Multimedia system with 7-inch touchscreen, navigation and Bluetooth support. Light and rain sensors, heated windshield, electric drives for all windows, climate control and even cruise control... Active safety is guarded by ABS, EBD (brake force distribution system) and ESC (exchange rate stability system). Passive airbags are provided by front airbags and three head restraints in the rear seat. Of course, there are such simple options as central locking, heated front seats and Isofix mounts in the rear. And yes, all this is a modest liftback, albeit in the top-end “Lux/Navigation” version. Until recently, such a car cost 571,200 rubles, but later the price rose to 586,200 rubles. Agree, it’s damn tempting to get such a set of options at such a still attractive price. But is all this necessary in Grant?
Looks great. In my opinion, the five-door is much more harmonious than the sedan with its heavy rear lights. And if you look at the Lada from afar on a foggy day, the Granta is almost a Bavarian three-ruble GT. Fifteen-inch alloy wheels, turn signal repeaters in the side mirrors - modern and fashionable. In general, the liftback looks worth the money and even more expensive. Exactly until you pull the tight door handle and find yourself in the driver's seat.
The most annoying thing is that Grant's problems are by no means fundamental. Overall, the ergonomics and seating geometry are not so bad here. It’s just a pity that the driver’s seat is set a little high and there’s no way to lower it any lower. And the steering wheel height adjustment is limited to thirty-five millimeters (in Logan the range is twice as large). However, these nuances cannot be clearly attributed to disadvantages. But other interior details are possible. And there are a billion of these little things.
The Itelma multimedia system does not raise any unnecessary questions at first acquaintance: it has an adequate menu structure, tolerable performance and a normal touchscreen sensor. You just have to turn off the multimedia manually every time - it doesn’t “stall” along with the machine. Moreover, I don’t know why AVTOVAZ needed this head unit in the first place - after all, the Lada-Renault-Nissan alliance has access to the LG multimedia complex (the kind they install on XRAY, Logan,) which is superior to Itelma in both graphics and performance. Is Korean multimedia really more expensive?
The USB port located on the inside of the glove compartment leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. The uneven force on the “wings” of the climate control unit and the fittings from even earlier VAZ cars (admire the handbrake handle) are also frustrating. The abundance of silver was added: it is present on the panel elements and the shagreen plastic of the door handles. According to someone's good intentions, such a decision should have given the salon more solidity, but in fact it had the opposite effect. The interior of the Granta lags behind the exterior and every second reminds you that you are sitting in a very budget car.
But the back row pleased me. Despite the sloping roof, there is no less headroom here than in the Ravon Nexia sedan (aka the previous generation Chevrolet Aveo). Thus, even with a height of 185–190 cm, you can fit quite comfortably. Riding in the back won't cause any discomfort either, although Grant's shoulders feel a little tight. The same Renault Logan is noticeably more spacious in this sense. The Granta liftback partly makes up for it due to its spaciousness. In pure volume, it is inferior to Loganov’s 4 liters (396 liters versus 400 liters - according to our measurements), but in terms of convenience it is many times superior. An assembled bicycle for an adult or fairly large household appliances can easily fit here.
To be honest, there is no desire to talk about the shortcomings and features of the VAZ robot for the hundredth time. And it doesn’t make much sense either - you are either well aware of the hopelessness of the AMT, or you are absolutely sure that the box is a wonderful miracle, and journalists are corrupt lazy people and simply have not learned how to handle it. In general, highlight the necessary ones and let's move on. Fortunately, Granta gives enough other reasons to talk about himself.
Under the hood of our car is a 1.6-liter sixteen-valve engine with a power of 106 hp. I must say, the engine is good. If it weren't for wasting his talents, our liftback could easily be called one of the most dynamic cars in the class. Not in seconds, but in sensations. With all this, the Granta is very economical: actual fuel consumption was 7 liters of fuel on the highway and 8.5 l/100 km in the city. Part of the reason is that the car is quite light. Our measured curb weight is only 1097 kg. The main competitors are 50–100 kg heavier.
