Crash test of Lada Kalina

How to reset error codes

After automatic diagnostics, errors must be reset. This is done so that they do not interfere or confuse the user during subsequent diagnostics. You can find out how to reset everything from the manufacturer's recommendations. But in practice, for example, an ECU error is reset by running a new check on the dashboard. In the service station, the controllers are reset in a slightly different order. There are other options:

The ECU error is reset using the device and software. Therefore, we recommend that you stop by and check your car more often. It is during such checks that common breakdowns specific to this vehicle can be discovered.
Code 0171 may be constantly displayed. This indicates that the fuel is of poor quality. Such a signal serves as a reason to think about changing it.
Other than that, p1545, 0422, and 1426 are very common codes, so they're worth looking at. If they appear again after a reset, you must contact technical service for more accurate diagnosis and troubleshooting.

Specialists will help you sort out the problems if you yourself don’t know how to get rid of them.

Why does a car have to undergo a crash test?

But the car doesn’t even suspect that no one is going to break it, they just want to check its operation.

But after a review of this car was published, with all the colorful descriptions of all the impressions that remain from the car, for example: Sounds, vibrations, smells, the manufacturer asked the testers not to take this car for a test run and to abandon this idea.

They said that this car should not have been tested at all. The first batch of cars was generally made using bypass technology, and they arrived at the dealership only to see if the car was in demand. And dealers took test cars and released them for sale, and they were still so expensive. Well done to the dealers, they tried not to miss anything and made a profit.

The testers made a promise to the manufacturer that they would send this car for crash tests, and for running-in they would take a car from another batch.

Prices

It is worth noting that AvtoVAZ’s pricing policy allows the Kalina NFR model to outperform many foreign analogues. Moreover, all the characteristics are perfectly combined with the cost. In the economy segment, this car will be the best choice.

The first sales of the model began in November 2022. This batch consisted of only 50 copies. A more complex model costs a little more than 650 thousand rubles. This modification includes sports seats, a gasoline engine with 140 hp. pp., the panel has a 7-inch monitor. There is also a climate system, front airbags, electric windows, and 17-inch wheels.

Diagnostics

If you notice that something is wrong with the operation of the Lada Kalina vehicle, then it makes sense to diagnose the car. As a rule, all breakdowns appear immediately after checking the car. You can ask for help in carrying out diagnostics at a service station, where you will pay a certain amount for this service, or you can do everything yourself. Of course, with the help of special equipment there is a greater chance of identifying a malfunction, since when checking independently there is a possibility of obtaining inaccurate data.

So, let's start diagnosing the car ourselves. For this:

Turn off the ignition.
Press and hold the daily mileage reset button.
While holding the button, turn the key in the ignition.
Having done this, all sensor indicators on the dashboard will light up, and the arrows of the tachometer, speedometer, antifreeze temperature sensor and gasoline level in the fuel tank will move on a scale from zero to maximum. Next, press the button located on the steering column wiper switch. This way you can switch the data on the instrument panel screen. On the first one you can see the process of checking the functionality of the instrument panel. The second will show the version of the software installed in the car, and the third will show combinations of faults.

To check your car for breakdowns, hold down the daily mileage button and hold it while turning on the ignition key. At this time, all arrows will go from zero to maximum.

Then press the button located on the steering column wiper switch. This is done in order to switch the data mode on the instrument panel screen.

To read combinations of faults in a car, you will need the last screen. It will display clear codes. To obtain four-digit combinations of faults, use special equipment or the services of specialists at a service station.

How does this whole system work?

The car, along with the fastened dummies, went for a test, and, bouncing off a collision with an obstacle, stalled. The cabin is filled with thick white smoke that has a pungent, unpleasant odor because the squibs went off; by the way, in Logan this smoke is practically odorless. The steering wheel in the cabin has moved quite a bit, the front panel has also been practically unaffected by the collision, and the driver's door also opens easily. The body was practically not deformed, just like the car that passed the first test. But there are also similarities: the door broke just like the first time, despite the fact that the security design has improved. If you count the test scores according to the rules, then you need to subtract one point for this.

What about airbags? Now the dome of each of the pillows, which were sewn using durable polypropylene fabric, is empty. But in the high-speed video footage, we can see how both airbags worked as expected: The driver's airbag popped out 25 milliseconds after the collision occurred, and the passenger's airbag a little later. By the time the mannequin's head touched it, it was open and the blow had softened. Head injuries were reduced to less than normal levels, and the passenger was generally in a safe zone. This is, of course, very good. But why did the steering wheel become deformed again? Why did the driver's chest suffer slightly less than in the first car, which did not have airbags? That's why this car scored 8.4 in the frontal test, although the results could have been more impressive.

Testers familiarized themselves with the results of five other tests conducted by Avtoliv. Indeed, the dummy did not hit his head on the steering wheel, and the overloads became lower. But two tests gave results that showed data about the dummy hitting the chest with the steering wheel, and there was also a high load on the shins. And the experts' assessment did not give seven points. This means that the results of the domestic car can be called quite good.

Yes, the manufacturer really worked on an export car. They expect to sell 60 thousand copies annually. But why are they sure that Europeans will like this noisy, vibration-laden, and unreliable car? Most likely the situation will develop like this. In about a year they will start to see cars appear for export, which will have modern airbags and engines. But they will not be sold on the Western market. And in Russian? Which Russian would need a car that costs a lot of money, regardless of modern equipment? Although these forecasts may be wrong.

Buy in the online store, best prices, inexpensive delivery

As the advertisement says: “Lada Priora is the first Russian car equipped with an airbag as standard.” But even just being equipped with an airbag cannot guarantee good protection in an accident. The VAZ Priora crash test was carried out using the EuroNCAP method (see video). Initially, the body withstood the impact. Not bad already! But alas... The broken Priora, despite the efforts of the designers who created a car different from the previous ones, instantly turned into its “big sister”, the “ten”, in appearance. The driver's door was able to withstand, but the fracture of the windshield pillar increased. The situation in the cabin is similar: the steering wheel has moved slightly to the right and up, and the front panel has been torn off. During the impact, the dummy slid off the airbag to the left and hit the instrument panel. True, the blow was not strong, it is not capable of leading to serious injuries. It is worth noting that the legs of the “driver” and “passenger” were not pinched, there was enough space left for them to be able to get out of the wrecked car on their own (see photo of the Priors crash test). It turns out that the airbag deployed, but did not work properly: due to the steering wheel shifting to the right, the driver's head rolls to the left from the airbag dome. For this, during a crash test on a Priora VAZ, one point is deducted as a fine. However, it is a relief to see in the video that both driver and passenger are not at risk of serious injury or harm. Comparing the Priora with other tenth-generation cars, it turned out that the latest VAZ model is not much safer than the previous ones, despite the airbag and updated interior! The 2011 Priora crash test did not allow it to score the four points promised by the engineers and developers of the model, while receiving 4 penalty points. The first penalty point has already been mentioned above - this is the unstable position of the driver's head when in contact with the airbag. The organizers of the Priora crash test had to remove two more points for the high probability of kneecap injuries. And the fourth point, in accordance with the crash test rules, had to be removed because as a result of the impact there was a violation of the integrity and displacement of the front passenger seat. It turns out that in fact the Priora is not much safer than the cars of the tenth family and Kalina - even despite the driver's airbag and the new interior! But what about the four promised stars? After all, if we add 5.7 points for the frontal crash test with a nine-point score for the side impact, which we “incidentally” received during our experiments with unfastened dummies in Priora (see AR No. 10, 2007), then we get only 14.7 points out of 32 possible. And these are only two stars out of five. Of course, for a twenty-year-old design, two EuroNCAP stars will do: anything is better than their absence. But for the 2007 model... It won’t be enough! And the reason for the lack of points and stars is offensively simple: Priora went into production... unfinished! In fact, with a regular “ten” body. The VAZ people themselves call the current Priors “phase I”. This story, unfortunately, is typical for AvtoVAZ. Remember our story about the Chevrolet Niva crash test? Then it turned out that the production car scores only 1.6 points out of 16 possible in the frontal crash test. Knowing this, employees of the GM-AvtoVAZ joint venture invited us to a crash test of an experimental Chevy Niva with a reinforced body and two airbags, which was being finalized in Tolyatti with the participation of Saab specialist Stefan Olsen. It turned out that the Chevy Niva with a reinforced body scores as much as 12.5 points! Then we were promised that such Nivas would hit the assembly line in April 2004. How many years have passed since then? But there were no reinforced bodies, and there are no... Will the same story repeat itself with the Priora?

Testing methodology

The car in question was destroyed in just one crash test. It was a frontal impact with a 40 percent overlap, and the car itself was accelerated to 64 km/h. Let us clarify once again - here we are talking about equipment 21942-42, equipped with pyrotechnic belt pretensioners. The wheels in this configuration are made of light alloy, which, in turn, could also affect the result.

Station wagon Kalina-2 Lux, photo from the official website

After gaining speed, the station wagon body encounters an obstacle that covers 40% of the space and is located on the driver’s side. This method of testing a car is close to the EuroNCAP methods used for a long time in Europe. What happened as a result is described in the next chapter. In fact, the Lada Kalina car received 3 stars out of 4 possible, which is not so bad. The Granta in the sedan body did not earn much more points, but it was tested using a similar method.

Vehicle interior

As you approach the car, you notice a lot of orange in the interior. Thus, the designers wanted to distinguish the model from the general range, and they succeeded. Sitting down in a chair, you immediately notice increased lateral support and a dedicated lumbar pillow.

In general, the seats here are completely new, they were designed specifically for this “raised” station wagon. It would seem that new seats should improve comfort, but in reality the opposite is true. The cushion under your back puts too much pressure and you constantly want to arch over. The horizontal pillow itself is located too high and the legs simply hang. Additional regulations may change the situation, but there are none yet.

But there are always disadvantages, it’s better to talk about the advantages. Thus, the designers have modified many plastic elements, and now there is practically no rattling characteristic of Ladas in the cabin. Serious complaints were caused by the vibration of the glass while driving, which was also resolved by installing new seals.

Some car owners complained that the doors did not close well on the regular Klin Station Wagon model. These opinions were taken into account and now a light push is enough to slam the door! The installation of new automatic closers made closing them especially comfortable.

Although the interior of the Lada Kalina Cross received new “notes”, but, by and large, it remained the same. Serious modifications would inevitably lead to an increase in the price of the car!

Lada Kalina crash test: expectations and hopes

What to expect from a car that is the latest model from a manufacturer that was developed using computer simulations.

Last year, the manufacturer predicted three stars for his invention based on the EuroNCAP rating. This means that testers may believe that the new car is no worse than the foreign Renault Logan. But the manufacturer, who came to crash test the Lada Kalina, for some reason looked clearly upset.

At first glance, the wrecked car could be assessed quite well. The body was not greatly deformed. But the pillar and windshield were already more deformed than those of a foreign car, and the door on the driver’s side broke completely, which is why the doorway was shortened by 80 centimeters, but Logan’s doorway was shortened by only 15 millimeters. But the door of our car opened quite easily, not like that of a foreign car.

Nothing terrible was noticed in the cabin if you lowered the distorted rim of the steering wheel. The front panel remained virtually unchanged, only the shoe deflectors were damaged by the dummy’s hand, and the dummy’s knee damaged the plastic cover of the steering column, a large piece of plastic came off it. The steering wheel has moved only 70 millimeters, which is very good. The pedals also barely moved. The manufacturer is great, he can do it if he wants.

In simple terms and judging by how the body behaved when it received a displaced impact at a speed of 64 kilometers per hour, the car can be called quite modern. Despite the fact that the manufacturer made more than one decision related to the layout and design of the body, as well as other components the car inherited from its predecessors developed twenty years ago, the car still became modern.

Which Kalina is better?

When choosing a Lada Kalina among a variety of cars, a novice car enthusiast will not have to get confused in the configurations of car models. There are three body styles, three engine options and three configuration options. And, of course, Lada Kalina Sport. Let's look in this article which Kalina is better.

Keep in mind that by simply going to the first car dealership you come across, you risk being left completely without money, since the sales consultants will complete the car until your pockets and wallet are completely empty. The smartest thing to do before purchasing is to study the Internet sites of car dealerships and think about what equipment and modifications you need. Considering which Kalina is better, we will compare three models in this series.

Lada Kalina Hatchback

The 1119 hatchback belongs to class B, it has five doors and is very comfortable, as well as convenient for family trips. Thanks to the excellent design of the electric power steering wheel, the Lada Kalina Hatchback is very light and easy to drive. The car has a very comfortable and spacious interior, the designers did a great job. Thanks to its economical operation and relatively low pricing, as well as good reliability and maneuverability, the Hatchback is an excellent car for the middle class.

