Despite all their shortcomings, AvtoVAZ cars are in demand on the domestic market due to their affordability and ease of maintenance. However, recently there have been fewer and fewer complaints about the products of this company, and positive potential for the development of the industry is emerging. One of the latest masterpieces was “Kalina 2 Sport”, reviews of which are mostly positive. It can be argued that personnel changes, improvements in the production process and the attraction of foreign specialists have led to progress in the right direction. Cars have become more modern, more attractive and interesting.
Description
Reviews of Kalina 2 Sport confirm that this hatchback has become one of the most anticipated new products of 2015. I would like to hope that this vehicle will not disappoint fans of the domestic automobile industry in Russia and neighboring countries.
The sports version was based on the second generation of the Lada Kalina. In principle, no one tried to hide this moment. The new product differs significantly from the civilian version. And both in technical terms and in the exterior. Experts clearly agree that the car has become more aggressive; its design has sweeping features that indicate some kind of track affiliation. In terms of its overall dimensions and surroundings, the hatchback would easily be suitable for participation in rally races.
Engine
The sports version of Kalina is equipped with an electronic accelerator pedal, which has a very short stroke and non-linear characteristic. With such a pedal, the car begins to twitch when starting to move.
At low speeds (1000-2000 rpm) when you sharply press the gas, the car does not pull, as if it is choking on gasoline. When you release the gas or gently press the pedal, secondary engine vibrations begin.
Pronounced acceleration in Kalina Sport starts from 3000 to 5000 rpm. The tachometer needle is actively approaching 6000 rpm, and then the speed decreases, the limiter is activated at 6500 rpm.
Appearance
The front part of the Kalina 2 Sport (reviews of which we will consider below) attracts attention with its original high-quality optics. It is made on a darkened background, which adds expression. The head light elements, together with the false radiator grille, form a single whole. The car brand can be immediately distinguished by the manufacturer’s nameplate located in the center of the specified element. The impressive front bumper was equipped with aerodynamic elements and foglights built into the sides.
The side part boasts large windows and doors similar to the civilian counterpart. The peculiarity of the body is emphasized by impressive external rear-view mirrors, voluminous wheel arches, and original alloy wheels.
The rear is very practical and goes well with the rest of the sporty exterior elements. In stock:
- volumetric optics;
- specific dimensions;
- spoiler over the luggage compartment;
- convenient access to the rear door;
- plastic trim on the bumper.
Reviews from the owners of Kalina 2 Sport further confirm the fact that in this regard, the designers worked very productively; many did not expect such pleasant changes.
Flaws
Front seats
The designers tried to make the seats of Kalina Sport 2 sporty, with pronounced lateral support. Visually it is present, but in fact the sides of the chair are too soft to perform the intended task. Back support also raises questions - some will like the arch of the back, others will want to adjust it, but there is nothing to do with it. There is no provision for adjustable back support in the vehicle.
Electric booster
The electric power steering (EPS) used in Kalina is the brainchild of a Korean company. Not only has the electric power steering made the steering wheel uninformative and “empty”, it also often breaks down. In extreme conditions, it simply turns off - this is how its protection is configured. True, it is difficult for the driver to understand when these “extreme conditions” occur, because the ESD can turn off at any time and completely unpredictably.
Dashboard
The panel creates an ambiguous impression with its color combination - red-yellow-green. At the same time, the green light has some strange tint that hurts the eye. The instrument numbers are hard to read and the displays are too small.
At a certain angle, some of the instrument readings are blocked by ridiculous visors. The speedometer shows a speed lower than the actual speed.
Peculiarities
Separately, it is worth noting the presence of a sports body kit along the entire outline of the body and interesting door sill trims. The car has become noticeably lower, which is important for the sports version. It offers consumers two modifications of the vehicle in question in external design. One variation is called “Sport”, the second is called NFR.