The energy intensity of Lada suspensions is beyond praise. Grant copes with broken asphalt and primers under the wheels no worse than Logan, whose suspension sings praises with amazing frequency. The only pity is that in terms of handling, the “Russian” is not up to par with its main competitors. There is much less feedback on the Granta's steering wheel than I would like. And even at decent speeds, the steering wheel is annoying with a frightening weightlessness. There are no questions about the effectiveness of the brakes, but not everyone will like the nonlinear force on the pedal.
Is this Grant worth the money? Everyone will answer this question for themselves. If a long list of options warms your soul, then why not? Yes - many of them do not work perfectly, but in general such a car has a right to exist. If you are interested in my opinion, I will never buy such a car for my family - fortunately, there are more than enough options even in this budget. For the same money you can buy a slightly more modest Grant (or Datsun) with a classic Jatco automatic transmission. Or you can refuse the automatic transmission, pay an additional 50 thousand rubles and buy something from the bunch - Hyundai Solaris - Kia Rio. With a manual transmission, a pair of airbags, simple air conditioning and front electric windows. This whole trio drives much more thoroughly, and each of these cars is made with great respect for its future owners. For me personally, these qualities are more important than the navigation system and cruise control. And for you?
Grant became four: sedan, liftback, hatchback and station wagon. VAZ has finally put things in order in the configurations, and now 14 versions are offered for each of the cars. They are the same for all body types. So, having chosen the optimal set of options, you won’t have to be upset that the Grant you need is not sold with it. Full parity.
The most affordable is a sedan. It costs from 419,900 to 608,800 rubles. The liftback and hatchback are 17 thousand rubles more expensive, the surcharge for a station wagon is 27 thousand. Considering the class of the car, the money is not that small. For example, for 25 thousand you can get a robotic gearbox instead of a mechanical one or take the next level of equipment. Therefore, when economy comes first, the sedan is in favor.
Note that the VDA technique involves measuring volume along the window sill line. Neither the manufacturer nor we measure to the ceiling (no measuring cubes are enough). But we can assume that the leaders in terms of full load will be the liftback and station wagon. The sedan has an obvious disadvantage due to its limited horizontal trunk lid, and we write off the hatchback, again due to the short rear overhang.
Let's not forget about design, although, of course, it is secondary for many. But, in my opinion, the liftback is the most harmonious and beautiful Grant. In addition, after restyling, it was refined with a bumper cover in body color, adding originality.
Lada Sedan, after its “loud” entry into the market back in 2011 and an equally noisy PR campaign, managed to win love throughout Russia. From approximately 2011 to 2013, every second passenger car purchased was a Sedan from the Lada Granta. Orders grew... And it was their growing number that forced AvtoVAZ to optimize production and introduce some new items into the updated model.
In 2014, Lada Granta returned to the market with an updated Liftback body. The updates didn’t end there: the design and some structural elements also underwent changes. When something new comes out, people generally buy it “new”, but is the “new” always better? Or is this “new” actually a modified “old”?
Created in 2011, so distant for us, the Lada Sedan was distinguished by the variety of choices of its configurations, suitable for different requirements, from the appearance of the interior to the “filling”.
It is clear that from “Standard” to “Luxury” there are completely different price categories, but still there is a lot in common between them, namely: cheap design (one look at the side mirrors and low-quality plastic on the dashboard can tell a lot about the integrity of the designers AvtoVAZ), but at the same time, the interior was very spacious (a person 1.95 m tall can comfortably sit in a car), and the trunk was very, very pleasing with its volume - as much as 520 liters, and this despite the fact that for this you do not need to move anything away, remove or etc.
Considering the relative cheapness of the car (the average price of a new Lada is 420 thousand rubles), one can understand that the maintenance of the car will be appropriate. Starting in 2012, a modification was added: a four-speed automatic transmission from the Japanese manufacturer Jatco. But the surprises didn’t end there; however, they started getting unpleasant: tens of thousands of cars were recalled in 2013 due to problems with airbags.
