It is customary for us to criticize AvtoVAZ products on the matter and so... in passing. Not a day goes by without some tasty joke about Togliatti cars appearing in the media. Television and the Internet are full of various stories. It looks like this is popular recognition! Popularity!
And that’s true, most Russian motorists at one time started with Lada, acquiring skill and driving experience, and many, for various reasons, remained loyal to the brand to this day. True, I personally am not one of them. Of course, I had to drive Ladas, but only occasionally, in fits and starts, and I started with Izhevsk cars. Whatever one may say, Ladas today are the most advanced cars in the domestic automobile industry, since there is nothing else to choose from, all other brands that could be counted on the fingers of one hand have self-destructed. Priora is essentially a restyled “ten”, in which not much has changed. And the Kalina remains the most modern VAZ car today, despite its eight-year conveyor belt of existence. But the car is constantly being modernized, introducing certain innovations, for example, most recently AvtoVAZ switched to equipping all cars with electronic gas pedals. So we’ll ride on Kalina in the affordable “norm” configuration.
By the way, it seemed to me that “norm” is perhaps the most accurate and even comprehensive word in defining the properties of a car as a whole. A normal vehicle, without any special complaints, with a certain, average, and quite acceptable set of consumer qualities. Kalina has a normal design, no frills, laconic and sometimes even harmonious. Absolutely does not cause a feeling of rejection. Normal driving characteristics with a comfortable and energy-intensive suspension, albeit not perfect, but adequate handling. Normal, a little noisy, but high-torque, quite dynamic and unpretentious engine. Quite a decent interior with a normal level of comfort and capacity. In any case, in terms of ergonomics and front panel design, Kalina is even superior to Renault Logan or its 5-door version Sandero.
Unfortunately, some flaws in assembly and workmanship have also become the norm for Kalina. So in our copy, upon a quick inspection, we also discovered several similar, if I may say so, nuances. The plastic trim is rough in places. The leatherette gearshift lever cover easily pops out of the mounting grooves. The split folding backrest of the rear seat is poorly fixed in place, and the buttons that release it dangle in the mounting sockets. There is no plastic pin on the inside of the fifth door that secures the left luggage rack cord. The trunk lining looks sloppy and is unlikely to last long. And if you examine the car more closely, how many more similar little things will be revealed?
And yet, Lada Kalina, today, is the most profitable B-class car in terms of price-to-consumer quality ratio. Yes, Sandero, for example, looks better in some ways and doesn’t cost much more. But, this is a foreign car, with all the ensuing consequences. And if you are a low-income person, then the choice between Kalina and Sandero is obvious. I had to communicate with people who, having bought a Logan, subsequently began to experience difficulties as soon as the warranty expired. Servicing even a budget foreign car and buying branded spare parts was becoming prohibitively expensive. I had to change to Kalina, which, after all, is much more humane in its maintenance.
The “norm” package includes a 1.6 liter 8-valve engine, electric power steering and not a single airbag. Two airbags, driver and passenger, come in the following configuration - “luxury”. Kalina's light gray salon turns out to be larger inside than it might seem from the outside. All this is thanks to the impressive height of the cabin and a large glazing area. And the width of the machine is not the thinnest. The result is acceptable space both front and rear. The linkers did a good job. Even a person taller than average can sit comfortably “behind himself.” The compact driver's seat seems fragile at first, but in reality it turns out to be quite comfortable. The playful front panel is budget-friendly in design, but the ergonomics are okay. The simple instruments are easy to read. The laconic steering wheel is also comfortable and there are enough adjustment limits. The controls' placement does not cause any problems, but the pedal assembly seems a little cramped. In general, Kalina feels somehow homely. Visibility is excellent, both forward and backward, and even the headrests in the rear seats are not in the way, they simply are not there.
