A person is constantly in search of perfection and therefore is always dissatisfied with something. This phrase fully reflects the situation with one of AvtoVAZ’s latest works, the Lada Vesta sedan. No matter how well the car is described by manufacturers and official dealers, the assessment of the real owners and users of the car remains the most adequate.
The owner's first-person review may not affect the characteristics indicated on well-known sites, but it shows those minor (or sometimes serious) shortcomings that LADA VESTA buyers most often encounter.
Damn VAZ
Nikolay, St. Petersburg . The breakdowns on Vesta were exhausting in just two years. Before that I drove a Lexus, and I didn’t spend that much money on repairs. The robot box is terrible! I replaced the clutch, but after 20 thousand miles it broke again. The plastic on the doors is loose, the chassis is knocking. Computer diagnostics can only be performed by a dealer. How tired of VAZ, today the barrel of anger overflowed.
The dealer set a price for repairing the box at 29 thousand - no words! Do not read positive reviews about Lada Vesta, these are all purchased notes! Better go to the troubleshooting forums. So that I will someday get involved with Russian cars...
Advantages and disadvantages of Vesta.
Not all gold glitters
Leonid, Kolomny . Welcome everyone! Let's talk about Lada Vesta today. I used to drive a 2013 “tag”. There were no problems the entire time. Of course, repairs were carried out, but it was just maintenance, nothing serious. Therefore, we compare Vesta with the previous car.
I bought this X style in 2022 in the “Norma” configuration for 680 thousand. Interest in the car began to decrease when starting the engine, vibration appeared. There were shocks from the engine to the seat, but I didn’t pay much attention, as I was happy with the purchase. During the run-in, the mood also diminished. It seemed as if I had purchased a “nine” with a large interior and a knocking suspension. Every day new subtleties were revealed.
A story about Lada Vesta
Today, a knock in the suspension is heard on the left side, and in extreme cold in winter the stabilizer creaks. The box knocks when shifting. The Lada Vesta did not inspire me; the exterior is beautiful, but the interiors have not yet been finalized. It's a shame that for a lot of money we listen to creaks and knocks. This is my review.
The first shortcomings on the outside of the LADA VESTA
Any car spends most of its time outdoors. Consequently, the main load falls on the external parts of the body. Precipitation, temperature changes, dust and dirt do their job.
It should be noted that most motorists paid attention to the smooth opening and closing of doors, which in previous models made an unpleasant slam. Here, the domestic sedan is clearly closer to foreign cars.
But there will always be shortcomings of the Lada Vesta. This is evidenced by many video customer reviews:
- Dirt under the hood. The rubber bands installed under the cover do not provide adequate protection for the engine compartment. This especially affects the lock, which requires frequent cleaning;
- Ill-designed mudguards. If these devices on the front wheel fender liners are made of rubber and more or less cope with their task. Then the rear wheels leave behind a decent trail of mud, the sediments of which cover both the Vesta’s body and are carried far behind the car rushing along the wet road;
- Lack of external gaskets between the body, windows and trunk cracks. The insides of the machine are protected by rubber pads, but ice forms on the outside, which has to be removed;
- Fogging of additional turn signals on the side mirrors. The reason is insufficient sealing;
- No button on the trunk. The open trunk does not lift on its own and you have to lift it using the spoiler;
- In frosty weather, when driving, you can hear a crackling sound in the area of the front suspension (especially in a cold car). The reason lies in the anthers, which freeze and begin to crunch;
- No engine crankcase protection. This drawback is inherent in almost all production cars and car enthusiasts have to immediately think about replacing the weak boot with something more serious;
- Windshield washer fluid freezes. Poor water supply. The pipes run along the hood and freeze after sitting in the cold.
This is just a small part of all the complaints. All the same, the Lada Vesta is made quite well and manufacturers do not stop introducing changes that increase the positive characteristics of the car.
Vesta is a great car for every day
Mikhail, Rubtsovsk . I recently purchased this AvtoVAZ model and have never regretted it. There are no problems yet, nothing breaks. At first I thought about buying a new Toyota, but when I looked at the money, I was horrified. The difference is half a million rubles. This takes into account that Vesta is in the “maximum” class, and Toyota is in the middle class. There is no difference in their functions; our car even wins in some respects. Therefore, think for yourself whether 500 thousand is extra for you or not. I can only leave positive feedback about the machine.
Extended Lada Vesta.
They continue to make buckets of bolts
Artem, Saratov . I decided to write my review about the Lada Vesta. It was released in 2022, the battery died 3 days before the end of the warranty period, it’s already 2022. I called the dealer and they said it was not covered under warranty. The package is “Lux”, but the factory does not take action to address this problem. Now I don’t know where to write a complaint. The suspension in front is all knocking, but the car dealership says that this is normal, such a sound is not considered a malfunction. I’m unlikely to recommend such a car to other people, and I shouldn’t bother with a loan at all.
