Against the backdrop of laudatory reviews of the Lada Vesta, I would like to get a truthful point of view based on the results of testing a new model from a domestic manufacturer.
Of course, everything new is wonderful. I myself, being a native Togliatti resident, am very proud of AvtoVAZ and its new products in the product line. But, if we abstract from patriotism and look at the car from the position of an independent consumer, it is necessary to ask completely different questions: how high is the real percentage of novelty in the Lada Vesta? How advanced and progressive is this car within the global car market?
New Lada Vesta
I immediately remember that the new product belongs to the “C” project, which has been in development for the last 15 years and initially the goal of the “C” project was simple - to catch up with the first generation Ford Focus. And it was developed and released back in 1998. In 17 years, the Focus was “rebuilt” for the fourth time, each time the auto giant presented us with a Focus that had been rebuilt, sometimes significantly. How well Project “C” has been developed over 15 years is a rhetorical question. Yes, it’s better than it was, but objectively worse and longer than other manufacturers. Is Lada Vesta new to the world market? More likely no than yes. The new model is an excellent budget car for compatriots who have not driven a foreign car.
“I won’t say that AvtoVAZ makes good cars. They are cheap and inexpensive to operate, their components are readily available, and much can be modified with a file or soldering iron. If I had the opportunity to take a foreign car, I would take it with pleasure. Be honest with yourself - the Lada is not the car of your dreams. And if so, then your choice is very rational and is related to the financial, not the quality, component. Would you switch from a German car to the latest, coolest Vesta? But seriously?
Lada Vesta really has innovations. The chief architect of the new platform, Vadim Evdokimenko, especially noted the height adjustment of the front seats and the ability to change the position of the steering wheel. This was noticed in the comments on Youtube.
“It was 2015... Adjusting the steering wheel for reach and height, adjusting the seats for height...”
Lada Vesta will also not be deprived of heated glass and a climate system, which they wanted to implement even in the simplest configuration. But how new is all this?
Components and brand
While the Lada Vesta is not on sale, it is impossible to say whether the components are bad or good. Yes, we sincerely hope that Boo Anderson will control this moment too. But if we look at the situation objectively, we get the same old picture - the suppliers are still the same. Yes, Vesta will have more imported parts. But this is hardly the merit of the factory workers.
Stories about hammering bolts with a sledgehammer in production are heard less and less often. Active work has begun on the brand - new relationships are being established with clients, advertising is becoming more solid, and statements are being implemented on time. AvtoVAZ has changed pleasantly and began to work on its image, which could not but affect the points of view of car enthusiasts.
Reviews of Lada Vesta
The opinions of compatriots quickly filled numerous groups on social networks and car portals, and turned out to be somewhat subjective - we have seen the appearance of Vesta many times, we have something to compare the new Lada with (it’s hard to imagine that the new car would be worse than the previous ones).
Therefore, we were interested to find out what representatives of other countries think about the new product - those whose views are not blurred, those who are not accustomed to VAZ cars. We tried to ask everyone's opinions, as well as find comments from car enthusiasts from all over the world about the new brainchild of AvtoVAZ.
Few people know, but AvtoVAZ carried out an unusual campaign - it asked knowledgeable Frankfurt car enthusiasts for their opinion about the new Lada Vesta, having previously hidden all the nameplates with stickers.
“Three weeks ago we parked Vesta on one of the streets of Frankfurt, but hid the brand of the car. Local residents were interested in our new product; they thought it was a Ford or Hyundai. They said that they would pay 28 thousand euros for it” - Bo Andersson, president of AvtoVAZ.
Residents of Frankfurt made various assumptions about the manufacturer of the unusual new product, but no one could even think that it was Lada. When news and photos of the new Lada Vesta appeared, a heated debate flared up on foreign automobile websites. Some defended the point of view that the design was “crashed”, others did not believe it and were interested in the price.
"Looks good. If only he could have the capabilities of Niva..."
“4/5 Not bad, not bad”
“My God, I don’t believe in the Russian auto industry, but this looks good.”
“With a good price and reasonable NCAP ratings, I would buy it.”
“It looks like a great product for its target audience. Bravo Lada!!!"
“It actually looks pretty good.”
“Is he really Russian? Cool (for the first time their developers didn’t drink vodka with bears)"
“People hate just for the sake of hating, this car is actually very original and beautiful! Well done AvtoVAZ!!!”
“I don’t like Russian cars - I think no one does (except for Marusya), but this concept looks cool, who knows, maybe they started doing something, especially if they started hiring people from abroad...”
Some commentators paid attention to the interior of the new product.
"Interior like a Ford"
"Why do every car's interiors have to look the same?"
“I like the overall design of the car, but the dashboard with this big text “Music” “Nav” etc. looks very cheap. Their designers have strange taste when it comes to choosing colors for the seats... And the headrests look very, very thin for a concept car..."
