Lada Kalina Cross (Lada Kalina Cross) experience in operating three cars, are they reliable?

One is gray, the other is white...plus a silver one - three cheerful Crosses! Why funny? Because you definitely won’t get bored with them!

It so happened that several different people needed cars for specific needs and needed exactly one like the Kalina Cross; in the end, at about the same time, they were purchased. The purchase of the silver one has already been written, as well as some of his adventures. The gray one was bought for a girl, but I dealt with all maintenance issues. The white one was bought for a friend of mine who approached me with a request to select a car to suit his needs, this is the funniest story of the purchase (more on that later).

Silver Kalina Cross

Bought six months old with about 6,000 km on the clock, currently the mileage is 20,000 km. The first owner did the first maintenance, which includes only valve adjustment, we did maintenance 1 - changing 5W40 Rosneft oil, air filter, valve adjustment, etc. - it cost just under 4,000 rubles. Of the additional equipment, we only got 14″ wheels on gas stamps 185/65.

Additional equipment we supplied:

1. Mesh in the radiator grille. The gaps in the grille on the Cross, as well as on the simple Kalina, are such that three fingers fit in with a whistle. And the car is supposed to be used for rides in nature. Therefore, it was decided that there should be a grid! There are two options for installation: remove the bumper and install it, or remove the grille from above and insert the mesh on top. After unscrewing about six Torx screws and unfastening the grille, we managed to remove it - there was more than enough space to put the net through. They secured it with black clamps. It took about 20 minutes. For my taste, it became both practical and better looking: in the black grille, the silver parts of the radiator and what was nearby were no longer visible.

   

2. Crankcase protection. The Cross has a long protection that covers the entire crankcase and is made of metal, with fasteners on the front, side and rear. But the metal is thin and soft, there are large holes, and we have to go outdoors... Therefore, we bought crankcase protection from a trusted company Alfeco - we have been installing them for several years, the quality is quite good. It has good geometry, well-thought-out fasteners, covers everything that is needed and does not particularly conceal the ground clearance, at the same time, the powder coating is durable, does not rust, and the rigidity is at a decent level. But here’s the problem: the rear fasteners of the standard protection get in the way. If you remove it altogether, there will be open gaps on the sides, so in the end we ended up cutting off the back of the standard protection with metal scissors, and putting Alfeco on top. This procedure took about 20 minutes. I bought it from a wholesale company. I'll try to take a photo later, after use.

   

3. Alarm . A feedback alarm was installed with Starline dialogue code and something else.
4. We also installed Chinese-made LS locks and a trunk mat.

There are plans to install fog lights.

Problems that arose with the car during operation:

1. Rear wiper. There was always an uncleaned area in the middle. No matter what I did, it got even worse in the fall! We bent the plate to the spring, but it got a little better, and during the next bending, after welding, the fastening of the spring broke. I bought a leash from Kalina 1 in the store - it has a longer spring and it presses better. The problem is gone - this leash cleans everything! But there was a problem: one day on the highway the leash simply hung under the weight of the ice and stopped spinning; it turned out that the nut had simply unscrewed on the axle, although it was tightened normally.

   

2. Front wipers They weren’t cleaned, despite the fact that they were replaced by the previous owner (the original ones are generally bad!) with frameless ones. We changed it to AVS and it cleaned perfectly!

   

3. Irregularities in the trunk lid. When purchasing, I didn’t like that there were bumps on the back door that came from the trim. On the one hand there is more, on the other - less. Body repairs are excluded - the paint is original. I thought maybe they pushed it and dented it - the owner swore that he would take it like that again. I began to take a closer look - older Viburnums do not have this, while younger ones have it on some. It’s not particularly annoying, and can be easily fixed, but is it worth the bother...

