Test drive vaz Kalina 1118 sedan since 2004 sedan

Spring shoots "Kalina"

The ten latest station wagons successfully finished in the rally-raid Astanaalmata. 1200 kilometers driving one of the cars drove Andrei Sidorov.
In the spring of this year, sales of viburnum universal began. AvtoVAZ decided to note the completion of the lineup with a grandiose journalistic rally-raid in Kazakhstan. Such massive media coverage set the goal of conveying information to potential buyers, as they say, from the firsthand. Minimum restrictions: here is the car, here is the route map we will meet on the first special storage after 300 kilometers, time has gone!
The caravan of light gray Kalin-Galiz-Nunes lay on a course connecting two capitals of Kazakhstan. All vehicles of the same equipment, that is, in addition to four wheels, engine and seats, are equipped with alloy discs, air conditioners, ABS and two airbags. From the accompanying little things, the little things, the black frames of the doors, the fog lights, the full electric package, the velvet upholstery of the seats (and the front with heating).
The filling is the same as the basic version: a 1.6-liter 8-valve engine with a capacity of 81 hp. Therefore, we will not focus on sled qualities, they are equivalent to the sedans and hatchbacks that are already familiar to us already familiar to us with the same motors. The vacation price of a luxury is 290 756 rubles, 44 thousand more than normal. Is he worth this money? If at the forefront to put the cheapness of the purchase, then, of course, not. Moreover, the electrical power can also be excluded from the base, because the management is already light enough: from the stop to the stop of the steering wheel is more than four turns!
However, following this logic, we will come to the scooter, that is, Skuter. Even in an inexpensive car, I want a little comfort and, of course, security.
The trunk of the station wagon is 350 liters, and if you fold the rear seat, all 650. A lot, given the city purpose of the car. However, if you take on the road only the necessary, and not what can come in handy, then the car will be quite suitable for distant travels. A successful ergonomics with a height of 186 cm has easily settled to this, I easily settled down at the wheel, and after a few hours of movement came out, as they say, neither the back nor arms and legs did not heat up without outside help. On the top ten, not everyone succeeds. Ergonomics, perhaps, is one of the main achievements of Kalina, addressed to the consumer.
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Smooth, like an arrow, the road goes beyond the horizon of the Kazakh steppe. The oncoming ones come across so rarely that it seems that people do not live here. However, the quality of asphalt is excellent. Exceed 90 km/h and in this desert, of course,. But, on the other hand, how else to make sure of the declared characteristics of the car? Right -off highway ready dynamometric road, which we still have search. After about a minute of overclocking, the speedometer arrow stopped about 170, and the navigator showed 165 km/h. At the maximum wir! By the way, despite the very high pace, fuel consumption in the mileage was surprisingly modest: 7.4 l/100 km.
The second main success of Kalina, in my opinion, is the reconciliation of eternal antagonists, comfort and controllability. The car turned out to be rather soft and at the same time steer well. And this is with a clearance of 160 mm, which in Russia will be indisputable for a long time!
Vibroacoustic comfort, which, incidentally, intend to improve soon, seemed quite acceptable. Of course, you can cite more than a dozen more quiet cars as an example, but they will be much more expensive!
The air conditioning on this trip could not really be tested in early May in North Kazakhstan is not at all hot. The piercing cold wind had more to use the stove. However, several hours of summer warmth nevertheless fell to us at the entrance to Almaty. The climatic installation coped with it jokingly.
Lada Kalina has no competitors in his price group. The most close in such a configuration, the eminent brand car will be at least a third more expensive.
Andrey Sidorov
 
 
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"