Lada Grant long test drive. Full test drive of the car Lada Granta (Lada Granta). Engine, suspension and gearbox

This autumn, AvtoVAZ brought a lot of “fruits” to its consumers - these are new versions of the XRAY hatchback, as well as Lada Vesta, a slightly modernized Lada 4x4, but perhaps the most important event was the appearance of the updated Lada Granta family. And we have already tested the sedan and hatchback.

The fact that on the domestic platform they began to produce a car under the Japanese brand can be treated differently. Rejoice that, they say, survived at last! The auto industry gave out a suitable platform, which the Japanese liked. You can feel sad that ours were never able to bring their offspring to mind, but as soon as the Japanese took it, how ...

Since its appearance at the end of 2011, Lada Granta has been an active participant in the struggle for leadership in class B. And if at first the new model was still inferior to Priora and Kalina, then last year it was the most popular in the segment. Foreign competitors are far from it - Solaris, Logan, Rio, Polo. Moreover, with the advent of the Grant's liftback body, it should become even more popular. And what about reliability?

On May 14, in the city of Izhevsk, the official start was given to the production of the Lada Granta car in the back of a liftback (or, if someone likes it better, they can call it a hatchback). I think I will not open America, saying that the model can be called long-awaited. Indeed, after the start of production of Grants in the sedan body, a lot of gasoline leaked, the head of AvtoVAZ managed to change, for the umpteenth time, and the model, contrary to the original “low-cost” concept, acquired luxury trim levels, including those equipped with automatic transmission. According to Bu Andersson, the new director of the car plant, Grant-liftback will be assembled only here, at the Izhevsk site. For this purpose, serious investments were poured into the plant, production was thoroughly modernized.

Let's summarize. Did Granta Sport turn out to be more interesting than Granta? Without any doubt. Did it turn out more harmonious? No and no again. Shapovalov and Co. did violate the grant balance, the delicate balance of all consumer properties of the car. The acoustic comfort “floated away”, the shaking in the rear seats became on the verge of decency, the car “does not drive” at low speeds ... And now the question is for backfilling: did the creators of Grants Sport hit the goal defined by themselves? Of course!

Stories about road trips on Lada Granta

The car appeared before us in a completely new design, sustained in the corporate "X-style". Looking at the face, only the blind will not notice the relationship with the flagship LADA Vesta. And many indigenous people of Togliatti, when they saw our car, were interested, they say, guys, what is this - “Vesta” in some special edition?

The car, the design of which has hardly changed since birth, looks really attractive in a new look. Even when the car is standing still, the illusion is created that it is in dynamics. No guys: I didn't drink the night before. Take a look for yourself: head optics, bumpers, radiator grille, door shape, body lines…

Perhaps, in addition to the Granta nameplate glued to the trunk lid, nothing else in this car betrays the continuity of the model generation. By the way, the updated body has become not only more aesthetically pleasing, but also more aerodynamic, as can be seen from the lower noise level at speeds over 100 km/h.

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In addition, to create silence, the developers stuck additional noise insulation into the car. They even put sound-absorbing elements in the wheel arches. Arches, Carl! In Grant, Carl!

And no frills

However, the changes affected not only the exterior, but also the interior of the car. Oh, no: leather-faces and precious wood inserts did not appear in the dashboard, but the interior of the car became much friendlier towards the driver and passengers.

The pilot's seat received additional adjustment: in addition to the traditional "closer / further" and "backrest angle" on the helmsman, he can adjust the height of the seat.

The dashboard has become much more concise and informative, in fact, everything that can be seen on it online - speed, speed, current time and mileage. Additionally, using the button on the right steering column switch, the screen displays data on the temperature of the engine or the weather overboard.

On the driver's door, the power window buttons, central locking control and mirror adjustment keys received a “registration”. Yes, yes, the mirrors on the new Granta are electrically driven and with a repeater on the body. The window control buttons have been here before, but this time they are located, as they say, in the right place.

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In the center console there is simple music with a USB connector (alas, even in the top version of this budget car we will not find a multimedia system with an LCD screen) and a climate control unit in the cabin. If you lower your gaze even lower, then under the dashboard we will find a niche for all small things, a cigarette lighter socket and two cup holders.

Although, honestly, to call two round recesses coasters - the tongue does not turn. Objectively, a standard cup of coffee bought at a gas station is included here with a big stretch, but a half-liter plastic bottle of water fits without comment. Apparently, such a container inspired the creators of these pseudo-glass holders to the feat.

In general, the interior is quite spacious (even on the back sofa you don’t cringe in three deaths, and there is enough space above your head), ergonomic and pleasing to the eye. There are no frills in it, and where can they come from if the car is positioned as a budget one.

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On the other hand: a nice and modern car, with worthy driving characteristics for the money. Show me a similar new car in the price segment up to 500,000 rubles? That's it.

