Lada Kalina or Lada Granta: which is better according to the owners

Every year AvtoVAZ saturates the domestic market with new Lada models. Some of these cars are budget cars, and often different models fall into the same price segment. So, in 2011, Grant came off the assembly line, the base for which was Kalina. After 1.5 years, AvtoVAZ updated the previous model Kalina, releasing the second generation of cars.

Both car models fall into the budget price segment, so most potential buyers cannot decide which one is better. Each car has its own advantages and disadvantages that you need to know about before making a purchase. This will help you choose a car that suits the needs of a particular car enthusiast.

Car appearance

Machine sizes

By creating the design of both models, the plant's designers took a big step forward. For their category, the cars look quite modern; their external outlines show the influence of such European brands as Renault Logan and Renault Sandero. At the same time, they did not lose the characteristic features of Russian cars, standing out from their predecessors.

Kalina 2 is very similar to the previous generation model, but there are some nice changes. For example, the car body has been redesigned in such a way that the car now looks more like a sports car, and aggression has become felt in the design. Grant's appearance has several original solutions. The first thing that catches your eye is the shape of the front and rear headlights, as well as the overall fit of the body.

What to choose for work and recommend for family: Grant or Kalina?

Before making a decision to choose, and before deciding which is better, we recommend that you study in detail the reviews of “experienced” owners. This will allow a specific buyer to identify the best option for his needs.

If you need to spend a long time on country voyages, then preference should be given to the Granta, endowed with increased ground clearance. A LADA Kalina station wagon can be a working vehicle for transporting large luggage.

If the car involves short-term city trips, then you should take into account the factor of fuel efficiency, where Kalina took a leading position.

A Granta can easily turn out to be a stylish executive car, you just need to slightly modify the exterior in terms of tuning.

Activation of the Lada Granta immobilizer

Roof rack for Lada Granta

Lada Granta liftback standard equipment, what is included

What's under the hood of cars?

Both cars have fairly similar 4-cylinder engines, having the same volume - 1598 cm3. Three trim levels have maximum engine power, which is 87, 98 and 106 hp. With. At the same time, Granta has a basic configuration with an 82 hp engine. With. Car engines run on gasoline, their torque reaches 4200 rpm. at 148 N.m in the most expensive configuration. Fuel consumption is 8.5 liters in urban conditions, 7.3 liters in the combined cycle and 5.7 liters per 100 km outside the city.

The engine allows you to reach a maximum speed of 175 km/h for Granta and 171 km/h for Kalina. The higher speed of the first model is due to the optimized aerodynamic characteristics of the body. In general, both cars are equipped with engines that differ little from each other. According to the head of the Grant and Kalina projects, Oleg Grunenkov, the cars are equipped with an updated type of suspension, the development of which was focused on the suspension of budget cars produced in Russia. This means that both cars have an upgraded suspension with increased service life.

Speaking of transmission, it is worth mentioning that there is no clear leader in this issue either. The latest configurations of both models are equipped with a modern 5-speed manual transmission. Gears shift quite smoothly, and there is no unnecessary noise or rumble while driving. Each of the cars has special configurations with automatic 4-speed gearboxes from the Japanese manufacturer Jatco, which specializes in manufacturing automatics for foreign cars such as Nissan Tiida and Nissan March.

Under the hood of Kalina

It is necessary to dwell separately on the Granta generator, since it fails on almost all cars produced in the first half of 2012. Owners complain that the breakdown is detected after 3-5 thousand kilometers, and dealer service stations refuse to fix it, citing a lack of spare parts.

The difference between AvtoVAZ vehicles

These cars also have distinctive features. Kalina 2 differs from Grant in the following:

1. Higher price.
2. Less fuel consumption.
3. Available in the form of a hatchback and station wagon (the second model is in the form of a sedan and hatchback).
4. Less fast and maneuverable car.
5. More economical to drive: fuel consumption is 0.4 l/100 km lower.
6. Less weight.
7. Worse chassis.
8. The body is made of thicker metal.
9. The trunk volume is almost two times smaller.
10. The seats are more spacious and comfortable, allowing you to feel comfortable even on long trips.
11. More attractive appearance.
12. The equipment in the maximum version is worse.
13. Better paint, plastic, seats.
14. Higher noise insulation parameters.