Bottom line
Reviews keep coming and coming. Be that as it may, the car is much better than its predecessors and will probably soon become popular not only in the near and far abroad. And cons can be found everywhere. As one motorist wrote: if you want, even in your BMW, you can find so many flaws that you won’t want to buy a car.
Considering how much the Lada Vesta costs, we can safely say that AvtoVAZ has fully delivered on its promises. After all, the prices of the domestic sedan are lower than any of its closest competitors.
More details about Lada “Vesta” cars
Not a bad option for women
Oksana, Barnaul . I’ve been driving a car for 5 years now, the first was a Nexia, and then we bought a Lada Vesta sedan. The color is snow-white, I don’t like bright red colors, although other ladies love it. Everything in the cabin is comfortable and works normally. There is a lot of space, after Nexia it seems too spacious. The seats can be configured as you wish, there are all kinds of heated windows.
The handling is great, the headlights shine brightly. It starts easily, the ignition key is remote, you can open the trunk with it. The doors close on their own, you just need to push a little. The trunk is so big that everything fits. My review is only good, I recommend it to all girls and ladies.
Bargain
Dmitry, Aleysk . I drove a Mazda 2008 before and was pleased. It didn’t break for a long time, I didn’t want to change it. But then the left door began to rust, then we got into a minor accident, and gasoline began to become more expensive. I thought that I either need to look for a job closer, or buy another car. There was no other job, so we decided to buy a Lada Vesta. Although we considered other options. I bought it for 720 thousand in gray color.
Differences after Mazda:
- The air conditioner distributes air like climate control.
- Weak dynamics.
- Uncomfortable seats.
- Good sound insulation.
- There is a lot of space in the cabin, the driving position is higher.
- It was a manual transmission; the Mazda had an automatic transmission.
- When cornering, the rear end wobbles; this never happened on Mazda.
- There is cruise control.
- Stability control system.
- The music system is not bad.
- Gasoline consumption turned out to be 2,400 rubles for 2 thousand km.
Read: Preparing your car for spring.
I'm happy with the car, if only it had an automatic transmission! I didn’t go through the MOT, there is no guarantee now. The stabilizer struts started knocking after a mileage of 14 thousand km, I will change them in the spring. The trunk sweats in winter, the gearbox hums a little.
Reviews about the operation of the chassis of the Lada Vesta
As expected, the Lada Vesta received an excellent ride. The shock absorbers handle road unevenness well, provide high ergonomics and allow you to feel the car well when driving.
Some motorists believe that the engine is 107 hp. With. not enough. But, in principle, the Lada Vesta behaves well in any road situation and has good cross-country ability.
The dynamics of Vesta differ significantly, depending on the transmission. If the Lada Vesta manual transmission is liked by most owners who have solid experience, then the robotic automatic transmission is still incomprehensible to many. The main complaint is the slow transition from first to second gear. AMT introduces another small problem. VAZ did not provide a parking mode and drivers have to use the handbrake. At the same time, the drum brakes of the rear axle freeze.
Almost everyone is satisfied with the car's handling. Even skeptics of ESP and ABS+BAS have to raise their hands. Vesta perfectly stays on course and does not skid even on bare ice. "Traction control" makes it possible to leave the ditch and climb a steep hill.
Satisfied with the quality
Mikhail, Krasnodar . I am more than satisfied with the build quality of the car and the comfort in the cabin. However, my opinion will not be very significant for many, because I didn’t feel bad in the Grant, and the mileage on the Vesta is still only about 7,000. In all respects, the Vesta is superior to the Grant. Alas, fuel consumption is also almost a liter.
On the topic of the article, I took my Vesta to Tolyatti in May 2022 for 634,000 rubles. Comfort multimedia package, metallic. In addition to this amount, I paid an additional 7,000 for the installation of 4 mudguards, floor mats and trunk mats, anti-corrosion protection and 5 liters of anti-freeze for good measure. The mats and mud flaps were cheaper than on the market, but the anti-corrosion protection was done in 15 minutes so-so, only the arches and the bottom, I then also processed the hidden cavities.
Read: How much does Lada Vesta cost?
I could have picked it up anyway, but I didn’t want to drive it to Samara and then apply anticorrosive to the dirt. My further expenses on the car, in addition to gasoline, were changing the wiper blades for winter, and hanging a panoramic mirror on the interior, it’s less than 1,000 rubles. The standard music and alarm systems are enough for me, I don’t think it’s necessary to install covers on a new car, in 5.5 years on the Grant the seats somehow haven’t worn out even without covers.