When driving, noise and vibration are noticeable more than we would like; the car reaches an acceptable acoustic level with a warm engine and driving evenly at average speed. The engine is noisy, but pulls, it is clearly audible both at idle and in motion throughout the entire speed range, but this noise is unobtrusive. But what really bothers me is the hum, which appears at about 60 km/h. It seems that there is a plane constantly hanging in the air above the car; this is, of course, not a dive bomber, but some kind of turboprop airliner high in the sky. Over time, you adapt a little and no longer perceive this noise so critically. It feels like the transmission is whining. But knowledgeable people claim that this noise may also contain components of resonant vibrations of the exhaust system elements, as well as vibrations from a certain fastening element of the transmission. In general, they say it can be treated.
As for the electronic gas pedal, I didn’t notice any special features or differences from the regular one. Normal response to pressure, adequate acceleration. In any case, there are no delays, unlike electronic pedals on some foreign cars, where the delays are aggravated by the “tightening” of the engine for the sake of environmental standards and the sluggishness of the transmission. The car drives briskly, the engine pulls confidently from the very bottom. The gear shift mechanism does not shine with clarity, but it also does not provoke errors. The steering mechanism is “long”, in extreme modes there is not enough sensitivity, and in the near-zero zone there is not enough reactive effort. But all this is not critical. In general - the norm. And Kalina should be praised for the smooth ride and adaptability of the suspension to our road conditions. The energy-intensive suspension successfully rounds out most of the unevenness without annoying excessive swinging and noise. The ground clearance, even with a full load, does not fall below 160 mm - this is a real blessing on our broken roads. The roll in corners is great, but not scary, and does not cause any discomfort or threat of capsizing. The brakes are also good; there are no complaints about them, there is adequate effort on the pedals and a clearly felt moment of wheel locking. In general, again within normal limits.
But the fuel consumption of 10 liters per “hundred” in the urban driving cycle is too high for such a car by modern standards. But there is an alternative 16-valve power unit: it is 8 horsepower more powerful and one liter more economical “in the city.” But, unfortunately, it doesn’t pull as well at low speeds.
Kalina with a hatchback body in the “norm” configuration costs 281,500 rubles. And the most affordable “standard” version, distinguished only by 13-inch wheels and the absence of electric power steering, costs 269,900 rubles. A car with a 16-valve engine costs from 319,500 rubles, and it is equipped with ABS and air conditioning. In general, Kalina is worth the money; in any case, there is simply no more affordable alternative with similar consumer qualities. Everything else is noticeably more expensive, and the base ZAZ Chance, which is comparable in price, has a weaker engine and is more archaic in design. I wonder whether the Lada Granta, designed to replace the classic family, will be just as “normal” a car? Let's see, we don't have to wait long.
On the way to Kazan
The Volzhsky Automobile Plant began to get closer to journalists and try to be friends with them not very long ago. When the first Kalina was launched in 2004, such a large-scale journalistic test drive was not carried out, and the first in this sense was the station wagon, which appeared later, and its test for the press in Kazakhstan. And this time, after the launch of the second generation Lada Kalina into production, journalists were offered to go to Kazan, in two groups - one by car, the other by bus - and change on the way back. Guess who ended up in the second group, languishing with curiosity.
The test cars are hatchbacks and station wagons in the maximum configuration (with luxury options such as heated front glass and other things that are bravuraly named in the official booklet as “Complete stuffing!”) and power units 21126 (98 horsepower, automatic transmission) and 21127 (106 horsepower, automatic transmission) manual transmission).
Escorting a smiling Komarov and a group of fellow keyboardists in the direction of Samara-Kazan in brand new white Kalina cars, and getting on the bus myself - it looked a lot like a bummer (and partly it turned out to be so), but at the same time it turned out that The time on the bus after the first test ride (it happened the day before) can be spent well.
Firstly, you can be indignant on Twitter about riding a “carcass” on a bus. Secondly, you can share your first impression of the car there and get good feedback with a bunch of questions that will be very useful later. Thirdly, you can start collecting the opinions of your colleagues about the car, interview everyone upon arrival in Kazan and draw the first conclusions.
The range of journalistic opinions is as follows: from restrained neutral (“almost nothing has changed”) to cautiously optimistic (“it has become noticeably better than it was”). Moreover, the first answer most often comes from those who drive often, in different cars, and at the same time drove the first Kalina for a long time. And “it has become noticeably better” say those who have Kalina either as a work car or as a personal car. I belong to the second group, and I agree with it - we just see more nuances that distinguish the second Kalina from the first. But a car is made up of nuances.