Body quality

After the release of the Grant, most owners began to measure the thickness of the body metal. It was discovered that the metal of the Granta body has become much thinner compared to the previous generation Kalina. AvtoVAZ engineers commented on this fact, noting the improvement of the alloy that is used to cast the body of the new model. According to them, new technologies have made it possible to equalize the body strength of the new model and the first Kalina model. But test drive results indicate the opposite.

The thin metal of the body is quite easy to bend; there is no modernization in the alloy. It is clear that the plant tried to save resources on the production of this model. The body of the new Kalina model is cast from the same metal that was used for the previous generation; there is no decrease in density.

Under the hood of Grants

Grant's lock mechanism is also not of high quality. At first, the doors close quite simply, but the locks wear out quickly, as they are made of cheap plastic. The 2nd generation Kalina has no problems in this regard, since it has a silicone locking mechanism installed.

First meeting

"Lada Kalina" is a family of front-wheel drive small class cars (B-segment). The car has been mass-produced since 2004 in two generations (the body is a five-door hatchback). "Kalina-2" was released in 2012 and amazed many. The manufacturer refined the appearance, improved the interior and added new engines. "Kalina" has earned the title of people's car. This is a nice and inexpensive car, as reviews characterize it. The Lada Granta has been mass-produced since 2011. This is a subcompact car, which is available in different bodies:

The main feature of Grants is its low price. It is due to its low cost that this machine has become so widespread. "Granta" replaced several outdated models at once - "Lada Samara" and "Ten" in different bodies. The manufacturer claims that the components of these cars are 70 percent unified with Grant. This indicates the high maintainability of the model.

Model options

The new Kalina is equipped as standard with electric power steering, a shortened steering rack, an airbag, sun-reflective glass, electric windows on the front doors and 14-inch wheels. All these improvements are missing on the Granta.

It is not advisable to compare the most expensive car configurations, since they have a large difference in price. It makes sense to compare the top version of the Granta and the mid-range version of the Kalina, since they fall into the same price segment.

In addition to the above improvements, both models have the following equipment:

• heated, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors;
• fog lighting;
• power windows on the rear doors;
• exterior mirrors;
• door handles are painted in body color;
• built-in on-board computer;
• alarm on the control panel;
• heated front seats;
• cabin air filter and air conditioning;
• ABS+BAS;
• touchscreen multimedia system with LCD display.

In addition, Kalina 2 is equipped with a windshield heating system, which Granta does not have.

Features of Lada Kalina 2 station wagon

The first generation of the Lada Kalina car was designed quite a long time ago, and the developments themselves date back to the end of the last century. So the first version of the car did not catch many of the revolutionary innovations that happened at the beginning of this century. Of course, many improvements and improvements were made, but all of them concerned only minor upgrades, and the market demanded a completely new car.

It was as a result of market demand that it was decided to begin development of the Lada Kalina 2, which comes in several bodies, including a station wagon version. The promises of AvtoVAZ management said that the car would become much more stylish, energetic, but, most importantly, reliable. And at the same time it will retain all the main advantages of the previous series, such as good cross-country ability and high ground clearance.

Specifically, reliability, as well as its improvement, was the most important task of the engineers, since many shortcomings were visible in the first version of the car. As a result, many years of development led to the Lada Kalina 2 coming off the assembly line. And from it, even visually, it is clear that the most dramatic changes have occurred. The developers themselves claim that the improvements concern both external and internal components.

Under the hood of the Lada Kalina 2 station wagon you can find many technical innovations. But the body itself now looks much more attractive. Instead of the barrel-shaped shape of the first generation, we can see a certain audacity that was not previously characteristic of domestic cars. The headlights were enlarged, and the bumper design notes added some aggression to the appearance of the car. Thanks to all this, some even talk about the “sporty” appearance of the car.

The designers also worked hard, taking into account the wishes of those who reproached the previous version of the car for being too laconic.

