Review of Lada Vesta SW Cross 2022 1.6 l for the first six months

Review of Lada Vesta SW Cross 2022 1.6 l for the first six months

Hello everyone, ladies and gentlemen! So I bought myself a Lada Vesta SV Cross 2022 car. I didn’t have any agony of choice, like many here. There was nothing to choose from. Kia Rio, Hyundai Solaris, Volkswagen Polo - they are more expensive, they are worse in terms of equipment, and when it comes to reliability - it is not a fact that they are better. And in appearance - in taste and color there are no comrades.

I ask you not to write to me or say anything about used cars... They say you could have bought a normal Japanese car from the 2000s for that money, etc. Guys, I don’t need a used car, I wanted a new one and that’s it. You have to invest money in any used car, but I didn’t want to do that.

And now I have a Lada Vesta SV Cross! At the moment the mileage is already 4500 km, everything is fine, I like the car. The appearance really catches you, passers-by turn around, it was especially noticeable at first. But now there are already a lot of these cars on the streets and the interest of passers-by has faded.

I want to say right away that many people write on the Internet that water appears in the trunk below the spare wheel. So, I don’t have this and never have. I specially monitored this - everything was dry throughout the entire time I owned this car.

The salon is at the same level, significantly better than all AvtoVAZ salons of previous years. One might say this is a breakthrough! But if in one place you want to praise, then in another you want to tear your hands away... Window control unit - you have to pull your hand to open/close the windows. Seat belts - you have to twist to fasten. The tunnel between the seats seems to have been thought out, but why not make sides along the edges so that you can put something there while you are driving the car. And there are a lot of such small moments. It doesn’t seem critical, but it’s annoying. It seems that at AvtoVAZ there are designers and engineers who calculate and think through something, and the result is this. Is it really impossible to go on the Internet and see how others have done it? I have no words. In general, AvtoVAZ for me is like Lego for adults. I bought a semi-finished product and modify it as you want.

But special thanks for the rain and light sensors, I appreciated everything. The audio system (I have a simple one without a display) works excellently, it accepts all formats, the radio picks up perfectly, Bluetooth connects to the phone perfectly, it picks up everything, it’s convenient to talk on the phone through the car. There is enough space in the cabin, even in the back with my height of 185 cm. The trunk is simply huge, everyone has already talked about this more than once.

The noise insulation on the car is at the level of classmates - it seems to be there, but you don’t really feel it. The car drives great. Everything is fine regarding the suspension. Factory tires are noisy on uneven asphalt.

The engine is not the most powerful, but for the average person it will be enough. I have enough.

Yes, by the way, there is a separate conversation about glass. At the moment, all the glass on the Lada Vesta is produced by the Turkish company Sisecam, which is not particularly famous for its quality. It is better to book the glass immediately so that it does not get scratched.

Low profile wheels on an off-road station wagon? For what? During the first road repair I immediately damaged a disk. Now we need to roll it. The tires seem to be intact, but because of the bent disc I was really upset. That's all for now.

Am I disappointed with the purchase of this car? No. Definitely not. When buying an AvtoVAZ, you need to be prepared for such shortcomings. And I knew this very well. I will update the review later if I have any information.

It smells like Russia here: test drive Lada Vesta SW Cross

I looked back to see...

One of the strong features of any Vesta is its exterior.
Outwardly, even I like Vesta. But the SW Cross version is practically a masterpiece. Note this point: I praise VAZ, but there is no sarcasm in my words. This rarely happens. But the station wagon really looks very decent. In the parking lot next to Vesta there was another “shed”, the brand of which, unfortunately, I didn’t even remember. But I noticed that I compared a foreign car with a VAZ, and I liked the VAZ more. Unlike many faceless carriers of potatoes, bags of flour and tomato seedlings, this station wagon is quite harmonious. And even its cross-version looks like the designer was kissed in the eye by God. Everything is in its place here, all proportions are observed exactly. The machine, which is quite large in principle, does not look bulky, but rather solid.

Initial cost of Lada Vesta SW Cross

1.6 l (106 hp), manual transmission

RUB 755,900

It is especially worth noting that the ground clearance of the SW Cross is quite decent - 203 mm ( for the Hyundai Creta , for example, it is only 190 mm), but the Vesta does not seem like an SUV or even a crossover. This is the same case when it’s not scary to approach the curb, and the car doesn’t smell like a UAZ. In general, the car came out beautiful. I looked attentively and suddenly turned around... And still good!

I don’t like, however, that the trim on the arch on the left rear is crooked, but I hope this is the merit not of the factory, but of the specialists from the official dealer who installed the locker. Well, it happens.