Trouble
Three troubles happened in the three days that we spent with Kalina and their creators. The creators of Lada Kalina classify two of them into the category “It’s stupid and can be broken”: firstly, on the way to Kazan, one car got a badly jammed front left wheel, although the organizers warned about a section with a bad road. Secondly, on the second of the cars, the second gear synchronizer “started to run out” after “annealing” at the Tolyatti KVC autodrome. Guess again - who got the car with the crispy second one on the way from Kazan?
Tatarstan, the ancient city of Bolgar, now a tourist center. Even against the backdrop of such beauty, it is noticeable that the profile of the Lada Kalina station wagon has changed for the better.
However, if not for the third trouble, one could consider that Lada Kalina did an excellent job. Already in the evening in the Kazan hotel I read the article “Lada Kalina 2: an emergency at the presentation of the model.” In short, it is about the fact that while passing a snake, one of the journalists’ car’s electric power steering switched off, as a result of which the car went off the trajectory and the driver had to brake. The EUR started working only after turning the ignition off and on.
It’s clear that you won’t get away with answers like “you’re stupid...”. Trying to explain that the electric booster supposedly has a special protective mode that turns on when the steering wheel rotates intensively will not work either. Because there are not so many “lamers” among Lada buyers, and many of them have encountered the disconnection of the EUR under completely normal conditions. Hot on the heels, I was unable to get an official response from AVTOVAZ - Grunenkov asked to wait until Monday (May 20) so that the engineers could understand the situation. And despite the fact that at the time of publication an explanation had not been received from the AVTOVAZ design service, you can be sure that it will follow in the near future. VAZ now understands that such incidents can be a serious blow to the model’s reputation.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Lada Kalina, identified by the car owner
There are, of course, disadvantages, but there are many more advantages. So, the advantages of the car:
• Design . Of course, to each his own, but it seems to me that such a cute car would be a great addition to a bright, pretty girl.
• Price . It’s not even worth mentioning here, because everything can be learned by comparison. The availability of this car for everyone is the biggest plus!
• Inexpensive to maintain and maintain . Yes, maybe no one envy me, but my colleagues at work, who drive different types of foreign cars, constantly cry about how expensive maintenance is, how taxes are charged, and how much insurance costs. My Kalina charges about 7,500 rubles for maintenance (once a year), insurance costs 3,300 rubles - that’s per year!, and the tax is only 1,500 rubles, that’s also per year. So compare. My colleague spends more than 45 thousand a year on her Mitsubishi (according to her own words), and she also pays for a loan in the amount of 70% of her monthly salary...
• Endurance . Tested on our northern highways in a poor, subsidized region. It also tolerates frosts and always starts at -30!
• Knowledge . If something suddenly happens, then any auto mechanic will find the cause and eliminate it. AvtoVAZ is known to almost everyone, but not everyone takes on foreign cars, you still need to look for such specialists. We have this problem in our city, and spare parts for AvtoVAZ are always in stock, but for foreign cars they are often made to order.
The Lada Kalina also has disadvantages, but they are more likely local than permanent.
• Strange castles . The car opens with a button on the key, but it is impossible to open it through the lock. When the battery ran out (out of town), I couldn’t open Kalina with the key. The castles are very strange. Neither lubricants, nor sprayers, nothing helped! As a result, I never opened my car with the key. Now I carry a spare battery with me. But the trunk also opens with the key, for example, if you need to open it on the road, then you need to turn off the car, get out and open it with the key. It is not comfortable. We should install an electronic lock. But again, the castle is very strange. Sometimes it doesn’t open at all for weeks, and then it just opens, in short, it’s very capricious.
• Incomprehensible wave-like engine noise . Now, I’m not a professional, but I’ve always been worried about this question: why in my Kalina, when it’s idling, the engine runs unevenly, while the tachometer speed doesn’t worry. You can hear it. The service team says that this is normal, that all Kalinas have this. Diagnostics does not show errors... strange too. But one man once told me that a grain of sand got into the engine, that’s why he’s worried, but you can remove it by accelerating the car to 150 km/h. I admit that he was playing a trick on me, because where is there such a road, where can one speed up like that? Although, he was unusually serious.