   

4. Windshield creaking. With the onset of cold weather and winter, while driving, a loud and nasty squeak is heard somewhere in the area of ​​the upper frame of the windshield. Through simple manipulations, it became clear that this was due to insufficient rigidity of the body - creaking gives rise to mobility. The creaking, as it turned out, begins when snow, ice, freezes in the gap between the body and the glass. Listening to it on the highway is just amazing. When I realized where the legs were coming from, I tried to thoroughly clean this place, but it didn’t last long. I thought of spraying anti-freeze in there from a spray gun - that was the only way the ice would melt and the creaking would stop. For a while. Then everything repeats again. This is the first time I've encountered this and it's terribly annoying.

   

5. Windshield cracked and chips on the roof. I didn’t start drilling right away, and the crack ended up creeping and creeping. The cost of sealing is already such that it is easier to replace the glass. The pebble that flew into the glass also left a mark on the roof. Two chips also appeared nearby and were already blooming with rust! Although the car is only a year and a half old! You need to buy touch-up paint to touch up these chips.

   

6. Stamped discs, inherited from the previous owner, began to rust intensively within a year. GAZ production - and it’s clear why. In general, don’t buy them - although they are cheap, they don’t smell of quality. The geometry is also crooked at the rim. We bought LS secrets. So, they, too, are already rusty, on another car the secret locks are original Lada (they cost not 500, but 700 rubles), so they should be damned! I don't recommend it in general.

   

   

   

7. With the arrival of winter, the small gaps that were between the fender trim and the wing somehow became larger. What do dealers do? As far as I know, they are stupidly glued with glue. This doesn't suit me. In short, if it continues to expand, then I’ll go with the accumulated questions to the dealer and beat him up.

   

8. The headlights are sweating. There is a problem with the seal due to the back cover - I'll go to the dealer, they say they will change the entire headlights..

   

9. Already two caps on the hub are lost, they’re flying off, damn it, you could use glue!
10. The mirror covers were black - they became cloudy and covered with whitish streaks - the warranty was denied!
11. Replacing the air conditioner tube. Like many of these cars, in the summer a trolleybus noise began when the air conditioner was running, the dealer told me to wait a month and a half (!!! half a summer in the heat with a howling air conditioner??!!), since there were no spare parts and there was a long list for warranty repairs. The dealer got it and a week and a half later we had a new tube!
12. When the engine heats up above 102 degrees, the radiator fan turns on, but if you turn off the ignition and turn off the engine, the fan does not work, and the engine heats up even more, despite the winter!!! As a result, it overheated to 107 degrees and the “check engine” light came on, which, however, stopped burning after several engine starts.
13. Well, the largest and most expensive failure was the burnt-out pin of the under-panel harness. It cost two weeks without a car, a tow truck for 180 km and repairs at my own expense: you can read in detail in my post here.

    
    As a result, I recorded all this in a short video:

Other reviews

Against the background of the constant appearance of new cars on the world market, the Lada Vesta of the 2015 model year is not such a new product. However, it can still be considered the discovery of the Russian car market thanks to its very modern appearance and well-thought-out technical “stuffing”. The sedan's exterior was designed by ex-Mercedes-Benz and Volvo designer Steve Mattin, and was among the first people lucky enough to sit in it.

The raised cross-country hatchback Lada Xray, which AvtoVAZ dubbed a crossover for advertising purposes, is called by many the highest quality model of the domestic manufacturer, and there is indeed reason for this. Firstly, there is an abundance of high quality imported parts, and secondly, this car has decent ground clearance and a proprietary 1.8-liter engine.

Cars nowadays don't work on anything. There are even hydrogen ones that literally “live” on fuel cells. Water is, of course, good and incredibly environmentally friendly, but it is still painfully unpopular and expensive to implement. Is it compressed natural gas or, as it is also called, methane in a cylinder, like the new version of Lada Vesta CNG (Compressed Natural Gas)! A gas sedan is cheaper.

