Car "Lada Kalina" (station wagon): owner reviews, equipment, tuning, advantages and disadvantages

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

For more than 9 years, domestic motorists have been driving cars called Lada Kalina (station wagon). Owner reviews indicate that the copy turned out to be completely adequate for its value. Small flaws are also present, but at its price, you can safely close your eyes to all the minuses. Let's see what the car that AvtoVAZ created - the Lada Kalina (station wagon) - is, especially since the second generation of these budget cars has recently appeared. Is this product mature? Review of the car "Lada Kalina" (station wagon) - later in our article.

Platform

AvtoVAZ engineers did not develop something new as a platform for these family station wagons. The car of the first and second generations is based on the same VAZ chassis 2190, which Grant shared with Kalina.

This can explain the availability of the Kalina car (station wagon). Priceacceptable, but we'll talk about it at the end of the article. After several minor improvements, the same platform will be used in the production of Japanese public sector cars from Datsun. The Japanese automaker became interested in this chassis precisely due to its cheapness.

Body

It was also decided not to radically change it, but there are still some minor changes. They are local. So, completely new fenders, bumpers and rear windows on the sides are now installed on the back of the station wagon and hatchback. The front of the new "Kalina" got a hood and fenders, the same as on the "Grant". However, the original details remained - this is a bumper and optics. At the same time, the front bumper has increased in size, extends slightly. This is due to the new radiator. Due to the bumper, the car added 44 mm to its length. And for those who do not like this bumper, tuning will help.

"Kalina" can be equipped with other plastic elements. Now you can purchase and install a variety of body kits. You can change the appearance of the car almost beyond recognition. But with the advent of a new bumper, the car lost its previous amplifier, which was located earlier. His task was to protect the evaporator and radiator of the air conditioner in case of an accident at low speeds. AvtoVAZ engineers stated in this regard that after a crash test at speeds of 15 km / h, the new bumper, which is equipped with stiffeners inside, is able to protect the air conditioner components even without an amplifier.

Headlights have integrated daytime running lights. However, opticslenses were not installed at AvtoVAZ. It's expensive, so linted headlights could only be seen on the show copy. As for show colors, they all go into series. And interestingly, you don’t have to pay extra for the color, like for all other metallic shades. By the way, the first generation of the car had a lot of unpainted parts. Now the picture has changed a bit. On some trim levels, they began to paint door handles and mirrors in body color. This makes the car look more stylish.

Salon

Since the dimensions of the body have not changed, let's consider the interior of the new Kalina car (station wagon).

Owner reviews report that the dimensions of the cabin have remained unchanged. There is also a relatively large amount of space above your head - tall people sat comfortably even earlier, in the first versions. In the new modification there are no problems with the lack of free space. In addition, people with a height above 180 cm can sit comfortably in the back row. All those who were worried that the body would become smaller and it would no longer be so comfortable in it can breathe a sigh of relief. In the interior, even at first glance, there is a lot of new and interesting things. Now door cards and panels from Lada Grants are being installed here. Overhead in the driver's seat, the designers decided to install an eyeglass case - this is an unusual move from AvtoVAZ. For rear passengers, a cup holder loop appeared on the parking brake casing, where you can even insert a 0.5 liter bottle of water. Additionally, rear seat belt buckles are now locatedin a special mesh. The advantage is that they are at hand when needed. Another feature - added a buzzer that informs about unfastened seat belts for the driver and passenger.

Dashboard

As you can see, significant improvements have been made inside. The same applies to the front panel. The car "Kalina" (station wagon) has a fully informative dashboard. It is unified with "Grant" and is supplied by the domestic company "Itelma". For Kalina, the designers made separate scales for the tachometer and speedometer, however, like the Grants, there is no information about the coolant temperature. There is only a small light bulb indicating overheating. This is a rather strange decision.

Climatic system

At the same time, designers and other AvtoVAZ specialists made a panel with the expectation of installing a new climate system, which now has a better layout. Yes, and her work is now accompanied by a lower noise level than before, reviews say. The air ducts in the new air conditioning system are fixed much better and more reliably, motorists say. And if in simple trim levels, such as "Norma", the car will be equipped with an ordinary air conditioner, then for the car "Lada Kalina" (luxury wagon) the latest automatic American air conditioner from Visteon is already installed. He is able to independently control the temperature in the cabin, the intensity of blowing, as well as the direction of air flow. Even on a hot day, this air conditioner will not let its owner down. Its operation is very quiet, it cools the air inIn the cabin, it is stable, and you can also highlight convenient controls. However, the Kalina car (station wagon) also has disadvantages. Owner reviews indicate that the air conditioner significantly takes power from the engine. The consumption also increases. But if you want comfort, you have to sacrifice something.

Multimedia

In simple configurations from entertainment - only a radio tape recorder. But if this is a VAZ-1117 in the maximum configuration, then a new multimedia system equipped with a touch screen will be installed here.

At the same time, the display is located high enough - it is convenient to look at it while driving. As for the multimedia capabilities, it is multifunctional. But if you need to view large photos, it is better not to do this - the system starts to slow down. Although this is not a Mercedes or BMW, but a Kalina (station wagon). Owner reviews also indicate that the developers of the multimedia system have complicated its management - the interface becomes clear far from immediately. You need to “travel” through the menu for a long time in order to explore all the possibilities of the system. And even though multimedia is far from ideal, it is a product of the domestic automotive industry, and the very presence of multimedia is already a big breakthrough. Previously, VAZs had only audio preparation.

Comfort and seating

AvtoVAZ did not make a breakthrough with seats.

On the new VAZ-1117, the architecture of the seats has not changed much. They are all soft too.and some owners believe that even too much. They delayed the appearance of a driver's seat with a height adjustment function, which the factory had already planned. But all this is nothing compared to trying to pull out the headrest. The Kalina car (station wagon) is designed in such a way that it is impossible to carry out this procedure alone. The steering wheel tilt adjustment is also not finalized, but so far it has only been found on a few copies. Sometimes you have to pull the steering wheel up with both hands, and this car is positioned as a family car, which is suitable for both men and women. However, fragile girls are unlikely to be able to make such an adjustment.

Engines and transmission

Proposed three petrol power units, which, as before, work only on 95-m gasoline. The car "Lada Kalina" (station wagon) of the "Standard" and "Norma" configurations will be equipped for the first time with an 8-valve 1.6-liter unit with a capacity of 87 hp. With. - it is more powerful than the previous 8-valve. There will be no previous 1.4-liter engine. This 8-valve, 87 horsepower engine is simpler and cheaper.

Deluxe models will be equipped with a 1.6-liter 16-valve engine with an improved intake system. It only works with a cable-operated five-speed manual. The power of this unit has been increased from 98 to 106 hp. However, the main change is not in the engines, but in the new four-speed automatic. This checkpoint will be installed only on luxury versions. Over time, the manufacturer plansequip with a machine gun and complete set "Norma". With automatic transmission and a 106-horsepower engine, the wagon reaches 100 km/h in 14 seconds.

Prices

And now the fun part. For those who want to buy a car "Kalina" (station wagon), the price starts from 394 thousand rubles for a car in the basic configuration. It offers an 87-horsepower 8-valve engine, a five-speed manual gearbox, an immobilizer, daytime running lights and much more. In the most maximum configuration, the car costs 547 thousand rubles. AvtoVAZ offers a 106 horsepower engine and a robotic transmission.

There are also many interesting options, including tuning. "Kalina" can be equipped with beautiful wheels or body kits for an additional fee.