• There are also breakdowns . Car warranty is 3 years. I drove these 3 years and didn’t know any grief, nothing broke, even the light bulbs didn’t burn out. But as soon as the car came out of warranty, problems immediately began. Read more about this below...
Nice compliment
A good compliment always involves some paradox. Such is the case with the Lada Kalina: the best compliment for this Russian car is that it looks, feels and drives - pay attention! - “almost like a foreign car.”
The most interesting experiment in this sense was carried out by the guys from the Gubernia TV channel. They covered the front of the Lada with opaque tape, drove into the center of Dimitrovgrad (if anyone doesn’t know, this is a province, that is, the main market for Lada) and asked people what kind of car it was. If people did not see the side of the car, then any answers were given, and “Lada” was very few among them: Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Renault... Oddly enough, few people said that the car was Chinese... If the side was visible, then Lada was recognized by the majority of respondents. The guys from Gubernia were driving a station wagon, just like us.
In the rear, the station wagon lacks the expression that was found in the sidewall...
Indeed, in profile, both the hatchback and the station wagon retained the same silhouette, it could not be otherwise. At the same time, there are more dynamics in the profile, but very little was done for this: they tilted the headlight line extending onto the sidewall back, added a chrome accent in the area of the foglights and “pulled up” the line of the rear “blind” window. Moreover, in the hatchback this line is also in harmony with the rear lights. It also looks great on a station wagon, but as for the taillights... what stopped you from making them more “bold”? Targeting the “over 40” target audience? But no one likes boring station wagons for a long time, even give “emotional crossovers” to dense grandfathers!
The front of the exterior is sure to be controversial. On the one hand, the lighting technology began to look more solid, spectacular chrome appeared above the fog lights (invented by Steve Mattin, by the way), but on the other hand, the central part of the bumper may well cause allusions to the wind, sorry, in the mug... Now this solution looks fresh, but a couple of years will pass, and there is no guarantee that they won’t get tired of it the same way they once got tired of Peugeot’s “yawn.”
Overall, the new Kalina looks great in appearance. And not “almost like a foreign car,” but much, much, much nicer than some of them. And it’s certainly ready to compete with the new Logan - at least it won’t get lost next to it.
Malfunctions, problems and repairs of Lada Kalina
As I already said, from January 2010 to January 2013 my car had no problems. I just praised her in all directions. But as soon as the warranty ended, something strange began to happen. In those days I was terrified. A week after the warranty period, the timing belt broke, they took it to a service center, replaced the belt and adjusted the valves (2,250 rubles including consumables). By the way, the belt broke while driving, but there was nothing terrible, although everyone later said that if it had been 16- valve engine, then all the valves would be bent, but in my case – an 8-valve engine, nothing happened!
She left happy, but after 2 days the engine began to heat up almost instantly... it turned out that some block had burst, and all the antifreeze was pouring out immediately after filling.
I took it back to the guys and they fixed it (another 3,500 rubles). They called to pick it up and come to them, but they said it stalled and wouldn’t start. I’m shocked, it was still warm, they cleared the air plug... They took it for diagnostics, it turned out the fuel pump had a short. Replaced (4250 rubles).
All. I took the car. I’ve been traveling for the second month now, everything is fine, but that week when I paid 10 thousand at once and walked for a week completely broke me down. I even wanted to put it up for sale, but I got carried away, of course.
Now the car runs as if from scratch, I know for sure that everything has been replaced and cleaned. I've had it for another 10 years. Sure!
The main thing is in the details
Many nuances - the very ones that make up a car - were resolved in a positive way in the work on the new Lada Kalina. For example, there is now no seal on the glass of the rear door - the Borsky plant abandoned it, having mastered a new method of processing glass edges - as a result, the assembly technology has been simplified by one operation, and the cost of the unit as a whole has been slightly reduced.
The interior bears little resemblance to the previous Kalina. If we accept that the plastic on this car, in principle, cannot be more expensive, then it turns out that the level of the interior is quite European. The only thing that causes criticism is the automatic transmission selector - the very fact of its presence, of course, gives the Kalina solidity, but it looks, and especially its lining on the floor tunnel, somewhat alien.
Previously, when the front window washer was turned on, the wipers made the first sweep “dry”, and only then a stream of water was applied to the glass. Now it’s the other way around - the wipers wait for a moment, and that’s enough for the glass to become wet. Moreover, the number of times the wipers swing when washing also varies - it increases the longer you press the right steering column switch.
There is also a pleasant nuance in the operation of the left switch - now you don’t have to stay in the unfixed position for a long time, and to show changing lanes from one lane to another, you can simply press the switch and move your hand to the steering wheel again; The turn signal will work on its own several times.
But there are also miscalculations. Electric windows do not have a safe stop for raising the windows, and this is especially bad if they are located in the back (we had a luxury version, and they are there), because children often sit in the back. In addition to the two cup holders on the floor tunnel, there is also a third one - it is folding and is attached to the parking brake housing. So, it’s almost impossible to hit it with a half-liter bottle of mineral water; it will certainly collapse.
That third cup holder. The driver must hit it blindly, there is no other way. In case of an imperfect hit, the cup holder folds down. We can assume that this cup holder is for rear passengers, but in practice the driver will tend to use it -
But the evolution of the interior is still visible to the naked eye: the seats have received the coveted lumbar support, the instrument dials have become more pleasing to the eye, more modern and have not lost any information content, the steering wheel, manual transmission knob and climate system controls are comfortable. The “climate” itself is now fully functional, able to maintain the selected temperature in the cabin (though for some reason there is no digitalization on the “puck”), controlling the temperature itself, the intensity of the airflow and the distribution of flows. During active acceleration, the climate system is switched off.
On the highway and off-road
If you drive on a bad road, you can feel vibration in the cabin. At high speeds it bounces a little, which is affected by the small wheelbase. Turning at speed causes a strong roll.
Off-road turned out to be the element of the Lada Kalina 2. The energy-intensive suspension makes itself felt. You don’t even have to slow down, the car drives calmly, showing itself at its best. Renault Logan would not be its competitor in such conditions. This concludes the VAZ test drive and sums up the results.
"Wait, there's an operation in progress"
The most noticeable “blind spot” of ergonomics is the multimedia system. Despite the undoubted advantage of its very presence in a domestic budget car (think about it, Lada now has Bluetooth), it has three disadvantages. First: she is “slow.” It may become thoughtful, uttering a meaningful and even somewhat ominous phrase, “wait, the operation is in progress,” or it may freeze, and freeze. Freezing occurs when working with folders located on external media (the SD slot is located on the center console, the USB output is hidden in the glove compartment). I selected a folder, selected a track, returned to the folders... the system froze.
The second minus: the screen glares. According to the developers, it was not possible to turn it to the driver’s side for layout reasons: it was too cramped. And there are not many examples of a driver-oriented central console with a large screen, because the passenger should also be able to look at it, as they say at VAZ. The main emphasis when working with the screen was to remove the glare from it from the center of the windshield to the area under the rearview mirror. We coped with this task, but on the screen itself most of the time both the driver and the passenger see the reflection of the neighbor, especially if he is wearing light clothes.
And the third minus: the interface is far from the most user-friendly and the touch screen’s sensitivity is low. You have to poke at some icons several times, wondering if the icon was not pressed, or the system froze again... And the size of some virtual buttons is clearly too small - fortunately, in Kalina, the main multimedia functions are duplicated by ordinary buttons under the screen, they are nicely clustered around a convenient "OK" button in the center. This compares favorably with the version on Grant, where there is only one real key.
There are also plenty of nice little things in the multimedia system. For example, it can show the covers of music albums being played. And the standard sound will be enough for you - at least for the first time. But all the minor advantages are negated by the large screen glare and weak processor.
On the way from Kazan, the massive visor of the multimedia screen began to creak treacherously. I immediately remembered a short conversation with Igor Komarov at breakfast before the start. The President of AVTOVAZ spoke about the intangible quality hidden in subconscious sensations - that very imperceptible absence of “crickets”, the pleasant feeling of the softness of the steering wheel, the noble sound of the engine, the “friendly” multimedia system... And here AVTOVAZ still has to work, but it’s great what it is In principle, there is a direction for work. By the way, during 2013 they plan to equip the multimedia system with navigation.
VAZ finally made a beautiful car, or the modern exterior and interior of the second berry
The design of the updated Kalina is very pleasing to the eye - the headlights have become bolder, the bumper has a large air intake and inserts where the fog lights are beautifully located. The hood has two longitudinal ribs with a new look, and from the side the car is distinguishable from the old Kalina by the wider shape of the wings and wheel arches. By the way, the rear bumper is visually a continuation of these arches and looks a little larger than on the first Kalina.
Owners of station wagons will be pleased with the roof rails installed in all trim levels.
The salon of Kalina 2 has become more modern
At first glance, you can see the similarity of the interior with the interior of the Lada Granta - and indeed, the dashboard, side air vents, central lower stand (including cup holders) are exactly the same as on the “state car”. But that doesn't mean everything is bad! We found it very convenient to use such round air vents, adjustable in any direction, and the on-board computer, unlike the first Kalina, shows more information at the same time, no need to scroll through. The only thing is the absence of a temperature indicator for both the ambient temperature and the coolant temperature in the engine.
It is impossible not to note the multimedia system built into the Luxury versions of Kalina 2, with a user-friendly interface, powerful sound and a beautiful 7-inch display. Although the screen is resistive, the device responds quite easily, plus the clarity of the picture is pleasing. The disadvantages include the inability to connect a video input (for example, if you have parking sensors), and the need to convert all video files to a resolution of 240*320px. It was also not possible to notice the stable operation of Bluetooth - I had to reconnect several times. We hope that all the shortcomings will be corrected before the release of production versions of Kalina 2 cars.
I'm on my way!
The new Kalina is on the move with a new 1.6-liter engine producing 106 hp. and the manual transmission is excellent. I well understand my not very careful colleague who ruined the second gear in our car - I want to accelerate in this car again and again, comparing the sensations with the previous ones. The acceleration rate and clarity of inclusions are at an unprecedented level for AVTOVAZ. After about 200 kilometers of driving on the highway, you can become so impudent that you stop switching to fourth when overtaking a truck uphill. Bravo! And in fact, this power unit could use a sixth gear.
On the territory of the Kazan Kremlin complex, opposites coexist perfectly: the Kul-Sharif Mosque (pictured in the back), rebuilt about ten years ago according to medieval descriptions, is adjacent to the Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral. Well, in this photo there is a completely modern car standing next to a vintage carriage drawn by one horse. Almost the opposite too!
I also managed to drive a car with a 98-horsepower Priorov engine and automatic transmission. The exact same unit is installed on the Grant, so there were no revelations here for me personally. But it’s worth saying again that this is a very successful unit - both for women pushing around the metropolis towards the supermarket, and for men using the “overdrive” button during a country voyage, which makes overtaking not without a certain amount of excitement.
As for the steering, the new Kalina is not a Kalina at all. That is, she has ceased to be the cotton monster that she was, and this is amazing. A noticeable reactive action appeared on the steering wheel, the car feels much more confident in turns, steers sharper (thanks to the short rack), and on straightaways - lo and behold! — you no longer need to constantly “catch” it. But all that was needed were two little things - to increase the caster angle in the front suspension and make the camber negative in the rear. These innovations in the chassis showed excellent results on the Grant and were successfully transferred to the Kalina. Moreover, more comprehensive changes are being prepared for Kalina: by the end of 2013, new shock absorbers, springs, silent blocks and a stabilizer bar should appear.
The car became simply unrecognizable at high speeds. And it has become more convenient to maneuver in the city.
I would like to say a special thank you to the organizers of the race for choosing the route: we had the perfectly smooth asphalt of Tatarstan, the broken “tank training ground” of the Ulyanovsk region, and the winding “driver’s” secondary paths, and complete off-road conditions. Although in the latter case, thanks rather not to the authorities, but to the amazing Garmin navigator... I would like to ask the suspension of the new Kalina: “Will you remain at least half the same as you are now, in five thousand kilometers?” It copes well with any unevenness, except for obvious craters from anti-tank mines, although the car shakes noticeably on ridges and sharp bumps. The brakes also showed the effect “like on a foreign car”: a couple of times I noticeably overbraked because I stepped on the pedal the way I do on my first-generation Kalina.
The noise of the railings on the station wagon becomes audible after 120 kilometers per hour. You can also hear the mirrors - they are comfortable, large and... loud. But overall, the car has become very quiet - you can barely hear the engine and wheel arches, you can talk in the cabin almost without raising your voice and listen to music at speeds over 120 km/h. However, it was not always possible to drive so fast - in the Ulyanovsk region there are signs limiting the speed of 50 km/h for 10 km... On the way from Kazan to Tolyatti, judging by the instrument readings, a car with a “mechanics” and 106-horsepower with the engine it consumed 6.8 l/100 km, and with a 96-horsepower engine and automatic transmission - 8.6 l/100 km.
Driver's seat
The driver's seat is comfortable even compared to the Lada Priora. You can adjust it to suit you: the tilt of the chair changes, as well as the distance from the steering wheel. There is a lot of space in the car, the driver does not touch anything with his hands while driving, but at the same time everything is at hand. The large mirrors and visibility are pleasing.
There is a lot of space in the rear passenger seat for a comfortable position even for an adult. Added headrests that were missing in the earlier version. Let's check the driving performance of the car in the city and on the highway.
We are all a little alike...
If you haven’t been to Kazan for a long time (well, at least a year), then this beautiful, clean city - perhaps once again - will evoke a lot of emotions in you. “Surprise” is the word that comes to mind in connection with Kazan. Thanks to the Universiade, which will be held from July 6 to 18, the city has a huge number of sports facilities that look like alien spaceships and are equipped in much the same way. And this happened just a few years after the large-scale reconstruction of the city for the 1000th anniversary, which was celebrated in 2005... At the time we were there, there was also a possibility that Dina Garipova would win Eurovision, and then next year the competition would come to Kazan ...
Local residents hoped that Dina would lose. Let her take second place, with a small margin, but lose. Because the city does not need another large-scale construction project, which, in fact, has not stopped for ten years. We were shown the Palace of Farmers - it took several years to build, a real tree grows under its central arch and it all costs some absolutely incredible billions... Normal people don’t get along well with the constant roar of jackhammers, the lack of sidewalks and new palaces into which huge amounts of money have been poured . They need peace, order and kindergartens and schools.
— Great car, I recommend it to everyone! — President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov energetically told the press. It seems that the head of the republic (and part-time cross-country racer) really liked the car - the journalists were waiting for Komarov’s return and
AVTOVAZ is similar to Kazan in this sense - it has a similar period of development. There is a lot to break and a lot to build. And local residents (that is, ordinary VAZ workers) are often indignant at the reforms themselves, and at the means by which they are carried out, and at what is actually hidden under the seemingly good initiatives of the big bosses. Often this resentment is completely justified. But the general public perceives the changes at AVTOVAZ as rather positive - just as the changes in Kazan turned it, in the eyes of all of Russia, from an average, dirty city into a huge center of tourist attraction.
Today the Volzhsky Automobile Plant has something to present to skeptics. Of course, the new Lada Kalina is actually not new at all. This is a facelift with elements of platform modernization and the introduction of new options. But the engineers managed, within very strict limits (and engineers at AVTOVAZ never worked in any other framework) to create a good product, developing the positive qualities of the first Kalina. And get rid of most (hopefully) old problems.
During the test drive of the new Lada Kalina, the atmosphere was friendly, with a transition to friendly immediately after the end of the official part of the event. And why? Yes, because journalists and VAZ workers are indeed a little similar - but not at all in the sense that is included in the first paragraph of this article. They're just doing the same thing, but from slightly different angles. But the goal is common: to make sure that we are not ashamed of Russian cars.