5- and 7-seater Lada Largus station wagons appeared on the Russian market in 2012, becoming a kind of continuation of the cheapest Renault Logan model, only under the auspices of a domestic manufacturer. As you might guess, the Logan-like Largus turned out to be the first Lada car built on the basis of the budget B0 platform, on the basis of which a number of Lada, Renault and Nissan models were designed.

If the image doesn’t bother you, you like the ground clearance, like a jeep, and in addition, you’ll admire the large capacity in the form of a 5/7-seater interior and a huge trunk, and “not expensive” - that’s all, we’ve arrived. Yes, not on anything, but on a raised Lada Largus with a talking Cross prefix and, of course, DNA from Renault Logan. This model, first presented to Russians in 2015, has no competitors.

The domestic auto industry never ceases to amaze. For example: when the Russian press first said that AvtoVAZ was preparing a “sports” version of the second Lada Kalina in a hatchback body, it was more difficult to get a new product for a test drive than another Bentley or Mercedes. Amazing, right? For VAZ people there is nothing special about this: not many significant new products are released after all.

What is a 3- or 5-door Lada 4×4 with the Urban prefix? Some kind of supernova Niva? In relation to an off-road passenger car from the glorious city of Togliatti, these words smack of piercing irony. New, of course - it’s been around for almost 40 years, of which 10 years the model has not been called Niva. But somehow I can’t seem to forget about my “maiden name”... So, what does “urban” promise?

Many fans of the AvtoVAZ model series know that the Kalina Cross was created on the basis of the Kalina 2 station wagon. Car enthusiasts are still arguing whether this was a rational decision, and how much the two cars differ from each other. To be honest, the appearance of the VAZ-21946 (aka Kalina Cross) immediately shows that the car is clearly an all-terrain vehicle. But is that really where the differences end? Let's look into this issue by comparing: Kalina 2 and Kalina Cross.

Gray Viburnum Cross

The gray Kalina Cross was purchased three months old with a mileage of 1600 km, at the moment the mileage is about 13000 km. The first maintenance was done, which includes only valve adjustment - 650 rubles, we did maintenance 1 - changing Rosneft 5W40 oil, air filter, valve adjustment, etc. - cost a little more than 4000 rubles.

Problems with this machine:

1. The same problems with the rear wiper, fender flaps, creaking windshield - a signature feature!
2. Replacing the resonator . When releasing the gas, at rpm from 2100 to 1700, an unpleasant hum was heard. I contacted it during zero maintenance - they ordered the resonator to be replaced, I had to wait a week and a half for the spare part, after which it was replaced under warranty.
3. Steering rack knock . The rack was knocking, apparently from birth, with zero maintenance I did the same thing - they tightened the steering cardan as usual - a common problem, but it didn’t get any better. It knocks at low speed when passing small frequent irregularities. Here the famous “warranty” of Lada came into play: instead of diagnosing the rack and making a decision on replacement or repair, their procedure, in violation of the Regulations, is as follows: the dealer disassembles the rack, measures the gaps, if they are not normal, then they change them under warranty, if not normal - they offer me to buy a new rail or they assemble the old one at my expense!!! I am fundamentally not happy with this state of affairs. But in the end, from new the car still drives with a knocking rack - fortunately it is not always audible...
4. The howl of the box . Yes, all Viburnums howl like a gearbox - it’s the crooked VAZ ones that can’t do a clean machining of the gears! But, at some point, the sound of a “turbine” began to appear in fifth gear, and the further it went, the more!

I had to go to the dealer again, the dealer said that he couldn’t find anything, he assured me that the oil level was correct, but if necessary, he could take it apart - if they find something, then it’s a guarantee, if not, then at my expense! Again this did not suit me and I decided to travel further. After a couple of days, the noise literally became even louder. I went to another dealer, they said that the drive fell out of the gearbox (!), due to an impact (!!), the wheel, which was replaced (!!!), leaked oil from the gearbox and the bearings and gears were screwed! I arrived at the place, the wheel was mine, but there were red stripes on it (so they decided that it had been replaced), but they, on this particular wheel, were always there, no impacts were found, I assured that there were none (and they weren’t there!), but the fact is the fact - the drive fell out. The service was loyal to me, so they replaced the guts of the box with new ones (they would hardly have changed it otherwise), for a total cost of 12 thousand with work, under warranty (in fact, almost everything).