Robot no longer stupid

On the test, we had two updated "Grants" with a 106-horsepower engine under the hood. One - with a robotic transmission pumped from Vesta, the second - with a 5-speed "mechanics".

If we talk about the "robot", the sluggishness and inadequacy of which the vast majority of owners complained about, then the flaws have sunk into oblivion. Gears shift clearly and without hard pokes, delays do not appear either in city traffic jams or on country roads, when it was necessary to press the pedal to the floor and “shoot”, overtaking a truck. Shoot, of course, is a strong word.

Up to 100 km / h, the Grant shoots perfectly, but at slightly higher speeds you understand that the dynamics are no longer so impressive. In general, long overtaking should be planned in advance.

The mechanical transmission is a good surprise. It works with the clarity of an automatic shutter and there has never been any confusion between the “first” and “third”. Moreover, each transmission is quite “long”. For example, on the “second” it is quite possible to accelerate the car to 80 km / h. In any case, the tachometer needle is not yet in the red zone. In other words, even in traffic jams, it is often not necessary to pull the gearbox knob.

From now on, the new one is available not only in sedan and liftback bodies, but also in hatchback and wagon. Thus, in terms of coverage of the potential audience, AVTOVAZ closed all the holes that appeared after the Kalina was discontinued, from which, in fact, a couple of new bodies got.

With the advent of the updated LADA Granta line, it has every chance to regain its leadership in the sales rating on the Russian market, brazenly taken from AVTOVAZ by the Koreans. Or doesn't it?

Budget, but not rogue

Firstly, the car, both outside and inside, is made very soundly (yes, even if it has not grown up to these very Koreans yet, but for the Russian car industry it is a definite breakthrough). "Grant" does not give the impression of cheap stuff. Secondly (and this is perhaps the main thing), it is not so budgetary now.

Judge for yourself: the price tag for the new LADA Granta starts at 420,000 rubles (this is an option on a 5-speed manual with an engine of 87 “horses” in the Standard configuration), and something more or less decent means a 106-horsepower engine on The 5-speed “robot” in the Optima configuration will cost a little more than half a lama.

Well, if we aim at the Luxe package on a 4-speed real “automatic”, then take out and put down almost 610,000 “wooden” ones. And this, excuse me, is already the price, moreover, it is also not in the worst configuration. By God, my ideas about a budget car have a ceiling of 400,000 rubles. And, I'm afraid, the question of price will disappoint potential owners of a fresh "Grant" most of all.

I confess honestly, the last time I sat behind the wheel of a domestic car ... uh ... I don’t even remember when. Therefore, with great curiosity, I went with my family to test drive the updated Lada Grants in Togliatti.

We tested two cars - a liftback with a four-speed automatic (1.6 l. 98 hp) and a sedan with a manual (1.6 l, 87 hp).

On the "face" of the new "Grants", which went on sale on September 1 this year, the same chrome boomerang or the letter X flaunts, like the "Vesta". Therefore, apparently, they are confused with it. From the design of the abolished "Kalina", on the basis of which the "Grant" was made, almost nothing remained. It's no joke, 150 new parts! Head optics, bumpers, radiator grille, door shape, body contours - everything is different. Slightly lengthened the hood, changed the trunk lid. Washer nozzles - "fan", spraying liquid not pointwise, but over the entire surface of the glass - are now under the windshield. The rear number is no longer located on the bumper, but on the trunk lid. The bumpers themselves are in body color. Large mirrors with turn signals look like those of a foreign car. There is no larva for the key on the trunk. Instead, an electromechanical button. But the lid still has to be accompanied by hands.

Photo: LADA

What's inside? Not to say that the interior looked very rich. Budget, of course, but not detrimental. Chairs have become more comfortable. The steering wheel is adjustable only in tilt angle, that is, up / down. At the same time, the steering wheel has an electric power steering. So you can drive a car if you wish, even with one little finger. There was also a height adjustment of the driver's seat. The backlight of the instrument cluster is pleasant - neutral white.

Having loaded a basket with picnic provisions into a spacious trunk (520 l), we set off in a car with a robotic transmission along one of the proposed routes - to Garibaldi Castle.

Garibaldi Castle. Photo: / Vladimir Polupanov

Castle on the defensive

Yes, yes, in the Samara province there are castles in the geo-Gothic style. This masterpiece of architecture is located just 40 kilometers from Tolyatti in the village of Khryashchevka and belongs to the local businessman Oleg Kuzichkin. It took us a little less than an hour to get to the end point of the route.

Khryashchevtsy showed the road to the castle with pleasure. We are glad that they have their own attraction in the village. And they also hope to receive income from tourists. “Grant”, of course, you will not surprise local Khryashchevites any more. Seen, they say, more than once. And at first they even confused it with Vesta. Painfully similar.