However, you should not look for a fundamental difference between these variations. Manufacturers note that the main distinguishing indicators are air intakes on the hood and wheel rims of different sizes.
Interior
In their reviews of the Lada Kalina 2 Sport, consumers indicate that the manufacturers did not bother much about finishing and improving the interior. In the interior, there are minimal differences between the civilian and sports models. Among the updates, only new sports seats are noted, providing a more comfortable fit. They have the corresponding logos.
Otherwise, the interior remained practically the same, which did not come as much of a surprise to experts. In the base generation, the interior, in principle, has reached a high level, as close as possible to European competitors. There are still some shortcomings, and the ergonomics leave much to be desired. However, the equipment is no longer so boring and impractical. It is worth noting that the shortcomings regarding the convenience of seating passengers in both rows have been largely eliminated, which gives another plus to the updated model.
Test drive Lada Kalina sport - video
Advantages and disadvantages of Lada Kalina sport
Judging by reviews from car owners and test drives, the main advantages of Kalina Sport are:
The advantages include:
- affordable price;
- inexpensive maintenance;
- moderate fuel consumption;
- well-tuned chassis;
- attractive appearance;
- Good equipment by the standards of the class.
The disadvantages include:
- whimsical to fuel quality;
- small trunk;
- no heated steering wheel;
- suboptimal seat profile;
- budget-friendly interior decoration;
- lack of sporting spirit in the cabin.
Equipment
As mentioned above, the vehicle in question is offered in two variations. The “Sport” modification has the following options as standard:
- front airbags;
- heated front seats;
- 16-inch alloy wheels;
- rear parking sensors;
- electric power steering;
- anti-fog light elements;
- multimedia system;
- running lights with LEDs;
- rain and light sensors;
- ABS, EBD, BAS systems.
For the NFR version the following equipment is additionally provided:
- 17-inch alloy wheels;
- low profile tires;
- enhanced braking system;
- arrangement of climate control.
Suspension
Kalina's suspension consists of two thin wishbones with longitudinal braces. Shock absorbers are made by ASOMI. In general, the Kalina Sport suspension is made at a high European level, it is elastic, not noisy, energy-intensive and a little harsh.
In the city, the suspension copes with its duties perfectly. It is strong and well-built, works quietly, is energy-intensive and does not rock. On the track, the situation changes, and the chassis is a little lacking in rigidity—under heavy braking, the front axle begins to sway.
Technical characteristics of Lada Kalina 2 Sport
Below are the main parameters of the car in question:
- Length/width/height - 3.96/1.7/1.45 m.
- Front/rear track - 1.43/1.16 m.
- The wheel formula is 4×2.
- Number of places - 2.
- Base - 2.47 m.
- Ground clearance - 14.5 cm.
- Trunk capacity - 240/550 l.
- The power unit is a gasoline engine with in-line four cylinders.
- Working volume - 1596 cubic meters. cm.
- Acceleration to “hundreds” - 11.0 s.
- The maximum speed is 181 km/h.
- Average fuel consumption is 6.7 l/100 km.
- Power indicator - 106 hp.
- Curb weight - 1.06 tons.
- Fuel tank capacity - 50 l.
- The transmission unit is 5MT with a gear ratio of 3.9.
- Front/rear suspension - independent with telescopic gas-filled shock absorbers (MacPherson type) unit/semi-independent linkage with hydraulics.
- The steering system is rack and pinion.
- Tires - 185/50 R-15.
Power unit
As for engines, manufacturers also decided to offer two versions of engines:
- In the Lada Kalina 2 Sport, the characteristics of which are given above, a gasoline unit is used as the “engine”. Its design includes four 1.6-liter cylinders. The power indicator reaches 118 “horses”. The “engine” makes it possible to accelerate the car from zero to one hundred kilometers in 9.5 seconds. And the maximum speed in this version reaches almost 200 km/h.
- The NFR modification seems preferable. This is due to the fact that with the same volume of the power unit, the power is increased to 140 “horses”. At the same time, the dynamics have improved, the car reaches a hundred one second faster than its analogue.
Reviews of the 2nd generation Kalina Sport note a not very positive attitude towards the fact that the car is equipped with one five-speed manual transmission, without an alternative analogue. For the sake of fairness, it is worth noting that it is adapted specifically for improved acceleration of the vehicle.
avtoexperts.ru
In 2013, Lada Sport (a subsidiary of AVTOVAZ) began producing sports versions of LADA cars for public roads. The first models were Kalina Sport 2 and Kalina NFR R1.
The NFR R1 version is a preparation for the “national” rally class of the Russian Rally Cup, that is, a real prepared racing car. The Sport modification is a civilian (road) version. I have been using Kalina Sport for a year now and today I will talk about all its pros and cons from the owner’s point of view.
Lada Kalina Sport 2 and Sergey Sudarev - author of this article
Advantages
1. Chassis. The suspension pleasantly surprised me. They really put a lot of work into this component. I will list the main changes that the engineers made in comparison with the regular Kalina:
• Stiffer lowering springs
• Thickened stabilizer
• Shock absorbers with modified characteristics
• Your own parameters of wheel alignment angles, including rear ones
All this, together with low-profile 195/50 tires on 16-diameter wheels, allows you to stand confidently on the road and roll less when cornering. I even drove a completely standard car for a couple of asphalt training sessions at the Atron race track near Ryazan.
I think it's the chassis that makes this car a truly hot hatch, or at least one that feels that way. And now, after the release of the new Vesta Sport, reviews from the first athletes and journalists who tried this car, it becomes clear that they have worked even better on it in this aspect.
Design and appearance.
This is the first thing that a buyer pays attention to in the modern world. It really differs from the standard Kalina. Lower landing, big beautiful wheels. Plastic body kit - sill covers, a front bumper of a more predatory shape, a rear bumper with a diffuser and a spoiler for the 5th door.
Back view
It's no secret that Kalina has now been renamed Granta and its front part has been modified. Not everyone likes it, but LADA is trying to create its own readable, uniform image for all models; this is a trend for many brands. I hope that when the successor to Kalina Sport 2, Granta Sport, appears, her appearance will also be changed for the better for the hot version.
My particular copy has an interesting color with a sonorous name in the spirit of VAZs from the times of the USSR called “blue planet”.
Kalina Sport
Successful engine.
I consider this engine to be successful in terms of performance and reliability. In fact, this is the same 16-valve engine with different camshafts and programming. It pulls very pleasantly, both at low and low levels.
Main engine characteristics:
Volume 1.6, 16 valves. Power 118 hp at 6750 rpm Torque 154 Nm at 4750 rpm.
Under the hood is a VAZ 21126 engine
When I was tuning the engine of my Ford Fiesta rally car, I had the opportunity to talk with an engine specialist and tuner. He spoke very flatteringly about the potential of 16-valve VAZ engines for tuning, as well as their survivability under sports loads. The results of racing Kalinas in the Cup and the National Rally Championship also confirm this.
My Ford Fiesta and Lada Kalina Sport
Transmission.
Unlike the standard version, a shortened main gear is used here. The 4.3 gear ratio allows for better dynamics. At the same time, the maximum speed is almost 200. A cable-driven gearbox is also used, it is more convenient for shifting and reverse gear back and to the right, and not, as was previously the case on the VAZ 2108, forward and to the left. Such a gearbox was previously used on some other Ladas, but without such a main pair.
Rich equipment and a good interior.
To many, when mentioning LADA and the phrase “rich equipment,” it may seem that the author is crazy, but I argue so as not to be unfounded. ABS, airbags, heated windshield, climate control, rain sensor, light sensor, heated seats, electric power steering, rear disc brakes, multimedia system with touchscreen and very wide capabilities, four power windows, etc. A very good set even for foreign cars costing close to a million, but Kalina Sport 2 cost 630 thousand rubles without discounts six months ago when it was sold.