• The license plate lamp has burnt out . I bought a light bulb, started installing it, it turned out that water was half gurgling in the lampshade, the lampshade itself was dirty from the inside, and the contacts of the lamp were simply rotten. I had to clean the connector between the wiring and the lamp wiring and the connector of the lamp itself - they were green, there was water there. In the second the picture is the same. I cleaned everything, straightened the crooked seal, changed the light bulb, put it back together - so far no water gets in, but now it’s winter, in the spring I’ll replace the connectors and lampshades - I’ll go to the dealer.
• The right shock absorber of the tailgate began to dangle and knock. The dealer ordered a replacement, we need to stop by to install it - the part took 2 months!!!
• The radiator fan began to make increased noise and vibration, noticeable when the air conditioner was turned on or the car heated up until the fan activated. Until the dealer decided - he already went once, they are asking for some more measurements - again this moronic VAZ procedure...

Specifications

White Kalina CROSS

The white Kalina Cross was purchased new at a car dealership, now the mileage is about 17,000 km.

The purchase is a different story: a 16-valve crossover in white was ordered, it was not in stock, but should have arrived in the near future. I agreed with the director of the car dealership that the dealer would give it to us at a very big discount within a week and a half. The future owner made a small advance payment, I entered into a delivery agreement with clear dates, VIN and price with the manager, who was told by the director to do everything as I say without reservations. A week and a half passed... The car arrived to them, we started collecting money and set off (the car dealership is not in our city), but the manager called, it turned out that they sold our car - a client came to them with money, he wanted to buy it and they, without hesitation , gave our car to him (the director gave such an order)! However, the delivery deadline has passed, but there are no such machines in stock, and we did not agree to another one! While the salon was thinking about what to do, and the manager was getting paid for signing the supply agreement, prices for Kalina Cross increased, it seems by 30 thousand.

The situation was awkward: we paid most of the money, the delivery period had expired, there was no car, and Kalina had risen in price so much that the dealer simply could not sell it at the previous price - it was lower than the cost of purchasing it!! The director doesn’t answer my calls and avoids me in every possible way on social networks, on his cell phone and on his work phone, the managers are tongue-in-cheek and nothing but me!

I wrote a pre-trial claim on behalf of the owner, according to which they owe everything (this is really true) and began to wait the legal 10 days (and every day a penalty amount of 1% was added - this is a lot). On the 11th day, another manager deigned to call me (ours was fired) and try to resolve the issue, offering us to pay about 120 thousand extra (yeah, right now, we ran away) and wait indefinitely for the car itself, to which, naturally, he was sent away with my refusal to talk to someone other than the director. He called a couple of days later (my friend was all nervous - the money had been paid!), There were long negotiations over several days, where a lot of options were offered, but I stood my ground and only additionally knocked out free protection and signaling. As a result, the car they needed unexpectedly arrived ahead of time (and they don’t know what VAZ will send them!), They called us and said that they would give the car back on our previous terms, but we needed to waive the interest accrued during this time on the penalty. I, of course, refused and agreed on some middle option. At this time, I ordered winter tires (it was winter outside) from an online store, they were delivered to the car dealership, the manager posted a photo that they arrived and were in the warehouse at the car dealership.

