We did not have time to tell in the last issue of the newspaper about the long-awaited novelty Lada Granta, as AvtoVAZ presented a new surprise! Fans of Togliatti cars - and this is by no means less than half of Russians - are discussing with might and main the photos of the layout of the updated Kalina that have appeared on the Web. There is no news in the fact itself: the VAZ owners announced the upcoming restyling in mid-April, when they showed Granta under a great secret. The main intrigue is how the car will look and how much the creators will appreciate.
Lada kalina
At first glance, it seems that Kalina and Granta are "interchangeable." Granta, according to marketers, will replace several models in the VAZ line. First of all, these are cheap rear-wheel drive "Lada" - a classic family that recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Now for the "classics" will begin to puff out the basic version of Granta. “Samaras” will go to rest - these models will hit the “thirty” in three years. They will be replaced by the future Granta hatchback with a long rear overhang. Finally, automotive market strategists believe Kalina sedan-oriented buyers will now switch to Granta in decent trim levels.
As for Kalina hatchbacks and station wagons, they will be modernized. Moreover, the algorithm will be the same as when creating Granta: using Renault-Nissan, the design will be optimized, and worthy suppliers will be involved in the project.
Lada kalina
It hardly makes sense to discuss in detail the design of the new product. Firstly, the editors had at their disposal photographs of only one of the models of a promising machine. It was for them that our artist made these drawings. Secondly, even if the style of the new Kalina is not as original as the one just presented by Granta, this is unlikely to confuse potential buyers. Most of them, although they acknowledge that the restyling is made based on the Volkswagen Polo and the updated Peugeot 308, do not consider it shameful. As one potential Kalinovod wrote: “You can copy to the Chinese, but why are we worse? The main thing is to be chic!”
The discussion of price tags is much more dynamic. Most agree that the updated car has the right to rise in price by 10-20 thousand rubles. But there are few optimists. If now the Kalina hatchback can be bought for about 270-350 thousand, then people are afraid that after restyling they will ask for 300-400 thousand rubles for a car. And this is not counting the upcoming “automatic” box, for which Kalinovods are not ready to pay more than 25 thousand. However, we were already told that Kalina will be positioned more expensive than Granta.
If Granta gets the old Kalinovsky 8-valve engine with a capacity of 1.6 liters and 81 hp in the basic version of the Standard, and other eight-and sixteen-valve engines in other trim levels, the updated Kalina will get rid of the 81-horsepower engine. But she will have a modern 1.4-liter power unit. And the “older” versions will receive the same new 8- and 16-valve engines.
Lada kalina
Kalina is no stranger to GLONASS. The current Russian prime minister on the Amur highway has already flown through such devices in yellow Kalina Sport. A restyled car will probably get a similar “tidy”. In any case, in the top-end configuration, Kalina is no stranger to GLONASS. The current Russian prime minister on the Amur highway has already flown through such devices in yellow Kalina Sport. A restyled car will probably get a similar “tidy”. In any case, in the top configuration
In addition, some Kalina cars can begin to be equipped with foreign powertrains. This is due to the traditional lack of “motor” capacities in Togliatti. But here there is complete confusion. At one time, AvtoVAZ acquired a license for engines from Renault Logan, which, according to rumors, is already regretting. It turned out that native engines are not worse, but cheaper in production. In addition, the option of buying engines from Nissan with a volume of 1.6 and 1.8 liters is being discussed. The first of them can get under the hood of Kalina, and the second is a model designed to replace the Priora.
Since Kalina will be radically modernized, will she not get a new name? It would be logical if two fresh ones with their own names appeared in place of the "old-mode" model. One, cheaper, we already know - Granta. And the second? Choose from names with Latin roots: Quanta (“fast”), Adera (“sweetheart”), Alegra (“funny”), Slavia (“reputation”), Terra (“earth”) and Fortuna (“fate”). These are all registered names for future VAZ cars. However, in the VAZ portfolio of names there are two more: Ladoga and Onega. They remained from the old days, when the names were given on a geographical basis.
four
Unexpected parallel
The riot of bodies of the Kalina and Granta families is not at all the original approach of Togliatti marketers. I recall the mega-popular Toyota Corolla (E90) of the late 80s - early 90s of the last century. This car was produced in about ten countries and in an incredible number of options - with various combinations of bodies, engines, transmissions and even drive types.
We will not go into the details of Corolla's life in every market, we will limit ourselves only to Europe. Here you can draw a direct parallel with our today's hero: in the model line “e-nineties” there were both a 5-door hatchback (1) and a 5-door liftback (2). In terms of meaning, they differed, like Kalina and Granta hatchbacks, namely the length of the rear overhang. The power structure of the body of these models was common. However, the difference is visible: the doorways of the cars were slightly different, and the body panels of the doors were not interchangeable. In this sense, the sedan (3) was the “twin” to the usual hatchback, and the all-wheel drive station wagon (4) to the liftback. The latter was also sold in the European market.
five