LADA Granta Liftback
There’s a wagon and a small cart of all sorts of nice goodies:
- Updated design that looks more harmonious and neat than the Sedan.
- The side mirrors look much better than the Sedan's.
- Now, if you leave the key in the ignition, a beep will sound, which will reduce the likelihood of the car being stolen from a forgetful owner.
- The trunk comes with a standard capacity of 440 liters
, but if you fold the rear seats, the trunk will expand to 760 liters, but the convenience of such a transforming trunk will need to be assessed by the buyer himself. - A stiffer suspension means less shaking, but worse handling.
- The ground clearance was “raised” by 15 millimeters
and improved cross-country ability. - The dynamics of the Liftback is 12.3 seconds
. - The Standard version does not have a rear wiper. AvtoVAZ designers claim that the rear window is blown by air currents and therefore there will be no dirt there during rain. And at the same time, the “Norma” and “Lux” versions have a rear windshield wiper. For what? I'm afraid we will never know the answer to this question...
- The “Lux” version has much better, more powerful anti-roll bars than other versions.
- The springs for this version were also tightened, and the shock absorbers were filled with gas, but at the same time, mainly due to the denser suspension on the Liftback, the ride smoothness decreased.
- The average retail price of Liftback is from 314,000 rubles to 477,500 rubles
.
No need for dirt
The angle of the rear part of the body was carefully worked out from an aerodynamic point of view. At the same time, VAZ designers assure that the sloping rear window in rainy weather is perfectly cleaned by air flows. That is why the basic “Standard” configuration does not have a rear windshield wiper. However, it is installed on cars in the “Norma” and “Lux” versions. Perhaps just to justify their higher cost?
However, this is nothing more than an “engineering and marketing” incident. Much more important is how the issue of body rigidity is resolved. Since cars in 5-door modifications, unlike sedans, do not have a reinforcing “bulkhead” in the rear, designers have to pay special attention to the rigidity of the liftback body. As Lada Granta project manager Sergei Medinets told Kolesa.Ru, the five-door has a reinforced roof, a floor in the middle of the cabin (in the area of the rear passengers' feet and under the rear seat cushion), a middle spar (in the area where the rear suspension arms are attached), and a modified design of the middle spar amplifiers. .
Why is the manufacturer positioning Grant with a fifth door as a liftback? Yes, it’s very simple - the “niche” of hatchbacks is already occupied by the related Lada Kalina, very similar to the Granta in design.
Common features between Sedan and Liftback
To be honest, despite some upgrades and external differences in design, the internal components have remained mostly the same and here are some proofs of this:
- The Liftback's taillights, of course, have become narrower, but at the same time they remain the same on the inside.
- The engine capacity of both models is 1596 cc.
cm . - Gas tank volume is 50 liters
. - The difference between the maximum speeds of the Sedan and Liftback is only 3 km/h: the Sedan has a maximum speed of 182 km/h
, and the Liftback
179 km/h
.
Car characteristics
This modification was created for the category of motorists who wanted to find a car that was both stylish and practical. Liftbacks are ideal for such buyers. Outwardly, they look like executive class cars, but at the same time they are quite practical in everyday life.
A passenger car can be front-, rear- or all-wheel drive. From the front, it is no different from a classic sedan car. These are mainly four-door models. The trunk in them protrudes like a classic sedan. There are two types of luggage compartment lids:
- full door opening upwards;
- trunk ledge cover.
The practicality of this modification lies in the fact that the car can transport long and large cargo. At the same time, the car has a presentable appearance for business trips. Such cars are popular among family businessmen. The car is ideal for long trips.
In the domestic auto industry market, liftbacks are a common occurrence. Here are some examples.
- IZH-2125. The first Soviet 5-seater liftback, slightly reminiscent of the universal models of its contemporaries. Then this type of body was given the name “Combi”.
- Lada Granta. An attractive and affordable car with the looks of a sedan and the practicality of a station wagon. There can be 5 people in the cabin together with the driver at the same time.
- ZAZ-Slavuta. A budget model that does not have outstanding technical characteristics. It is popular among middle-income motorists. The salon has five seats.