Give me some fire!

The interior of the SW Cross is also different from what was in our editorial sedan. Firstly, it became brighter. Yes, that same sparkle that I lacked in the sedan has become abundant here. This is especially noticeable on the dashboard, which is greatly enlivened by bright orange lighting. The plastic inserts on the dashboard look cheap, like the bottom shelf of a supermarket instant noodle, but match well with the inserts in the seat upholstery. Carbon-look plastic inserts further diversify the interior and please the eye (and at the same time the soul).

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The second thing that distinguishes the SW Cross interior is its full-fledged armrest. Albeit without adjustments, but well located and decent looking. It's laughable, but for the owner of this particular car, a normal armrest was one of the factors that forced him to choose a “raised” station wagon rather than a sedan, although nowadays you have to stand in line for the SW Cross, and “ordinary” Vestas are available from dealers in available in almost any design.

We can’t help but mention the luggage compartment. Of course, the station wagon is designed to heap bags from Auchan, skis, suitcases, a ficus in a pot, two spare wheels, a canary in a cage and a diesel generator through the back door. And then all this rumbles there mixed with the chirping of a bird. But in SW Cross there is no need to fear this. If desired, you can put some things in a small compartment fenced with mesh or in an organizer. If you need to transport something large, you can remove the rear shelf. In general, if this is a “barn”, then it will have a convenient shelving and cabinets.

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Well, if you’ve already started looking at the car from the outside, let’s open the hood. There is nothing new here, but pay attention to this detail. We scolded our Vesta for its constantly dirty engine: everything flew under the hood from the road at once. Everything is clean here, even though the weather is not at all conducive to this. Either the seal was changed, or the slightly higher height from the road had an effect, but so far the engine compartment looks new. And this is good.

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SW Cross and Russian road

Let's now see how this nice car drives. But first, of course, let's get behind the wheel.

Sometimes sitting high helps a lot. And some people just like to sit higher. In this car you can really climb to a decent height, and most importantly, do not rest your head on the roof. There is enough space in the cabin, you can drive and play the button accordion. And this is also a plus.

The disadvantage begins as soon as you start to move away. Yes, here again these three damned Russian letters are to blame - AMT, aka automated manual transmission, aka “robot” in common parlance. You can probably get used to it too. Maybe he doesn't kick that hard. I even admit the thought of its durability. But even when I die, I will ask just two questions. One is about the meaning of life (but this is not certain), and the second is how such a box could be made.

I can already see how the adherents of single-clutch “robots” are now rolling their eyes, remembering both the efficiency and low cost of the technical solution in comparison with a hydromechanical automatic machine. Self-hypnosis is such a thing, any arguments can be made. And you can get used to everything - even to a 20-year mortgage of 5 million rubles for a one-room apartment outside the Moscow Ring Road. But it just so happened that every time you change to a Vesta with AMT after a car with a normal automatic transmission, you want to cry. Or write critical articles. So…

The first is the lack of a parking mode. Now in St. Petersburg there are alternating night frosts with daytime thaws, and by some miracle the snow still fell. And I really wouldn’t want to put the car on the handbrake overnight after day trips, so that the pads don’t freeze. But there is also a nice thing: the SW Cross has disc brakes at the rear. The sedan, as everyone remembers, has drums. So there is much less fear of running around the car with a kettle in the morning.

The second is the gear shift logic. Here it got a little better with unexpected reactions to pressing the gas pedal: the car starts moving predictably (but, of course, only when you press the gas pedal - if you just release the brake, it will remain in place, well, or roll forward or backward, depending from the slope of the road). But already from the second gear some confusion begins. What is this “robot” thinking when it suddenly starts selecting the right gears? Sings Grebenshchikov's songs to himself? Proves Fermat's theorem? Is it trying to somehow process the ECU data? Don't know. But some switches are very unexpected. Although soft.

The opposite situation. We are driving in third gear at low speeds, ahead is an empty section to a traffic light, the timer of which is counting down the last seconds. We press on the gas to have time to pass under the permission signal. Well, where is the second gear? But she’s not there. The engine can’t even spin up, and we can’t even pick up speed. That's it, the brake: the green light is already blinking... It's good that there is a manual mode. You can travel with him. Most likely, you can drive in automatic mode. But you have to get used to it, and you know, you don’t want to get used to it.

Therefore, I will repeat a generally known truth: Vesta needs to be bought manually. Or develop driving skills that you won’t need in normal cars.

Here are the pendants - I was pleased. The behavior of the car, in my opinion, is noticeably different from the sedan. In principle, I had no complaints about the sedan either: I liked how Vesta handled the road. Even at those speeds that cost from five thousand to deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle.