Popular reviews from Lada Vesta owners
blackmessiah, Moscow
Good afternoon/evening, dear forum members and those who were just passing by! I read different reviews: thoughtful and reasonable, puppyishly enthusiastic, illiterately written to the point of pain in the eyes, and also those as if the author was in a state of deep hangover (probably after washing the purchase). But taken together, all of them, these reviews, shaped my view on choosing a car, which means that none of them was written in vain. I hope that my writing will also put a couple of grams on the scales of choice, and a couple of hours spent on writing will not be wasted...
I won’t reinvent the wheel and will write my review in the “classic” style: exposition (the agony of choice) - beginning (purchase) - climax (period of operation, impressions) - denouement (I hope it won’t come to this soon)
Before Vesta, I owned Almera for several years - an absolutely unpretentious device that did not require any operating costs (consumables and a burnt-out muffler at 80 thousand do not count). I probably would have continued to drive it across the vast expanses of our vastness, if not for a stupid accident caused by me, which at a speed of about 40 km/h turned the Almerka into a pile of worthless junk with a restoration cost comparable to 2/3 of its cost.
Some people believe that after an accident, some rehabilitation period is necessary for moral recovery. I didn’t have such a period - in the accident only my car and a little of my body suffered from the impact))
What were the options and why did I choose Vesta?
When considering the purchase of a new car, I would like to get the same hassle-free experience and the absence of serious headaches. Knowing the relatively new marketing concept of “disposable cars,” I decided that I didn’t want to be “undernourished” for the sake of an expensive (but equally disposable) car of the C-class and above. And I myself am not a very demanding person when it comes to comfort and status, and am far from those who believe that the more expensive the ass cart, the closer their kinship to the gods.
I decided to take the car “from scratch” because: 1. “disposability” 2. the realization that a used one is always a pig in a poke. The higher the mileage, the closer the used car is to its limit, and the lower the number on the speedometer, the higher the likelihood of trying to reset the faulty car. Anticipating comments like “I would buy a used Toyota Camry/Lincoln Navigator/Porschayenne/Death Star for that kind of money...”, I’ll answer right away - take it and ride to your heart’s content, but don’t count my money - this is my subjective opinion and This.My.Choice . To make it easier to remember - computer.
Next, I compiled a list of cars for myself, which we, those who decided to take B and B+, are largely similar: Solaris, Rapid, Rio, Vesta and Polo. Kilometers of reviews were re-read, gigabytes of videos were watched, hours of test drives were carried out and a file was compiled in which I wrote down +++ and - all the “competitors”. It was thanks to this file that the choice was subsequently made.
I could develop my writing for many pages, but I’ll just write the main reasons that turned me away from buying the above cars and led to the decision to buy Vesta.
Difficulty of choice
Why not Solaris? A very nice looking car, which was at the top of my list for a long time after a test drive. A big plus is the excellent crash test results at 64 and 15 km/h. But I didn’t like the policy of car dealerships - within a week I couldn’t find the package I needed with the option I needed. I wanted comfort + winter in black, but all the salons echoed each other, pushing me into the bargain with an unnecessary advance, or a car in a different color. I consider another of the main disadvantages to be the unsatisfactory sound insulation of Solarik. Yes, it can be fixed, but at an extra cost and interference in the design of the car. Reluctantly, I had to cross it out.
Why not Rapid? Mediocre appearance, high cost of the required equipment. At the same time, I really liked the ergonomics and driving performance.
Why not Rio? As the manager of the salon with whom I took a test drive said: “every car has a soul.” So, I either didn’t feel it in Rio, or our souls simply turned out to be unrelated. It also seemed to me that the rear in Rio was a bit cramped. I understand, it’s too subjective, but...Computers, remember? ))
Why not Polo? Went as a passenger a few times a few years ago. Even then, Polo seemed to me like a guest from the past - dull, boring “appearance” (interior and exterior), and the dynamics did not seem very good. Several years have passed, and Polo has not changed. I heard that an updated version should be released soon, which, judging by the video and photos, should break all competitors if the price does not exceed imaginable limits. But I didn’t want to wait for the updated version: Zhdun is not my hero))
Still Vesta
As an offtopic note: my entire list at once could have been covered by the Vesta SW Cross (or simply SW as a compromise), but it could not, because all the Crosses of the top and pre-top configuration on the robot were swept off the market in just a few days (November-December) and the order stretched out to an indecent 4 months of waiting. Here a reasonable question arises: does the domestic concern have absolutely no analysts and forecasters? No one conducted surveys or analyzed the mood of potential buyers? How did it happen that the demand for top versions far exceeded supply, but at the same time Crosses in the minimum wage are in warehouses and do not receive special attention? Okay, this is rhetoric... but if anyone answers, I will be grateful.
