada Sport facilities
Photo: Lada
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The optional package for Vesta Sport includes a rear view camera, heated windshield, 6 speakers and a 7-inch touchscreen instead of the default 4.3-inch
Photo: Lada