Others talked about the exterior.
“The sides are terrible, but the car overall has a nice modern design.”
“I like the design and hope to see the entire line of new Lada based on the Clio and Megane platform.”
"But as for the exterior, it's similar to the Evoque, which makes it interesting to see in production :)"
There were also opinions about competitors.
“Very good when compared with Rio or Solaris”
“It looks like a Dacia. Which belongs to Renault. This means this concept is meaningless and the production car will look the same as Dacia currently."
“Notice how the front end looks like the front end of the latest Mitsubishi? Are these two companies related?
Numerous commentators also raised questions about quality.
"Russian shit..."
“I have thirty-year-old Russian things, and they are all in working order even today. Russian things are of very high quality.”
“30 years ago there was no Russia, there was the Soviet Union. The cars that were produced in the USSR and Russia differ significantly in quality. They did it better in the Soviet Union.”
“But if you put it in a row with all the series of the plant, you understand how handsome it is. But if we take into account other manufacturers, then, of course, for this money I would prefer German practicality, although not new, but quality and no problems with spare parts!”
“A car with 21st century design. The appearance failed. This involves a simple finish. No big trunk. The rear seats are too small. The design is rough. The colors are terrible. In general, there is a certain harmony. This car is for a student and his girlfriend. I wouldn't buy it!"
“I’m not rich enough to show off. I'd rather have two practical and reliable Opel Ascona Cs that will take me anywhere I need to go and also leave many of its contemporaries behind! OPEL - DAZ AUTO) even 24 years ago)))"
And, of course, there was some discussion of duties, policies and timing.
“Will go into production in 2040.”
“In Europe, the demand for AvtoVAZ is so small that they can close their office for a while. And half of the sales, in my opinion, come from the Lada Niva, a cheap SUV for farmers, which was released back in 1977, without any significant changes.”
“If we show the Mazda concept, TAKERI, then a year later we see the new Mazda 6. If Acura shows the new Honda NSX concept, then in a couple of years we see the “live” car. Lada showed a concept, a beautiful concept, a good designer by Steve Mattin, but they will continue to produce Lada Kalina II."
Representatives of the Comedy Club did not stand aside and spoke about their vision of the new car in a comic video.
Patency
In the proposed videos of test drives, you can see that the drivers who conducted the tests unanimously agree on one opinion. The cross-country ability of the Lada Vesta is one of its main advantages - the designers did a great job here.
The standard Lada Vesta has a very high ground clearance - when the car is fully loaded with passengers and luggage, its value will be at least 171 mm. The large gap between the bottom of the body and the road surface allows you not only to ignore some obstacles that are impassable for more “down-to-earth” cars, but also not to be afraid of various irregularities inherent in poor quality roads. Lada Vesta is not afraid of curbs, speed bumps, bumps, potholes, most holes and rutted roads. In comparison with foreign analogues, Vesta is much better adapted to operating conditions on Russian roads, and this cannot but be noted as another positive point.
Vesta's suspension is not much different from the designs used in previous models. Hard front and soft rear - this combination guarantees a relatively smooth ride of the car, while allowing the driver to feel the track.
As a disadvantage of this type of suspension assembly, experts note some roll when entering a turn at relatively high speeds. As a result, in theory, this roll can cause the car to overturn during acceleration - however, in practice, the Lada Vesta did not have enough power to achieve such a result during crash tests. However, experts recommend Vesta owners to exercise some caution on roads with a side slope.
Prices, terms, competitors of Lada Vesta
Jokes aside, sales of the Lada Vesta will begin very soon - the start of sales is scheduled for November 25, 2015. The price of the new product promises to range from 500,000 to 550,000 rubles for the basic configuration, but, as it should, the price will be adjusted closer to the start of sales. The fact is that the final list of trim levels and options has not yet been formed, but it is already clear that Vesta will compete with state employees in the Russian market and, possibly, beyond its borders. The plant management promises to make the maximum configuration cheaper than 700,000 rubles.
| Model | Minimum price, rub | Maximum price, rub. |
| Renault Logan | 429 000 | 593 000 |
| Kia Rio | 539 000 | 809 900 |
| Hyundai Solaris | 509 100 | 710 400 |
| Volkswagen Polo | 554 900 | 739 000 |
| Ford Fiesta | 525 000 | 773 000 |
Comparing the price of a new product with its classmates, no significant difference is visible. But some points are catchy - the Lada Vesta comes with a 6-year warranty and, most likely, it will be cheaper to maintain.
The first “wave” of deliveries of the new product (November-December 2015) included cities in which AvtoVAZ models sell well: Kazan, Volgograd, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Izhevsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Novocheboksarsk, Omsk, Perm , Tolyatti, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, St. Petersburg, Stavropol, Tyumen, Ufa and Chelyabinsk. The next step (January-February 2016) will be the delivery of the new product to 65 cities and 120 Lada dealers, and in March 2016 Vesta will reach other cities in Russia.