If you have never been to Kazan before, be sure to go. This is a city where you want to return. Moreover, there are always enough reasons. Among the closest ones: the Joe Cocker concert and, yes, the Universiade.
...Thanks to AVTOVAZ President Igor Komarov, Lada Kalina project manager Oleg Grunenkov and chief designer of the project Valery Kozachk for the excellent company during the trip, for interesting conversations and honest answers to questions.
The interior of the Kalina through the eyes of the driver
The electric power steering makes extraneous sounds when it rotates, which are especially audible when the door windows are closed. The steering is vague and still very inferior to foreign cars. It can be very difficult for the driver to determine which direction the wheels are turned, and as a result he has to constantly “steer” (it is impossible to relax even on the highway). Participants in the Big Test Drive program also discovered that the horn button was in an unusual place. There are even two of these buttons, and they are located on the spokes of the steering wheel. In expensive trim levels, it is possible to adjust the steering wheel height.
The side mirrors cannot boast of good visibility, which is why the driver may have problems on a multi-lane road where it is necessary to change lanes frequently. This problem is partially compensated by the fact that the visibility through the windows is very good. The handbrake is located in a convenient place; the driver can easily find the lever by touch. Optionally, airbags and ABS can be installed.
In terms of interior noise insulation, Kalina is superior to many other AvtoVAZ models. The doors seem to have places for the audio system speakers, but in reality it will be difficult to install them, since you will have to literally “cut out” holes for them. The stove is located exactly above the engine control unit (which is popularly called the “brains”) and has the very unpleasant property of filling it with antifreeze, as a result of which the car stops starting. The video review used a Lada Kalina hatchback with a small trunk volume, but the sedan of the same model has a spacious cargo compartment. There is no need to talk about the Lada Kalina station wagon.
Lada Kalina station wagon
“Standard” 8v “Norma” 8v “Lux” “Standard” 8v “Norma” 8v “Lux” 16v manual transmission 16v automatic transmission 16v manual transmission 16v automatic transmission Length, mm 38934084 Width, mm 1700 1700 Height / with roof rails, mm 1500 1504/1539 Vehicle base, mm 2476 Track front, mm1431 Rear track, mm1414Minimum ground clearance ( at full load along the sill flange in front of the rear wheel), mm*145Luggage compartment volume, dm3260361Curb weight (without driver), kg10001020104010551020104010601075Payload, kg475Trailer weight - with/without brakes, kg900/450 for vehicles with automatic transmission trailer weight with brakes 750Drag coefficient0 ,400,410,410,390,40Maximum speed, km/h169169179171170170180175Acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h, s12,412,611,613,812,612,711,714,0Consumption in the combined cycle, l/100 km7.17,1 7.08.07.17.17.08.0 Fuel tank capacity, l50 Tire size 175 /65R14, 185/60R14, 185/55R15* when fully loaded (along the rear sill flange)
Technical characteristics of power units (data from AVTOVAZ)
| 11186 | 21126 | 21127 | |
| Working volume, cm3 | 1596 | 1596 | 1596 |
| Number of cylinders | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Number of valves per cylinder | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Compression ratio | 10,3 | 11 | 11 |
| Maximum power, hp/rpm | 87/5100 | 98/5600 | 106/5800 |
| Maximum torque, Nm/rpm | 140/3800 | 145/4000 | 148/4000 |
| Toxicity standards | EURO 4 | ||
| Transmission | |||
| Type | 4x2, with front wheel drive and cross-axle differential | ||
| Transmission | MCP 2181 | Automatic Jatco | MCP 2181 |
| MCP control drive | cable | — | cable |
| Gear ratios | |||
| I | 3,636 | 2,861 | 3,636 |
| II | 1,950 | 1,562 | 1,950 |
| III | 1,357 | 1,000 | 1,357 |
| IV | 0,941 | 0,697 | 0,941 |
| V | 0,784 | — | 0,784 |
| Reverse | 3,500 | 2,310 | 3,500 |
| main gear | 3,706 | 4,081 | 3,706 |