Test result

It can be stated that in Kalina-2 with an automatic transmission, the driver’s shins may suffer. The head of the mannequin, which was in the driver's seat, also received serious mechanical stress. But the passenger, who was on the right side of the driver, was fine after the impact. The following diagram illustrates the words:

One dummy was damaged after a frontal impact

Let us clarify what exactly we were able to observe from the test results:

The brake pedal offset into the cabin is 141 mm;
Steering wheel offset – 98 mm;
Change in the geometry of the doorway on the left (maximum value) – 55 mm.

Now let's look at what happened to the mannequins.

Type of damage	Implications for the driver	Passenger value
Head Injury Index (HIC)	540	340
Bending moment of forces acting on the neck, Nm	28 Nm	15 Nm
Rib compression, mm	28 mm	22 mm
Load on the femur, kN	1.5 kN	1.2 kN
Shin injury rate	0,72	0,3

The question remains of how the load on the mannequin’s head changed from second to second. The answer looks like this:

Head load for passenger and driver

The minimum acceleration at which a concussion is recorded is 90-100 g. In general, a trip on Kalina-2 does not threaten anything like this, unless you exceed the speed limit.

Now let’s compare the obtained figures with the crash test result of another car – the Lada Granta Standard. The rate of damage to the lower leg, for example, turns out to be lower there than indicated in our table. Its value is 0.52 for the driver and 0.41 for the passenger. Perhaps the presence of automatic transmission in LADA cars makes its own adjustments.

Fuel consumption

One of the important indicators of a quality car is fuel consumption. Thanks to the installation of a 16-valve engine, engineers were able to reduce fuel consumption as much as possible. This is especially noticeable in comparison with models that have an 8-valve engine.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that the “Lux” equipment is often equipped with an automatic transmission. It is much more convenient than a mechanical one, but you can count on economical fuel consumption only on highways outside the city - up to 8 liters

In other cases, it has no advantages; even more, it is a disadvantage, since it significantly increases gasoline consumption (almost 12.5 liters).

Diagnosis of errors

When you begin to notice something unusual in the behavior of your car, or there are obvious problems in its operation, then it certainly makes sense to have it diagnosed. Naturally, the OBD-II diagnostic connector will show errors most efficiently and accurately, however, not everyone has sockets to control this connector and has to use the standard one.

In order to enter self-diagnosis mode, you must:

Turn off the ignition.
Click on the daily vehicle mileage button.
Then, continuing to hold it, turn the key in the lock.
Thanks to this, all available indicators will light up, and the dial indicators will go into self-test mode and show data from zero to maximum.
When this happens, use the button located on the steering column switch and use it to switch the data on the instrument panel.
To read the fault codes, we need the last one - the third screen. Unambiguous error codes will be displayed there.

Displaying the error code on the third screen of the bookmaker. The photo shows error 4 (faulty coolant temperature sensor).

Lada Kalina crash test: what did the dummies say?

But the fact that everything is in order with the silt frame of the body is still half the battle.

A little later, specialists deciphered the information from the sensors that were installed on the mannequins. And it became clear why the manufacturer was so sad and sad when looking at the Lada Kalina crash test. The dummy hit his head on the steering wheel with great force, which shocked the testers.

And what’s worse, in the three saving milliseconds that, according to doctors, are needed to ensure that the overload does not affect the human brain, the pressure on the mannequin was twice as high as permissible. These figures are several times higher than those of a foreign car similar to Kalina. Experts have dispelled any remaining doubts that the mannequin suffered a brain injury incompatible with life. Because the injury rate was doubled. Such a sad outcome of the car test. Even when testers conducted tests with Slavuta, its results were lower, and a person involved in an accident had a chance to survive, but in our case there is none.

The minimal injury the dummy suffered during the test was a concussion. Moreover, considering that a mannequin and a person are very different. Indeed, in a real emergency situation, a living person, and not a dummy, will hit his head on a hard plastic steering wheel, and therefore the results will be truly disastrous.

And these are not all the negative factors that this car has. When the dummy who was sitting behind the wheel hit his head on the steering wheel, his head was thrown back so that the sensor located on the cervical vertebra recorded that two out of three parameters were exceeded, the spine was stretched due to the fact that a strong bending moment acted on it. And the severely deformed chest of the mannequin will complement the picture of the injury. The deformation was 50 millimeters. This mark is exactly in the life-threatening zone.

Considering all this, the low load on the knees and shins is pleasing, and it is also pleasing that the pedals have moved only a little, which means foot injuries have been avoided, but still these characteristics are too few, the overall impression is already spoiled

Although this is also very important. Exactly, as well as the fact that the dummy in the passenger seat did not receive any dangerous injuries - he hit his head on the front panel

But still, speaking about the seatbelt passenger of this car, to say that he does not risk getting injured is to say nothing, because the tilt of his head upon impact reaches a critical point, and his chest is also deformed from the fact that he pressed hard on it seat belt, but this injury rate is not too high. A person in such a situation would probably suffer a couple of broken ribs.

Lada Kalina: optimistic or pessimistic notes

But there is 100% confidence that a car not equipped with airbags will enter the Russian market. But this car will be very dangerous, even with a seat belt fastened.

The manufacturer is confident that it is simply impossible to create a modern car with a durable body without pillows. As an example, they cite the Logan car, which they don’t even produce without airbags. But when testing a small-sized Deo Matiz car that does not have airbags, safety was at the proper level.

But even if you believe that a rigid body is not compatible with pillows, many questions will arise. Why does Renault Concern sell its car with airbags, but our manufacturer sells it without them? Moreover, the test results are almost the same, but the cars are very different.

How do Prior airbags work?

The essence of the action of the gas-generating element located in the pillow is as follows:

The gas generator itself will produce gas directly inside the module: it will fill the airbag.
Here, a substance of pyrotechnic origin will be ignited with the help of a fuse, which is built into the body of this gas generator itself.

There are two types of gas generators:

pyrotechnic;
hybrid.

The first will consist of a body that will be filled with a solid pyrotechnic substance and the igniter itself. As for the second, it will consist of a casing material containing compressed gas of inert origin, as well as all the components already listed above.

Priora airbag test

The gas generator will operate according to the following algorithm:

When struck, an electrical signal will be generated.
The electrical resistance will heat up and ignite the pyrotechnic substance.
The rest of the mass ignites.

What does error 4 mean?

Trouble code 4 indicates that the refrigerant temperature control controller is not operating properly. In most cases, this code lights up on the instrument panel when a break in the regulator wiring is detected, lasting 20-30 seconds.

After analyzing your problem, we consulted many sources on the Internet and consulted with Lad Kalin owners. As it turns out, the number 4 often appears on the dashboard; this can be considered one of the most common errors on these cars. Replacing the antifreeze thermostat in the cooling system in some cases will help the product get rid of the error. However, according to most Kalina owners, in fact, in most cases this does not give a good result.
If you believe the opinion of car owners, such an error, as a rule, occurs mainly in cold weather. If there are no prerequisites for refusal, then there is nothing to worry about.
It is likely that the sensor itself has oxidized during the operation of the vehicle. As a result, poor contact is formed, which does not allow normal signal transmission. Sometimes this happens after the car has been washed. We recommend visual diagnostics of the controller - if you notice that the contact has actually oxidized, it should be cleaned.
If cleaning contacts does not help, you need to start the dialer. It is possible that the reason for the code appearing on the instrument panel is a broken wire or short circuit. In the event of a wire break, it is enough to replace the wires or eliminate the cause of the short circuit.

If you have replaced the sensor, cleaned the contacts, but the problem has not disappeared, we recommend conducting more detailed computer diagnostics. On domestic cars, it often happens that when the control unit fails, errors may appear on the screen that actually do not exist. To figure this out, you need to read all the codes from the on-board computer and then draw conclusions.

Test Drive

A test drive of the Lada Kalina Sport showed that the dynamic characteristics are quite sufficient for a comfortable trip around the city. The manual transmission is quite simple, you get used to it quickly. The car turns normally, there are no problems.

The suspension is elastic. When driving fast on the highway, nothing rattles or knocks anywhere in the car, which indicates a high-quality assembly. The braking system here is more advanced than that of the simple Kalina. The rear brakes are also disc, but they slow down at a speed of approximately 120-130 km/h and perform well.

There's not much to complain about Kalina Sport. If you compare it with its exemplary classmates Chevrolet Aveo or Reno Logan, then they are not many times better than this car. The dynamics are normal and the controls are sharp.