Personal manager or done on the fly?
Every time I hear “as soon as it comes out, I’ll take a Vesta right away,” I remember the story with the Lada Granta. Its first “generation” was very crude. It was only over the next few years that changes occurred. Everything that was undertested in an attempt to meet the deadline was improved at the expense of customers and based on the latter’s claims.
History repeats itself. This is evidenced primarily by the personal manager who they want to assign to everyone who bought a Lada Vesta. On the one hand, this is a great step from marketing. The company is beginning to position itself as more loyal and open. On the other hand, we see an elegant solution to the problem.
Pollution
There are significant gaps in the hood lock part, which cause contamination of the engine and the entry of dirt. In this case, car owners need to regularly monitor the cleanliness of the compartment or install seals.
There are other causes of pollution:
- large wheel arches;
- insufficient number of sides on the windshield.
Is the new beautiful Vesta the fruit of propaganda?
Automotive expert, journalist Sergei Aslanyan shared his opinion in an interview:
“... in connection with Lada Vesta, AvtoVAZ’s marketing strategy was revised. If earlier AvtoVAZ bought advertising space and hung its not very smart advertisements there, now they began to buy publications and opinions. Judging by the fan of brazen publications, they received a newspaper and an online publication at their service, and now the first one, declaring its own integrity, has been bombarding public opinion for a whole year with enthusiasm about what a brilliant, magnificent, best car on the planet Lada Vesta will be. Journalism has become propaganda, which will pave the way to customers’ wallets, because people are gullible.”
It’s difficult to say that Sergei is telling a lie - if you are friends with AvtoVAZ, then to the end, keeping silent about the shortcomings. “The editors have sold out,” commentators write. But for now they are the only thing that the average person can find out about the new product. Their task is to fuel demand. Until the buyer touches the car with his own hands, it is difficult to talk about the objectivity of the point of view.
Other shortcomings
As a result, the following problems can be noted about all the disadvantages of the machine:
- It is necessary to grind the cooling system pipes.
- Gradually replace the fastening of the muffler rubber bands, as they sag after 20,000-30,000 km.
- After 60,000-80,000 km, problems arise with the exhaust resonator.
- No lock on the gas tank.
- Special caps that are on alloy wheels and located in the central part of the hub bounce off.
However, despite all the pros and cons of the car, it finds its true owner.
Domestic car. Import substitution?
It’s nice to call Lada Vesta a domestic car, although there are many foreigners on staff, from the head of the company to workers. Yes, they are great. Steve Mattin, the company's chief designer, really did a great job. Still would! The British resource was previously used by such giants as Mercedes Benz and Volvo.
The manual transmission was taken from the French, the variator from Nissan, the 114-horsepower engine from the Renault-Nissan alliance, the rear suspension and steering from the Renault Megane... It is likely that due to these data and other imported parts, the price of the Vesta model will be tied to the exchange rate and will grow (cars have never become cheaper due to the exchange rate, unless this was a dumping idea).
By the way, most popular cars are assembled in Russia, from Datsun and Renault to Volkswagen and Audi. Will we eventually be able to call them domestic?
Salon
The car's interior is spacious, the external door handles are massive, and the number of interior parts has been reduced and strengthened. However, even now drivers are bothered by tapping and creaking noises.
Plant managers promised to eliminate these shortcomings as follows:
- change the center console;
- change fastenings of interior parts;
- change the dashboard.
The future of Lada Vesta
“We immediately made a sight so that we could assemble various types of car bodies on the basis of this car,” says the chief architect of the new platform, Vadim Evdokimenko.
The range of Lada Vesta body variations promises to be really large. So the model was already presented in the Cross body.
To the question “How long will the platform be up to date?” Lada Vesta chief engineer Ivan Khripchenko answered “at least 15 years.”
This means, as practice shows, in the next 15 years, a minimum of technological innovations are expected or they will be produced on the same platform. It is sad to realize that attempts to boost domestic production may be stopped. We hope that this will not happen, and the growth in product quality will continue.
Don't forget about the Lada XRay, production of which will begin on December 15, 2015.
Technical characteristics of Lada Vesta
Engine Lada Vesta The new Lada Vesta has two engines in its arsenal.
A simpler, but already positively proven 106-horsepower 1.6-liter unit is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission from Renault, but for an additional fee you can install the AvtoVAZ development - a robotic five-speed gearbox. The more powerful 1.8-liter engine with 122 “horses” is currently equipped only with a “robot”, but in the near future it is planned to install a “mechanics” in pair with it. The braking system of the Lada Vesta consists of front disc brakes and rear “drums”. For those who like fast and dynamic driving, it is possible to install rear disc brakes.