Salon Lada Kalina Sport 2
Interesting sound.
The exhaust for the car was made completely different, direct-flow, the sound became better and more thoroughbred, and bass was added. Completes the picture of a warmed-up hot hatchback very well. Adds a pleasant feeling when pressing the accelerator pedal. The tail also looks organic.
Multimedia.
The factory multimedia uses Windows CE as its operating system. You can connect navigation to the system. Bluetooth, USB, SD card are all available. Audio, video, everything plays.
Torpedo
The sleep mode of the radio screen is interesting. When it is turned on, but you do not touch it for some time, an interactive screensaver appears that you can change, you just need to find the layout that suits you. For example, they helped me set it up and now it looks like this.
Media screen
However, an important note to this point is that the radio must be connected to the car’s CAN bus and only then is all data on fuel temperature and so on displayed there.
Now about the disadvantages
Terrible front seats.
This seriously spoils the ergonomics of the landing. My back began to ache almost immediately, although I can sit comfortably in almost any car except this one. It was a shock for me. I expected and feared a lot of bad things when buying a Lada, since the last time I had VAZ products was 15 years ago and despite the fact that I have been working in the auto business for many years, stereotypes are also present in me. In general, I expected a lot of bad things, but not this.
Front seats
According to rumors, when making seats for Kalina Sport, they took a regular seat frame, made other foam rubber pads with more lateral support, and all this was decorated with a beautiful wrapper in the form of seat trim with red stitching and the inscription sport. I’m even a little offended for the Lada Sport, to create a really good sports version and spoil it with such shortcomings. Personally, I had to change the seat literally after 2 weeks of use, otherwise my healthy back risked turning into a sore one.
This is the chair they installed instead of the standard one
Electric booster.
It's not about the amplifier itself, but about its setup. What should have been an advantage became a disadvantage. It’s absolutely important to feel the car and the grip of the steering wheel, but here it’s a failure. The steering wheel is completely empty even on 16-inch wheels with a considerable caster angle.
Operation of the electric damper.
Strange operation of the throttle valve and engine at near zero throttle angles. It's not very convenient to get underway. The exhaust gas works a bit strangely. Strange high idle for a civilian car without super sporty camshafts. You cannot drive with 2 pedals and brake with your left foot at the same time as throttling.
Inconvenient instrument panel.
Well, what kind of tachometer is this? Why is the red zone at 5500 if even the maximum power is higher in rpm according to the original technical characteristics? The car confidently drives up to 6500. The panel is difficult to read, although there is a useful feature in the small monochrome display, displaying various useful things, such as digital engine temperature.
Dashboard
As an example, I’ll give you the guards of a couple of my former hot cars produced in the late 90s and early 2000s. That is, many years ago everyone already understood everything, how and what color it could be done, so why couldn’t they spy and learn? After all, from a production point of view, changing the color costs nothing at all.
Instrument panel Subaru impreza WRX STI Type RA Spec 2002
Multimedia
So, indeed, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Confused, completely unintuitive and incomprehensible. That is, there are a lot of opportunities, but in order to use them, or at least just live with them, you need to be almost an IT specialist with programming skills. Of course, I’m exaggerating, but in my opinion, again, it’s worth learning from other brands how to make devices so that anyone can understand them.
Media Settings
The quality of the plastic, its installation and painting.
The front bumper made by Lada Sport constantly pops out of its mounts next to the wings, so you have to push it back. The gaps between the sills and the body are too large and a lot of dirt gets in there. And the plastic itself is flimsy. A stone flying out from under the car in front of a descendant traveling at a speed of 80 km/h easily made a hole in it the size of 2 five-ruble coins.
Front bumper
The coloring of the plastic also leaves much to be desired. By 20,000 km of normal city driving, the bumper had already flown quite well.