We arrived with the future owner at the car dealership, examined the car extremely meticulously - we could expect anything! The pre-sale has not been made, there are no winter tires, the alarm system is not installed, and the protection is not worth it. Under my strict guidance as a mechanic, pre-sale preparations were made, we were given an alarm and protection (to hell with them - we’ll install them ourselves!), but the rubber gave way. Literally. Our tires are not in stock. We rummaged through the warehouse, service and the entire salon - no! Stolen! Who stole? There are cameras all around: here they were, but now they’re gone... They stole their own, but they never found out who... In this mess they got a car, sent the purchase and sale agreement three times, paid the missing amount (the price tag turned out to be very nice, apparently less than the dealer bought it from AvtoVAZ), the car was driven out of the dealership on summer wheels, locked, and ordered to guard (don’t let Jah happen to it!!) the dealership employees under the threat of grievous bodily harm (and we were already seething!). The director, by the way, wisely disappeared “on business”, leaving his employees to clean up the mess. In general, we drove for the necessary tires, fortunately they were in stock. We installed winter tires under strict guidance and the threat of minor bodily injury. Go. It was a long way for us to travel, but it was easy - the tension released us, we laughed and were happy - everything went, although not smoothly, but fun. Even though we got into trouble with winter tires, the director promised to put the cost of the tires on my card (which, by the way, he did, although only after a couple of weeks). Well, so we were driving and were almost approaching our native land, when the transmission began to work incorrectly... In short, our transmission died.. Somehow we got there (I was driving) in fifth and third, accompanied by terrible sounds, straight to the Lada car dealership - they’re already sick of it, worse than a bitter radish! There, seeing our distorted faces and under the threat of mass murder of all employees of all Lada car dealerships (we were told there were no spare parts, wait a month and this is not a guarantee), they quickly removed the box from the new car, took out the intestines from it, inserted it into ours, everything is under warranty , but I had to pay for the clutch - it moved a little and turned blue from such a run-in... But these are trifles!

Now the car has passed the first maintenance for 4300 rubles. Everything is the same as everyone else’s: the rear wiper, the front wipers are thrown out, the headlights are sweating, the linings are coming off, the windshield is creaking. In addition, the leaking shock absorber was replaced. But recently problems were discovered: there is oil in the spark plug well, and the hydraulic compensators are knocking when cold... Apparently the repair of the cylinder head is nearing...

Specifications

The first place to start comparing two cars is, of course, the main technical characteristics. In this regard, Lada Kalina 2 and Kalina Cross are very similar in some aspects of consideration.

The engines, components and their gearboxes are approximately the same, the differences here are not significant:

• Kalina 2: VAZ-11186 (87 hp, 8-valve, 1.6 l) is equipped with only manual transmission 5; VAZ-21126 (98 hp, 16-valve, 1.6 l) and VAZ-21127 (106 hp, 16-valve, 1.6 l) are equipped with both manual transmission-5 and automatic transmission-4 (optional).
• Kalina Cross: VAZ-11186 (87 hp, 8-valve, 1.6 l) is equipped with only manual transmission 5; VAZ-21127 (106 hp, 16-valve, 1.6 l) is equipped with both manual transmission-5 and manual transmission-5 (works) - also to choose from.

As a result, consumption, maximum speed and acceleration to 100 km/h are approximately equal; the Cross may have a slight advantage of a slight 0.1-0.3 seconds. Data characteristics:

• acceleration to “hundreds”: 11.2-13.7 seconds;
• consumption per 100 km: combined cycle - 6.7-7.7 liters;
• maximum speed: 167-177 km/h.

Both cars fully comply with EURO-4 environmental standards.

So, my conclusions on these cars:

1. The cars are not bad and a lot of work has been done on them - previous models were absolutely terrible.
2. The quality has increased, but not enough to be compared with foreign cars.
3. The quality of some components leaves a depressing impression.
4. Lada has no warranty! No, it seems to exist, but there are no spare parts, a lot of restrictions, idiotic procedures, and outright violations of the law on the protection of consumer rights are very common.
5. AvtoVAZ dealers are not controlled in any way - they do whatever they want.
6. Customer service is unhelpful. There are cuckoos sitting there who talk to you politely, call you asking useless questions, but do not influence the problems, warranty and dealers in any way and are not able to resolve ANY issue.
7. The plant itself and the PR service are either unable to answer my direct and specific questions or respond with unsubscribes. After some time, they simply stopped answering, and in the group where I communicated with representatives of AvtoVAZ, I was blacklisted, although I communicated with them extremely correctly, politely and to the point - this speaks of the general attitude towards their clients.
8. In Lada, with rare exceptions, due to a general non-customer-oriented policy, there is no service. That is, they can send you, and score on you, or even completely rob you!
9. Theft, as in AvtoVAZ itself, is a common thing among dealers.
10. The attitude towards customers, the cars themselves, reliability are changing for the better, but too slowly. If you have previously worked with car dealerships selling foreign cars, you will be dejected, or even shocked, by the service.
11. Nevertheless, a purchase with certain requirements, a competent approach, and a full check is quite possible, but you need to be aware of what you may have to face and be prepared for it.
12. Do you want to buy a Lada? You need to inspect the car EXTREMELY CAREFULLY, check everything, just like with used cars.

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Author: Yuri (Er...)

expert on cars and motorcycles in Perm

About me

Dimensions and exterior

Important parameters in comparing two cars are size and appearance. It is impossible to single out something in them and say that this is the only correct conclusion, since different people have individual opinions on this matter: some need a larger car, some need a smaller one, not to mention the exterior. However, it would be useful to present these characteristics.

So, the dimensions of Kalina 2 and Kalina Cross are as follows:

• length: 4084 and 4104 mm;
• width: 1700 and 1700 mm;
• height: 1504 and 1560 mm;
• wheelbase: 2476 and 2476;
• ground clearance: 185 and 208 mm;
• weight: 1075-1160 and 1125-1160 kg.

There is no need to be an expert here - Cross is slightly larger than his “comrade”. The main thing worth highlighting here is the ground clearance, increased by as much as 23 mm. Kalina Cross will be a clear leader in cross-country ability, which will be discussed below.

As for the exterior, the similarity here is also quite high. The more aggressive appearance of the Cross immediately catches your eye, which indicates the off-road nature of the car. This is expressed in such body elements as:

• side door moldings;
• roof rails;
• thick, plastic lining on the sills and arches.

To this it is also worth adding large 15-inch wheels; the station wagon has only 14-inch ones. In all other respects, the second generation Kalina and Cross are the same.

Options

Almost the main guideline for many people when choosing a particular car is the availability of functional equipment, that is, useful options. Everyone knows that this aspect depends on the selected configuration. How are Kalina 2 and Cross doing with them?

When choosing a basic configuration, a station wagon helps you save a significant amount, since it includes a set of the most necessary options:

• electric power steering;
• adjustable seat belts;
• electric window lifts and more.

More “cool” options are present in the Norma and Lux ​​trim levels; there are quite a lot of them and you can get acquainted with them at the official dealer. However, in choosing a certain configuration, as noted earlier, Kalina 2 is much better. Due to what? Due to a more flexible selection of add-ons, since using various add-ons. packages, you can choose whatever your heart desires. If we take each addition and each configuration as a separate configuration option, then there are as many as 7 of them, versus 2 for Kalina Cross. A significant advantage, right?

The cost of the cars is approximately equal: from 450,000 rubles to 600,000. However, Kalina Cross has a slightly lower limit and is 550,000 in the maximum configuration. This is due to the fact that in the maximum Luxury the station wagon has an automatic transmission, instead of the cheaper “robot” of its brother.

Results

Comparison is a subjective concept, so it is irrational to give a definite answer to the question Kalina Cross or Kalina 2. Based on the information presented above, everyone can draw a certain conclusion for themselves. The only thing that can be stated objectively is that Kalina is good both in the city and off-road, but Kalina 2 in a station wagon is a more urban, parquet car, but more convenient in terms of choice. Decide for yourself what is your priority. Good luck on the roads!

Comparison of clearance of Kalina 2 and Cross: