It’s done - Lada has finally acquired a modern automatic transmission. Now the Xray Cross crossover has a version with a Japanese CVT and a new 113-horsepower engine. An Izvestia correspondent tested the car and found out what the new transmission brought to Lada, in addition to smooth acceleration.
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Last December, Izvestia almost got a chance to drive a Lada Xray Cross with a “robot”. The prototype suddenly appeared in Sochi - there was an event for members of the jury of the TOP-5 Auto award - and also suddenly disappeared. They planned to deliver the car closed, but it was mistakenly included in the number of cars for a test drive. This created intrigue - AvtoVAZ engineers had just finalized the “robot”, and talk about the variator had not yet left the stage of rumors.
Variations on a theme
History has followed a stepless path. Moreover, the Jatco variator paired with a 113-horsepower 1.6 engine has become a universal option for automating the model range of the Renautl-Nissan and AvtoVAZ alliance. It has already been tested on Renault Kaptur, as well as on Logan and Sandero in the Stepway City version. And now it has appeared for the first time on a Lada brand car. This is just the beginning - after the Xray Cross, the Lada Vesta will receive the same engine and variator; production of such cars is planned to begin in a few months. So the first test of the CVT Lada is doubly interesting.
Lada
Dimensions of Xray Cross are 4171×1810×1645 mm, wheelbase is 2592 mm. With the installation of the CVT, the off-road geometry did not change. Ground clearance - 215 mm, approach angle - 21 degrees, approach angle - 24 degrees
Photo: LADA
Some, hearing the word “variator”, will say: fi! Among the disadvantages, they will recall boring acceleration, sensitivity to overheating, oil cleanliness and a ragged driving style. It’s funny, representatives of AvtoVAZ call the variator exclusively “automatic”, which does not contradict the truth - it is still one of the types of automatic transmissions, but at the same time it demonstrates a cautious attitude towards the real name.
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CVTs are popular again. Now Hyundai has started to actively use them. Their design is becoming more and more perfect, although the principle remains unchanged - the gear ratio is changed using pulley cones, between which the V-belt is sandwiched.
Design features of the machine
In order to more clearly demonstrate the design features of the AMT, here is a photo:
The X-Ray auto transmission has a torque converter (in the photo the red arrow indicates the drive pulley of the variator on the shaft coming out of the depths of the torque converter, and the driven pulley is indicated by a green arrow). A variator and a planetary gear, which is located on the shaft of the variator driven pulley.
The planetary mechanism of this unit provides two modes of forward movement and one mode of backward movement. This design solution, firstly, reduced the size of the pulleys and, secondly, shortened the metal belt, and all this, as already mentioned, ultimately lightened the weight of the transmission.
The best Lada
In the history of Lada, this is generally the most modern automatic transmission. Before this, cars of the Russian brand were equipped either with an AMT robot with one clutch, which, despite modifications, never learned to change gears smoothly. Or an old four-speed hydromechanical “automatic” - this option is still used on the Grant.
By the way, it is not surprising that Xray Cross was the first to receive a new transmission. This is the most advanced car in the Lada model range, although it is built on the B0 platform of the cheapest Renault, Sandero and Logan. There is some irony in this, but to AvtoVAZ’s credit, the simple cart was significantly improved, and on its own. The track became wider, the steering wheel received electric power instead of hydraulic power and reach adjustment, and disc brakes appeared at the rear.
In fact, instead of an elevated version of the Xray, AvtoVAZ made a new car. Renault also decided to modernize the B0 platform, renaming it Global Access, but for now even the newest Arkana coupe-crossover comes with rear drum brakes.
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Test drive VAZ-2101 at Lada Vesta Cross
Exterior
The new version of the car has become even more attractive. The designers slightly changed the exterior, making it more modern:
- We used chrome-plated massive panels to decorate the front part.
- We installed modern head optics.
- The front air intakes were made more massive and small fog lights were installed.
The front of the car has become more massive and attractive in appearance. Separately, we note the modern petticoat, which is made in a rather attractive style.
In seconds and liters
The Jatco variator here is not quite ordinary - a V-belt transmission is coupled to a two-speed automatic transmission. The increasing stage allows you to save fuel at low speeds, the decreasing stage should provide dynamic acceleration. In addition, the design of the variator prevents the belt from being at the very edge or axis of the cone, where it can slip. This should improve the durability of the unit.
You expect emotional acceleration from a bright orange car, but the acceleration is not impressive. The engine's voice cannot be called sporty, and therefore it is muffled quite correctly. The Xray Cross accelerates from zero to “hundreds” in 12.3 seconds, the same amount required for a regular Xray with a 1.8 engine (122 hp) and a “robot”. The difference is in the quality of acceleration; a car with a CVT accelerates as smoothly as possible. It seems that AvtoVAZ engineers were tired of the reproaches of those dissatisfied with the twitchy “robot”, and they elevated smoothness to an absolute.
Lada
The Xray Cross with a CVT accelerates from zero to “hundreds” in 12.3 seconds. Maximum speed - 162 km/h
Photo: LADA
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The numb throttle pedal needs to be pressed slowly and smoothly to achieve a linear response. As soon as you let it go, the engine speed drops rapidly - this car is not set up to race, but to save fuel.
However, the CVT is still inferior to the “robot” in consumption; the regular Xray, even with a more powerful 122-horsepower engine, is more economical: 6.8 versus 7.1 liters on average. Judging by the stated figures, the continuously variable transmission is a little thirstier in the city and a little more economical on the highway. The on-board computer of our car showed a consumption of 9.1 liters, which is quite consistent with city figures.
I bought a Lada XRAY: the car is good, but the transmission is pain and suffering
Lada XRAY (2019)
Reviewed by: ugsm Added: October 27, 2022 Ownership period: 1 week Mileage: 200 km
In the week after purchasing the Xray, I drove a little, about 200 kilometers, but I already have something to say. I will compare it with Skoda Fabia and Fiat Doblo, which I drove enough to get used to.
So, let's start with the advantages:
1. How it drives on the road. Well, that is, the combination of suspension and steering is excellent. I tried to compare it with Vesta (changed immediately during the test drive) - I didn’t notice any deterioration. Sound insulation, as well as isolation from the road in general, is what catches your eye. And this is even on oak (as they complain) Pirelli tires at almost zero temperatures.
2. The clutch and starting are great. Soft, absolutely understandable. And the engine purrs quite nicely. In general, it accelerates (it accelerates, not “slipper to the floor”) pleasantly.
3. Excellent low beam. Skoda with its lens headlights is in last place. Maybe it's all about the height of the headlights, but it's a fact.
4. Well, this is a new car after all! Although it costs money, technical issues are transferred from her to others.
1. Box. This is pain and suffering. No, not sounds from it, all gears hum quite moderately (a friend in Vesta complains about the hum of the second gear). Ease and clarity of inclusion is something it doesn't have at all. The first and third gears are especially difficult. You can blame it on the fact that “it’s new, it’ll get used to,” but point-blank I don’t remember such problems in the Skoda, the gears shift clearly, easily, right on their own. Even on Doblo, with a gearbox assembled in parts with a mileage of 190 thousand and meter-long gearbox cables, switching was much easier and more pleasant.
2. Mirrors on oars. Why do the West come standard with electric ones, but the XRake, even in the CVT version (plus 200 thousand from my configuration), have these joysticks? And it’s not even a matter of status or some kind of show-off, they are stupidly inconvenient to use, and the driver’s seat is generally not adjustable in angle the way I need it, I have to turn it by hand and still the angle is not enough. But the linings are in body color. The interior mirror is ordinary. I can’t call it very bad, although it looks like an A, but the view from the rear window fits perfectly into it.
3. Windshield wiper control. After all, already on previous VAZs, turning on the wipers was up, as logical and convenient, so here we saved a penny, took a poker from Dacia and there we go. Well, just like on a classic or Fiat. But on Fiat there is a single upward swing, here there is none. Washing the glass is done on your own, everything seems logical here, but the liquid is supplied to the glass in a few fractions of a second, during which the wipers have time to scrape across the dry, dirty glass. Make the first sweep of the wipers a little later, when the glass has already been sprayed! The nozzles themselves seem to be fan-shaped, but they spray only 30 percent of the glass. If the wiper on the driver's area then smears, then in the middle of the glass the lower part of the passenger wiper area is always dry, no matter how much you pour it on. The rear windshield wiper is activated by turning the tip of this poker. On normal machines this is done by moving the handle away from you.
4. There is no backlighting of buttons and knobs in the cabin. There's not enough in the dark. And the SOS button could be covered with some kind of safety cap. Yes, when the car is running in the dark, it glows, but if you are sitting in a muted car in the dark, when you try to turn on the light, the first thing you come across is it, it is the biggest one there.
5. Standard key fob. He's alone. The second is just a starter with an immobilizer chip. Moreover, if you close it with the key fob button and then open it with the second key, you will get light music performed by a standard horn. A second key with buttons, judging by the forums, will cost 3-4-5 thousand, which makes installing an external alarm with normal access (and even with auto-start) a must-have. That's why Chrysler has auto start on the standard key, but we still can't?
6. On-board computer. More precisely, the display of information as a whole. To find the time or mileage, you need to scroll through the on-board computer. Do you regret two separate screens? The panel itself seems to be new, and specifically the BC screen is already the same as in the cross. Temperature indicator in the form of a scale with 5 squares. Meaning? You still don’t know the exact number; it would be easier to write in numbers. Well, or stupidly put 2 light bulbs, like on a Skoda: blue - cold, don’t drown, red - overheating.
I'll write down the steering separately. It seems neither good nor bad. There is power steering. The rack is hydraulic, but the pump is electric (as in the Skoda). But the control itself as a whole is somehow incomprehensible; you don’t feel the road, like in ordinary cars with hydraulic booster. And the return of the steering wheel to the zero point stops when there are still 30 degrees left. As a result, the car does not drive in a straight line, but goes where the steering wheel is slightly turned.
In total, the specific minus is only regarding the gearbox, the rest is from the category of convenience and addiction. You sit in a VAG car and it’s immediately intuitively clear where everything is, everything is immediately in its place. But here you can’t do that; you need to first look at any lever, feel it and then turn it. Do not move the natural movement of the hand, turn it.
Victim of regimes
The roads in the Kaliningrad region were mostly built by the Germans. A narrow asphalt strip is squeezed by rows of mighty trees. Local cars are not in a hurry, but the traffic is heavy and you need to overtake quickly. This is where the smooth adjustment of the variator gets in the way; a lot of time passes between the click of the kickdown button under the depressed gas pedal and the start of intense acceleration. A manual mode with fixed gears allows you to perk up the transmission, but the Xray Cross obviously lacks a sport mode.
Lada
Photo: LADA
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The manual version has it as part of the Ride Select system along with two off-road modes. But the version with a variator does not have a choice of driving settings. Why? Representatives of AvtoVAZ will say that the Xray Cross with “mechanics” and “automatic” has different buyers. In fact, the reason is the torque limitation - the variator is designed only for 160 Nm, and the 1.6 engine produces 152 Nm. The Ride Select system puts too much stress on the transmission, so it was decided to abandon it for the sake of the durability of the CVT. By the way, for the same reason, this continuously variable transmission cannot be paired with the 1.8 engine, which produces 170 Nm at its peak. Although I note that Renault has paired the CVT with the turbo engines on the Renault Arkana, so within the framework of one alliance it would not be difficult to install another transmission on the Xray, if there was demand.
On the one hand, the off-road modes of the driving electronics are a sensitive loss, given that the Xray Cross does not have all-wheel drive. On the other hand, modern crossovers spend more time in the city crowd and a normal “automatic” is more important for them than increased cross-country ability.
Manual Transmission
The manual Lada X-Ray comes in two variants: JR5 518 and JH3 512. Both boxes are French-made, have five shift stages and are distinguished by the reliability and clarity of high-speed gear shifts. New manual transmissions have received a number of advantages over their predecessors. They now vibrate less and operate more quietly. To transfer from one speed to another you now have to expend even less effort, the lever stroke is light and smooth.
The switching mechanism has been moved from the lower sphere of the box to the upper part. Thanks to this innovation, much less oil needs to be poured into the Lada X-Ray gearbox, which allows you to save a lot on this consumable. The possibility of oil freezing and thickening has also disappeared, and the possibility of complicating gear shifting at sub-zero temperatures is now eliminated.
The gear shift module itself in the Lada X-Ray is of German origin. He is responsible for the precise execution of commands and the timeliness of changing speed limits. The manual transmission is also equipped with new synchronizers and a secondary shaft, which makes it more durable and quiet.
1 speed – 3.727
Manual transmission, 5 speeds, multi-cone synchronizers.
1 speed – 3.727
How to ride without steps
However, the Xray Cross is also capable of off-road feats - the installation of a CVT did not affect the ground clearance; here it is still 215 mm. Suspension settings allow you to take on obstacles while moving. The torque converter will protect the continuously variable transmission from jerking when driving over uneven surfaces and will help you climb steep hills.
Lada
Photo: LADA
AvtoVAZ has released a new version of the Lada Granta with sports suspension
Since the Japanese 1.6 engine is aluminum and lightweight, the Xray Cross with it and the CVT turned out to be not much heavier than the version with the Russian 1.8 engine and “mechanics”. So the suspension settings have not been changed, and it still pleases with good energy consumption.
However, on the asphalt it seemed to me that the steering wheel was not as clear in the near-zero zone as in a car with a manual transmission. Although with increasing speed this disadvantage disappears. And the Xray Cross is devoid of slips during acceleration typical of front-wheel drive cars - the wheel drives here are of the same length.
Lada Xray Cross with a CVT has passed a full cycle of southern, northern and mountain tests from Siberia to the Caucasus. The minimum mileage of each car was 160 thousand km, which is one and a half times more than the warranty mileage.