Testing methodology

Station wagon Kalina-2 Lux, photo from the official website

Test results: sedan, hatchback, station wagon

The Lada Priora test for “durability” in daily trips on urban off-road shows excellent results - cars 5-8 years old are still alive, ready to continue working for the benefit of their owners.

The Prior tests/reviews carried out immediately after the presentation of the restyling are not particularly different for the hatchback and sedan; these are actually two slightly different bodies that were endowed with the same “filling”. Modified engine with a power of 106 hp. Owners of restyled Priors liked it because it gave the car fast acceleration and increased the maximum speed. The station wagon immediately proved itself as a family car, capable of withstanding almost any load in the trunk.

How to check the sensor

Since the cause of error 4 on the Lada Kalina is not always the failure of the controller, you need to learn how to diagnose it. First of all, inspect the wiring; if there are no breaks in it, then you need to move on to checking the sensor itself. Follow the instructions:

Turn off the ignition and disconnect the wire connector from the coolant sensor. For the convenience of motorists, the block is marked “AB”. Place the probes of the electronic tester on contact B of this block and on engine ground. If the power circuit is not broken, the tester will show a voltage of 4.8 to 5.2 V. Otherwise, you need to check the power circuit. If the device shows sufficient voltage in the circuit, then you need to check the controller itself. To do this, place the tester probes on contact A and engine ground. Switch it to resistance measurement mode. If the circuit is grounded, the device will show a resistance of less than 1 ohm. The following measurements should be carried out on a warm and slightly cooled engine. The probes of the device are placed on the contacts of the sensor itself to measure its resistance

It is also important to know the temperature of the coolant; the hotter it is, the lower the resistance should be. The maximum resistance is achieved at negative temperatures, and at 100 degrees it is minimal - 180 Ohms.

If the sensor does not pass the warm-up test, it must be replaced. There are more complex ways to check the sensor, but to do this you will have to unscrew it and test it.

For the “Lux” configuration there is a motor 21126

1.6 liters and almost a hundred horsepower - these are the characteristics of this engine. This became the second engine for the Lada Kalina 2. It is available only for the “richest” versions of the car. Here, too, the connecting rod and piston group have been lightened, as well as the hydraulic valve tappets. And there will be neither few nor many of them - four pieces for each cylinder. The new engine model, like the previous one, has a so-called “Gates” belt. The guarantee for such a belt is 120 thousand kilometers of road surface. Basically, all 200 thousand are subject to its resource. This belt has been tested with great success on the Lada Priora model.

What does error 4 mean on Lada Kalina

If error 4 appears on the on-board computer screen, then it can be deciphered as follows: the coolant temperature sensor is not working correctly. He didn’t respond for 30 seconds, so the computer decided that there was a break in his power circuit or that he himself had failed. Many Lada Kalina owners claim that this error appears very often, especially at sub-zero temperatures outside, so they do not react to it and do not consider it critical.

But you shouldn’t do this, because if you attribute everything to a habitual failure, you may miss a serious car malfunction. Error 4 indicates:

failure of the antifreeze temperature controller;
open circuit in the power supply between the computer and the sensor;
error in the control unit system after an impact or other impact;
plaque on the sensor, resulting in loss of contact with it.

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.

What's the best way to transport children?

Let’s say that a cradle belonging to the “0+” category (0-13 kilograms) is attached to the rear seat using an ISOFIX mount. And the child car seat, in which the dummy of a three-year-old child is placed, can then be secured on the other side of the seat.

A forward-facing car seat must be secured using a standard belt, and the dummy of the second baby is placed in the cradle. The Autoreview specialists did exactly what is said here, and during the crash test they were able to obtain the following results:

Type of damage	Carrycot “0+”, ISOFIX	Forward facing car seat
Head overload, g (for 3 ms)	35.9 g	80.5 g
Chest overload, g (within 3 ms)	27.2 g	52.3 g
Bending moment of forces acting on the neck, Nm	15.3 Nm	27.2 Nm

Note that the ISOFIX mount has been damaged:

ISOFIX latches in Kalina-2 on the right side

However, this mount coped with its task. The cradle, rigidly fixed with latches, did not change its position after the impact. Therefore, the load that fell on the dummy of the “younger child” did not exceed dangerous limits. However, the 3-year-old mannequin was also not seriously injured. But the load on his head exceeded 80 g, although this part itself did not touch the front seats.