The castle is not an architectural monument (they didn’t build it like that in Ancient Rus'), although it looks like real antiquity, even though it was made of real stone (slate). Let it be a remake (construction began in 2006), but, on the other hand, it is not a copy of a specific European castle, but an original architectural fantasy on the theme of European Gothic and Romanticism, which absorbed all the most beautiful and interesting elements of European architecture of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Victorian era. Designed by our architects.

Why, in fact, the castle is named after Garibaldi? Oleg Kuzichkin dedicated it to his father Garibaldi Kuzichkin, who is not even the most distant relative of the hero of Italy Giuseppe Garibaldi. They just call him Garibaldi Arkadyevich. Lucky with the name, one might say.

Alas, they are not allowed inside the castle, construction work is still underway there. The guard even threatened to set fire to the brand new "Grant" if we did not leave voluntarily. I had to listen. The guards of the Khryashchev castle are very fierce people, as it turned out. But outside you can admire the architectural beauty as much as you like. They don't take money for this.

Good agility

The road leading to the castle, although not very picturesque, like a Khryashchev attraction - entirely "six-hundred" cottages and farmland - is smooth, without unpleasant surprises in the form of pits, cracks and potholes. She allowed to test the chassis. The current "Grants" have an energy-intensive suspension, one might say, omnivorous, with gas-filled shock absorbers. The ground clearance is high, so we drove along the dirt road without fear of getting bogged down in the pits.

The new "Grant" is now equipped with a magnificent Japanese Jatco four-speed automatic. This unit has long been put on the twin "Grants" - the Datsun on-Do sedan and has earned recognition as a reliable and adequate unit. The transmission is well matched to the 98-horsepower engine and even emphasizes its advantages at speeds up to 80 km/h. The cost of such a box is about 30,000 rubles. True, at high speeds, the machine is no longer enough 5 and 6 steps. Due to the increased speed, fuel consumption is growing, although the trend remains.

Outside the city limits, they allowed themselves to accelerate to 110 km / h. The car behaved very steadily and, when overtaking, even showed agility unusual for cars with small engine sizes.

On the dashboard, you can see online the speed, speed, current time and mileage. Additionally, using the button on the right steering column switch, data on the engine temperature or the weather overboard are displayed on the screen.

Photo: LADA

A mechanical car is more mobile. When starting and overtaking behaves better. Switches without delay, easily. We realized this the next day when we tested the second car.

The Grant now has good sound insulation, which is facilitated by new fenders in the wheel arches, made of fleecy soft material. KIA Rio makes about the same noise, but at the same time it is 2 times more expensive.

In general, it's time to take stock. There are so many jokes about the domestic auto industry that at first I wanted to ride a Lada and laugh with the people. In practice, it turned out that cars from Togliatti have stepped far ahead. "Grant" is quite a modern and comfortable domestic car. And when compared with foreign "classmates", then it is not much inferior to them. So all the bearded jokes about the Zhiguli seem already archaic. Only the prices are ridiculous.

Judge for yourself: the price tag for the new LADA Granta starts at 420,000 rubles (in the Standard configuration on a 5-speed manual with an engine of 87 "horses"), with a more powerful engine (106 hp on a 5-speed "robot" in picking Optima) the car will cost about 570 thousand rubles.

Specifications Lada Granta

Model	Lada Granta
Dimensions (length / width / height), mm	4268 / 1700/ 1500
Wheel base, mm	2490
Curb weight, kg	1160
Trunk volume, l	520
body type	Sedan
Number of doors / seats	4 — 5
Engine	4-cylinder, in-line
Working volume, cm³	1596
Maximum power, l. With. / rpm	98 / 5600
Max. torque, Nm / rpm	145 / 4000
Transmission	4-speed, automatic
Drive unit	Front
Fuel	AI-95
Fuel tank volume, l	50
Acceleration up to 100 km/h, s	13,1
Max. speed, km/h	176
Fuel consumption (mixed), l/100 km	7,2
car price	608 800 rub

Gone are the days of queuing up for cars. Now, in order to sell it, you need to somehow attract a buyer. One of the ways is a test drive, during which the future owner can not only sit, but also personally test it in various modes.

It's also a good advertising opportunity. Dealers provide the car for testing to various magazines and online publications, and they publish a review about it. As a rule, this applies to new and promising models. That is why we will talk about Lada Granta, the test drive of which is now the most popular in our country.

In addition to major publications, ordinary motorists also share their impressions of a trip on a new car. Evidence of this are hundreds of videos posted on the Internet. Very often, such films are more objective than professional reviews. After analyzing both of them, you can spend your big one. Here are the most frequently mentioned advantages and disadvantages of the Lada Grant, which were identified during tests by various categories of drivers.