Kalina car interior

Now the interior is very cozy, and the dashboard of cars in the Norma or Lux configurations amazes with the abundance of optional features. The seats have become much softer and more comfortable, and the interior has increased in size. But, most importantly, now in the station wagon there is much more space for storing luggage than before.

Rear passenger seats Lada Kalina

In fairness, it must be said that after a short period of use, some shortcomings may appear, such as noise in the cabin, as well as crunchy upholstery. And the thresholds of the car must be immediately covered with moldings, since they are more susceptible to failure than other parts of the body.

Engines

This car is produced in a version with an 8-valve 1.6-liter engine. Its power is 87 horsepower. The car is supplied with a manual transmission and a Japanese automatic transmission. The “luxury” version accelerates to a speed of 181 kilometers per hour, while the “standard” version that interests us can boast a “maximum speed” of no more than 168 kilometers per hour.

Under the hood of the most powerful Kalina

Among other things, you can count on:

• installing a front airbag,
• electric power steering,
• and even ABS,
• air conditioner,
• multimedia system.

Structural improvements have made the suspension more resistant to poor-quality road surfaces.

The price at the time of this writing for the “emptiest” Lada Kalina station wagon starts at 427 thousand rubles versus 404,200 rubles for the Lada Granta.

Cabin interior and noise insulation

The instrument panel on both models has similar characteristics and contours. The only difference is in the design of the ventilation devices, which have a different shape on each car. The new Kalina model is equipped with seats that adapt to the anatomical features of passengers, as was the case on the previous model. Grant's seats are made of cheap material, they look plain and are not very comfortable.

A test drive on different road surfaces showed that noise insulation in Granta is performed at an extremely low level. Kalina 2 has average performance in this regard. In general, the sound insulation of both cars leaves much to be desired.

The interiors of both cars have impressive volumes both in the rear and in the front. The legs of the driver and passengers are positioned quite freely. It is no secret that in order to reduce the cost of the car, AvtoVAZ installed low-quality cladding in the Grant, which quickly wears out and looks unattractive. Both generations of Kalina are equipped with good quality plastic casing, which does not cause any complaints.

Features of Lada Granta liftback

Side view of the Liftback

As for the liftback under the Lada Granta brand, during its short existence it managed to become a real AvtoVAZ classic and an incredibly popular car. He has a really striking appearance that doesn't look intrusive at all. At the same time, a wide range of possibilities is preserved.

In many ways, the liftback body resembles the sedan version, but now the new product has another fifth door. It was she who became the subject of debate about whether this car is a hatchback or a liftback.

Inside the Lada Granta: driver and front passenger seat

The interior of the car pleasantly surprises with a sufficient level of comfort and style. Nothing superfluous and a strict dashboard, but quite functional at the same time. The high quality of the steering wheel is also noted, as is the large number of “glove compartments” for storing various small items.

Technical characteristics of Lada Kalina (sedan)

Let's look at Kalina. Here the choice of power plants is wider. The basic unit is the VAZ-11186 with an 8-valve head. Its maximum power is 87 horsepower with a volume of 1.6 liters. The engine is equipped with a five-speed manual transmission with a cable drive, or a four-speed automatic transmission from the Japanese company Jatco.

The next in the line was the engine with index 21126. This is a 16-valve engine with two camshafts. These minor modifications made it possible to increase engine power to 98 horsepower while maintaining the volume of 1.6 liters. This unit is equipped only with automatic transmission. “Mechanics” is not even available as an option.

Spacious interior is one of the undeniable advantages of Granta

Thanks to the increased base, even a large person can easily fit behind the wheel of the car, and passengers will not have to be crowded into a narrow space. Driving in a car is also more comfortable because the plastic in the cabin does not creak or rumble, and sounds from outside are muffled by high-quality sound insulation.

If we compare which is better than the Granta liftback Priora and Kalina, then the Granta is much ahead in terms of silence in the cabin of its fellows. Otherwise, the liftback's interior is not much different from the Kalina and even has some absolutely identical elements.

As for the trunk, the Granta exceeds all expectations here. Volume is 440 liters, compared to 355 liters. Kalina allows you to transport a large number of things, so a comparison of the Granta liftback and the Kalina station wagon will definitely be in favor of the Granta.