The soft fastening used in the experiment contributed to the movement of the car seat forward. This made it possible to reduce the acceleration applied to the dummy. It would have looked worse with snap mounts. If there is no additional neck support, and the car seat itself is installed in the direction of travel, it is better to secure it not with latches, but with belts. The conclusion follows from the crash test results.

Crash test Lada Kalina

The modernized Kalina, how is it better than the Grants in terms of passive safety and is it better at all? The AvtoVAZ moratorium prepared the Lux version station wagon with two airbags, and even with an automatic transmission, for the impact.

And we acted not just as observers, as in the case of Granta, in addition to our adult assistants Hybrid Three in the front seats.

On the back sofa we seated in the child's chairs the mannequins Q one and a half and Q three, simulating children aged one and a half and 3 years, respectively.

The Kalina, ready for a crash test, is one and a half times heavier than the Granta crashed in the Czech Republic. The car will hit the deformed aluminum honeycomb barrier with a 40 percent overlap at 64 km/h as usual.

The power structure of the body of Kalina and Grant is identical, the only difference is the headlights, bumper and wings, they have little effect on the result at such a high speed, and therefore the deformations of the side members should be similar.

Look, Kalina’s body is crushed exactly like Granta’s, the Toccata airbag is also fired at 28 milliseconds, taking the driver’s head exactly in the center.

Hick - the integral criterion for head damage was a safe 540 units, and Kalina’s more elastic, interior plastic made it possible to reduce the load on the knees and hips by 20% compared to Granta.

The passenger, protected by the second airbag, does not risk anything at all. It fires a little later than the driver’s, and if the driver’s feet and legs are threatened by the brake pedal, which has shifted by 141 mm, then the passenger only slightly rests his feet on the glove compartment lid.

A one and a half year old baby, secured in a cradle in Kalina with the help of an Isofix base, is protected better than in exactly the same chair, fastened in Grant with a standard belt.

Look, thanks to the rigid ISOFIX fasteners, the child seat almost did not change its position after the impact. Overloads are also low, they are 15-25% lower than in Grant.

But the three-year-old child, planted this time in the direction of travel, got it hard.

The deceleration of the head doubled, and fell just short of the dangerous limit of 87 G. This is because the head was deprived of support in the form of a headrest.

The main difference between the broken Kalina and the previously tested Granta is the automatic jatka, its crankcase takes up much more space than the VAZ manual and upon impact, the gearbox comes into contact with an obstacle earlier.

This is why the power unit moves back more and dentes the floor under the driver’s feet more, and that is why the pedals have moved back 16 mm further.

An additional penalty for moving the brake pedal and a slightly larger shift in the steering column resulted in Kalina scoring a total of 10.1 instead of 10.7 points.

This is also a 3-star lasso, but you must admit that you still expect better results from a more expensive car.

Features of movement

When considering the dynamics of Kalina 2 and Renault Logan, one can highlight their similarities. Both cars reach the acceleration mark to the first hundred in 13 seconds. To objectively compare the dynamic characteristics of representatives of the models under consideration, cars with manual transmissions were used. In addition, the technical indicators declared by the automaker corresponded to the actual indicators.

The Renault Logan drives over uneven surfaces more confidently. Logan also earns extra points in soundproofing. A distinct noise usually occurs only with a dynamic increase in speed from 3500 per minute. The sound from the running engine of Kalina 2 gives it away already at idle.

When choosing between Logan and Kalina 2, you need to carefully compare the disadvantages and positive features of each car. The Russian model costs less and is therefore more economically profitable. The minimum set of options in the Kalina 2 configuration is offered for $7,500, and the maximum for $10,000. The price level for the 2014 Renault Logan is set at $8,000 – $11,000.

Compared to its competitor, Renault Logan captivates potential buyers with its comfortable and spacious interior, high level of handling, as well as noise insulation characteristics. Two factors may raise doubts about purchasing a Logan model: the price of a new car and the cost of consumables for undergoing regulated maintenance.

But for Kalina, maintenance will be budget-friendly: the model was designed in Togliatti, so the domestic iron horse will be repaired at any maintenance base, and you won’t even have to wait long for parts

In addition, the ground clearance of Kalina 2 is much greater - this is important for driving on domestic roads. You can increase the level of comfort in Kalina by simply installing additional sound insulation