SW Cross has become even more “collected”. After the test drive, I made inquiries: indeed, there are technical differences in the suspensions - there are completely different springs and shock absorbers. However, it cannot be said that the car has become tougher. No, it still involves comfortable movement, you don’t have to close your eyes in front of every speed bump. But the feeling of her being tightly knitted is stronger here. Although in a cold car while driving in front, something was tapping on the bumps. Did the “bones” rattle ?

And one more reason for joy: our car has decent windshield wiper blades! This is something out of fantasy. We didn’t leave the city, and I can’t say how the wipers work at speeds of up to a hundred kilometers per hour. But in urban mode, they coped well with snow and water, something that even more expensive brands cannot always boast of.

Based on all of the above, I completely agree that SW Cross looks quite harmonious on our roads. High ground clearance, good handling, visibility, landing - the station wagon has it all. And some things are even better than the sedan. But still…

Loyalty to traditions

Everything seems to be fine, but the protruding edge of the arch trim is a symbolic thing. A dealer who didn’t do a very good job, forcing him to switch to another dealer – that’s also very our thing. The AMT algorithm, which has never been brought to fruition, is our everything, almost like Pushkin. But how wonderful it would be if we just abandoned these traditions, wouldn’t it?

To tell the truth, I would also like to add here the not very pleasant tactile sensations from the plastic in the cabin and - what is much more important - from the steering wheel, but I won’t. And the reason is clear: Vesta’s materials are approximately at the level of Solaris’s materials. They don't need to be good, they need to be not too expensive and competitive.

Okay, then let's look at the price. The most inexpensive version with a 1.6 liter engine (106 hp) and a five-speed manual transmission will cost 755,900 rubles. The most expensive, with a 1.8 liter engine (122 hp) and AMT - 847,900 rubles. Well, the same Solaris on the “handle” with a 1.6 liter engine starts at 754,900 rubles. And in the top-end Elegance configuration (with automatic transmission) it already costs 929,900 rubles... And this is not a station wagon, nor a cross-country vehicle.

So I’m forced to once again come to the conclusion that we don’t have anything cheaper. Well, is there any point in complaining about unpleasant plastic then? Probably not either. If not for these traditions...

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About gear shift times

• The box really began to “click” faster, this is noticeable even to a non-specialist.
• Shift times depend on the gear and how hard the driver presses on the gas. On average - minus 30% compared to the “pre-reform” version. For example, the previous robot spent 2.6 seconds on the transition from first to second when driving “in a third of the pedal”, the new one - 1.8. If you press “to the floor”, the parameters are 2.0 and 1.3 seconds, respectively.
• The box has become faster to shift not only up, but also down
• Gone are the annoying and dangerous delays when, after a smooth decrease in speed, you press the gas, and the electronics spend a few seconds wondering what speed it needs to turn on.

About the work of “Crawling mode”

• Lada Vesta with “Crawling Mode” does not start as quickly as cars with a classic automatic transmission. The robot thinks for a second, then slowly shifts into gear, and only after that does it start moving.
• In “Crawling Mode,” the car starts moving, making the engine tremble, as if an inexperienced driver has not yet gotten used to the manual transmission.
• The speed during Crawl Mode depends on the gear engaged. On the first it is 7–8 km/h, on the second – 14–15 km/h, on the rear – 5–6 km/h.
• In a traffic jam on a slight rise, you will have to use the old scheme to speed up the car with the gas pedal. When the brake is released, the automatic system engages first gear more slowly (the car begins to roll backward) than when commanded by the accelerator pedal.

Conclusions and comments

• The gearbox control selector is the same.
• Changes became noticeable almost immediately after the start of movement.
• With the advent of the “creeping” mode, the issue of clutch life returned. Time will give the answer.
• Acceleration time to 100 km/h has not changed.

The robot in version 2.0 has become much nicer. The main shortcomings of the gearbox have been corrected, but the gearbox is still inferior to the classic automatic transmission, the robot with two clutches, and the CVT. There's nothing you can do about it - that's the design.

Let us remind you that in order to upgrade the AMT to version 2.0, it is necessary to flash the engine ECM and AMT. AVTOVAZ responds to this issue as follows:

Technically, it is possible to do a flashing, but you need to re-equip the engine. You may, at your own risk, have your dealer perform this work, but in this case the vehicle will be outside the scope of the warranty.

According to reviews from owners (see comments to this article), the approximate cost of AMT 2.0 firmware is from 2,000 to 5,000 rubles.

Key words: Lada Vesta gearbox

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