Salon and body Grants

The vast majority of reviews about boil down to the fact that he is "rustic". The car began to seem somewhat narrower due to the increase in length. Not without reason, in almost all videos, it is shot from the side or diagonally in front. The reason for the increase in the base was a large trunk. This is a definite plus was noted by every single participant. There were running lights that work without rear dimensions.

It is noted that the bumpers in the standard configuration are not painted in body color. The painting itself is carried out on the equipment of a well-known German company, which should lead to an improvement in quality. Grant has a fairly comfortable and roomy interior. The front seats do not raise any complaints, with the exception of the adjustment of the inclination of their backs, many do not like it. As for the rear seats, they, like all VAZ cars, are, according to the majority, cramped. Pleases motorists and the presence of airbags, and power windows.

But the front windows, due to design features, do not fall completely. The presence of all sorts of shelves and coasters in the cabin is noted. A good all-round view of the car is recognized as an advantage. Most of the positive feedback was revealed by a large test drive to the address. The vast majority of motorists consider it modern and informative. Especially everyone likes the liquid crystal display.

The interior heater is beyond praise, and not only because of the ease of control. It is made so well that even at low temperatures overboard in the first position, it allows you to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the cabin. In addition, when driving, even on a cold car, the windshield does not fog up.

One of the biggest drawbacks is related to the stove. Its radiator often starts leaking even before the warranty period has expired. In itself, this is not so scary, but in addition to time-consuming repairs, the computer very often fails, it is above it that the radiator is located. In addition, there is insufficient sound insulation of the cabin.

Engine, suspension and gearbox

Most video authors note the good dynamic characteristics of the car, even in the basic version, which has. In this configuration, it is equipped with an 8-valve engine with a capacity of 82 liters. With. This power unit is more than enough for a car in all driving modes. As a disadvantage, many of those who have passed a large test drive note a fairly large engine noise at speeds above 2000.

Grant does not cause any particular complaints. This is understandable - it was made with the participation of specialists from the Renault concern. The car is not bad, it can be seen on the video, it keeps the road even at a decent speed, it “swallows” all the bumps of the dirt road well. Ground clearance is noted by 80% of the participants. It is 16 cm, which is quite enough even for our roads.

Until now, everything has concerned only the Lada Grant in the Standard configuration, but, of course, a large test drive cannot but take into account other modifications. Granta became the first domestic mass-produced car to have an automatic transmission. Togliatti designers adapted a Japanese box to it, adapting it to our operating conditions. The manufacturer declares the high reliability of this node.

The automatic transmission is four-speed and, which is especially noted by motorists who tested the car, has positions 1 and 2, designed for off-road and traffic jams, respectively. Overdrive is also a plus. In addition, the video shows that the shift lever handle is quite massive, which is appreciated by the male part of the drivers. But the ground clearance due to the automatic gearbox decreased by 2 cm. The car became somewhat heavier, and its body had to be strengthened.

Granta in luxury and sport trim levels

It was the luxury modification that went through the most captious and large test drive. The set of options here is huge, and there is room for testing. First of all, the built-in multimedia system catches the eye. It is domestically produced, but has many functions and features. Allows you to play tracks from both removable media and from your phone via bluetooth.

The media has a huge touch screen and a great interface. She became a real decoration of the salon, the video is proof of this. There were two airbags, and four power windows. Lada Granta Lux is equipped with ABS and rear seat headrests. In this modification, the car also has an on-board computer, an alarm system and central locking.

And of course the main thing that all motorists note is the engine. Here it is a 16-valve, with a capacity of 98 liters. With. This power unit is installed on Lada Priora cars and has very good dynamic characteristics. The disadvantage of all this magnificence is the price, in the configuration of the luxury Grant can not be called a budget car.

For the first time, Granta in a sports configuration left the assembly line in 2013 and immediately won the love of a certain part of the population. Modification of the car speaks for itself, hence all the structural and external changes. The first thing that catches your eye when watching a video is multi-spoke alloy wheels. They fit very organically into the sporty silhouette of the car.

The next innovation is disc brakes on all 4 wheels. True, the owners note the quick failure of the brake pads. This is due to the fact that disks of increased diameter are used. The car has a manual gearbox with a modified gear ratio, which allowed Grant to become even more dynamic. Her engine is 118-horsepower. This was made possible by using a different camshaft and changing the ECU fill.

The suspension of the car uses short-stroke struts, which reduced the ground clearance to 14 cm. At the same time, the car received higher stability even in tight corners. At the same time, trips on dirt roads have become less comfortable due to the rigidity of the racks. This Lada Granta model is available only in the Lux configuration, which determines its high cost. But this does not stop future owners, because in order to achieve such characteristics earlier, expensive tuning was required.

Video from the test drive of Lada Grants with automatic transmission in the back of a liftback
Which of the two modes is better to choose: Priora or Grant?
How to buy a Lada Granta with an automatic transmission in Moscow