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17-inch alloy wheels are available as standard
Photo: LADA
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The steering wheel is adjustable for reach. Starting from the Luxe version, it is trimmed in leather
Photo: LADA
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The interior can be trimmed with orange inserts
Photo: LADA
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The new multimedia system supports iOS and Android devices
Photo: LADA
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You can call the voice assistant using the button on the steering wheel
Photo: LADA
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The cruise control button is located in an unusual place, on the left of the panel
Photo: LADA
Lada
In addition to the heated steering wheel and seats, the Xray Cross has a heated windshield
Photo: LADA
Lada
There is only one USB socket in the back row
Photo: LADA
Lada
Tall passengers will like the back row of the Cross version more - here you can put your feet under the front seats
Photo: LADA
Lada
With the seats folded down, trunk volume increases from 361 to 1,514 liters. The folding backrest of the front passenger seat allows you to transport long items
Photo: LADA
Lada
The same 1.6 engine was previously installed on the regular Xray and developed 110 hp. For economic reasons, it was replaced with a Russian unit with a capacity of 106 hp.
Photo: LADA
AvtoVAZ will release Lada Vesta with a CVT
Representatives of AvtoVAZ claim that the oil in the variator is designed for the entire period of operation. Maintenance comes down to monitoring the oil level using a dipstick. Although for Renaults with the same transmission it is recommended to change the oil every 70 thousand. In any case, if treated with care, the service life of the variator is comparable to that of a classic automatic transmission.
Engines
There is no information yet about the technical characteristics of the Lada X Ray, but there is information that the engine range will consist of a 1.6-liter gasoline engine with 114 horsepower, as well as a 5-speed manual transmission. There may be other options in the future.
Initially, it was planned to begin production of cars at the end of 2015 - beginning of 2016, however, according to new data, the Lada Xray model will begin mass production in October next year. Production will be established at the enterprise's facilities in Tolyatti and Kazakhstan.
Between two paths
So far they are saying that the manufacturer can follow two possible paths. In the first case, all-wheel drive will simply be added to the hatchback, and the Cross prefix will appear in the name. Lada X Ray Cross 4x4 in this version does not please car owners, because in this case the car will not receive other significant improvements that would significantly increase its performance and make it competitive.
The second way is more promising and assumes that in addition to all-wheel drive, the car will have different dimensions, which is what car owners expect. In addition, if this is a separate model of the Lada X Ray Cross 4x4, then along with the 4x4 system, a 4x2 modification will be released, that is, a simplified single-wheel drive.
Domestic has repeatedly let motorists down with false promises. The Lada X Ray all-wheel drive announced in 2016 still remains only a project for the future, although its launch was repeatedly planned throughout 2022.
Now mass production is again postponed indefinitely, but according to the manufacturer, the start of sales should be expected in early or mid-2022. Whether or not to believe such promises is a personal matter for each motorist.
Dimensions of the future SUV
The borrowed dimensions from the Renault Duster will be visible very well. Despite the start of sales in 2022, no one will radically change the external design. Although, given the trends in mechanical engineering, such a step could be an advantage over outdated competitors. The “B0” platform will be redesigned to meet the current requirements of all-wheel drive.
Length and other parameters are identical to the standard Lada X Rey:
- length – 4165 mm;
- width – 1765 mm;
- base – 2592.
The only innovation is the ground clearance. It is enlarged according to 4x4 requirements. Considering the concept presented a couple of years ago, you should count on a height of 200 mm. The exact data on the most important parameter remains classified as secret.
Let's touch on the exterior a little. The Cross model is expected to be announced in a mustard shade, which is the main color for the 2022 line. In combination with a dark body kit made of hard, scratch-resistant plastic, the external design looks harmonious. There are no sharp color changes that distract attention from the overall concept.
Although the body kit performs a protective function, it was installed on the Lada X Ray with the aim of popularizing the new product among young people. Similar thoughts appear after examining the radiator grille painted in the appropriate shade.
The all-consuming black color enhances the premium feel by merging the grille and body kit into one. The standout element is the chrome-plated metal insert of two halves, which are placed on the sides of the license plate and create the X symbol.
The decorative curves of the front door of the car give a slightly sporty look. They are directed with a forward bias to convey swiftness. On the rear doors, the pattern visually lifts the body, making it a real SUV.
The exterior is completed by 17-inch wheels. Absolutely all fans of the Lada X Ray line are waiting for them. Smaller wheels look simply ridiculous among the large arches of the body, which completely destroys the harmony of the lines. AvtoVAZ paid for their absence on the first models with criticism from all motorists.