Bumper chipped
There are also all sorts of little things, such as the absence of a button for opening the trunk on the trunk itself, or a speedometer that underestimates the actual speed, or a radio that does not turn off when the car is turned off, but, it seems to me, this no longer affects the overall impression.
conclusions
To summarize, I want to say that when I decided to buy this car and started looking for options, I had fairly specific tasks. I’m a rally driver, I compete in the Russian Rally Cup, and I need a training car to stay in shape and train on racetracks. It was from Lada that I wanted to make it. So when I bought it, I was prepared for the worst for this specific purpose, but I was pleasantly surprised by the car. The advantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages for me. And here I am clearly not in the trend, since I praise AvtoVAZ for the progress that I have seen. Now the mileage is approaching 40,000 km. So far everything is great with reliability! I hope she won’t let me down in the future.
PS If you're interested in knowing what I did and how much money I put into the car to make it truly ready for rally practice, please leave a comment.
Best regards, Sergey Sudarev.
Modernization
The car in question is built on the basis of a civilian analogue. However, the characteristics of the Lada Kalina 2 Sport differ in many ways from the prototype. The main changes are the following:
- The steering has been reconfigured;
- adjustments were made to the design of the suspension unit;
- improved braking elements appeared;
- the NFR modification has a separate subframe for the engine;
- Significant changes have been made to the suspension adjustment;
- The brake discs have an increased diameter.
Due to these perturbations, the car turned out to be more sporty, not only in terms of power, but also in the functioning of most of the components and mechanisms that are responsible for the parameters of speed, maneuverability and braking.
Prices
Reviews of “Kalina 2 Sport” will be given later. As for the cost of the new product, users indicate a very acceptable figure. This takes into account the fact that in the “Sport” modification the car is offered at a price of 620 thousand rubles. For this amount, the owner receives two front airbags, daytime running lights, ABS, EBD systems, four electric windows, and heating of the corresponding elements.
In addition, for an additional fee, the car is equipped with electric power steering, 16-inch wheels, parking sensors and many other modern options. On the secondary market, this machine is significantly cheaper, but it is not yet widely represented on it, taking into account the start date of mass production.
In the cabin
There is quite a lot of space in the back seat. In terms of the quality of finishing, you can hardly expect expensive fabric, but overall everything is neat. Many people complain that there is no pocket where they can put something. Getting out of the back seat is quite comfortable.
Inside, the large inscriptions on the seats “Kalina Sport” immediately catch your eye. The seats are somewhat similar to the Forester STI.
The driver's seat does not have an armrest, but it can be installed separately as an additional option. Unfortunately, the seat height cannot be adjusted, but you can get used to it. The glove compartment is small with a shelf, but it has an input for a flash drive and an SD card.
The steering wheel is made in a sporty style: there are recesses for the palms, for greater comfort while driving, and is covered in leather with red stitching.
The car has heated seats, climate control, an on-board computer and a multimedia center.
By the way, the multimedia center is color and fully touch-sensitive. On it you can view photos, videos, synchronize speakerphone from your phone, music and radio. It has the Windows CE operating system installed, which can be upgraded to an on-board computer if desired.
Below is a small on-board computer. You can see many important things on it, but the most important thing is what it is needed for, look at the error code and understand what the problem is.
Owner reviews of Lada Kalina 2 Sport
Many users complain about the lack of power and other shortcomings, which, to be honest, are present in this hatchback. But if you take into account the price and equipment of the vehicle, this is not the worst option, and among models not only of domestic production. By and large, there are not many such proposals, if we take into account all the objective and subjective parameters.
Regarding the engine, after the Priora it seems like a super-powerful, high-spirited option, with clear gear shifting on the five-speed manual version. Most owners note that it is difficult to get used to the city's smooth ride. The car twitches noticeably and sounds inadequate until you adapt to the behavior of this vehicle.