Why Vesta? Here I will dwell in more detail, because the story is about her. Since this is an exhibition, expectations and first impressions are described here (based on test drives and the first couple of hundred miles). Whether they were justified or not, I will describe in the next part of my review.
Arguments FOR
+ Price. There's nothing to worry about here. Vesta's top compared to the top of its closest competitor differs by 150-200 thousand. Despite the fact that Vesta’s equipment is “prettier”.
+ Robot. For some, this is an argument against it, but I almost immediately found a common language with him during the test drive and became friends. And everything that was before Vesta was on the handle. And driving inexpensive automatic cars (a rich experience thanks to car sharing) did not make me an ardent fan of them. Plus, a robot is an opportunity to jump out of the shitholes into which my love for airsoft often leads me, the trips associated with it to remote training grounds, often without normal roads, and just forays into nature.
There are no difficulties with acceleration when overtaking and exiting secondary roads - I switched the selector to manual mode and pressed the trigger. Automatic operators get used to making additional manipulations, and mechanics just get used to making one more hand movement.
+ Appearance. Here only the lazy did not praise. Right away: I saw it and liked it. Like a girl whom you evaluate at the first meeting, first with your eyes and then... how it goes. I won’t praise the smoothness of the curves and the flying X-design, I’m not a poet, I’m a prose writer. I’ll just say: yes, this is a really beautiful car, unlike anything that has previously rolled off the VAZ assembly line.
+ Equipment. As indicated above, she pleasantly pleases. Even during the test drive, which was carried out in ankle-deep snow, I was very impressed by the traction control system and TCS, which, of course, was not present in my earlier cars.
+ Audio. Not being an audiophile, but being an ardent fan of death and black metal, I was not disappointed. The sound is of decent quality, bass and growling do not wheeze, and screaming and high solos do not cause the speakers to rattle.
+ Predicted low cost of maintenance, spare parts and repairs.
Competitor to Koreans
Evgeniy, Norilsk . Recently, my friend decided to buy a car, and was considering other cars, except Russian ones. I saw Lada Vesta. He and I began to look at it. This is no longer a Soviet car, like a horse cart. It looks like a foreign car, cool seats, original dashboard, and what a beautiful body! Maybe it will start to rust? But you need to check this yourself. When you drive, the cabin is quiet, and when moving it picks up speed easily. The headlights shine brightly. The Vesta car is a good competitor to the Koreans and is not inferior to them.
Features of the LADA VESTA body
Since the start of sales, which began last fall, Lada Vesta sedans have covered more than one thousand kilometers. Now we can definitely draw certain conclusions regarding many aspects of these cars, what pros and cons they have.
Most owners speak very highly of their latest acquisition. Particularly admirable is the design by Steve Mattin. Vesta is no worse than any foreign analogue, and in some original features it even outperforms its competitors. The body is made taking into account all aerodynamic requirements. The head optics, together with the radiator grille and bumper, as well as the corrugated sides emphasize the new VAZ style - “X”.
The car does not fit into class B somewhat. The dimensions of the body, the coating of which is partially galvanized, are 4410, 1764 and 1497. This corresponds to the length, width and height in millimeters. This brings the car closer to the C-class. The wheelbase, with a result of 2635 mm, did not disappoint in this regard. The ground clearance of 178 mm and sixteen-inch wheels allow it to cope well not only with city roads, but also with suburban potholes.
Machine with a light hand
Alexey, Rostov-on-Don . I want to write my review about Lada Vesta. The car was created with a light hand, and it quickly took root on our roads.
I will name the advantages that I discovered:
- Good aerodynamics.
- Good noise and vibration insulation of Vesta.
- Short braking distance, quick acceleration.
- The salon is comfortable and spacious.
- Cheap to maintain.
- Economical in fuel consumption.
- In appearance it is suitable for different ages - from the elderly to the youth.
My personal opinion is positive, I’ve owned it for 3 years now, and I haven’t found any major cons! I recommend to all.
Pros and cons of the car according to car owners
pros+
The Lada Vesta has a comfortable and spacious interior. At speeds of up to one hundred kilometers per hour, it drives quietly along the highway, fairly good lighting, and a spacious trunk. Many owners did not expect this from this model. And of course, the affordable price of the Lada Vesta.
They also note the comfort of the seats for the driver and passengers. Improved coating resistance to corrosion. Appearance is also noted. The traction control works well, and there is also a hill start assist system. Glove box for summer use with fan.
The rear bumper of the car withstands impacts well)) The car's ground clearance is high.
all cons-
The position of the window lift buttons is inconvenient; there is no possibility of a single wiper operation. The armrest is low and not adjustable.
The engine does not work confidently, it stalls when you change gears during acceleration, the engine is picky about the quality of fuel.
Gasoline consumption is relatively high compared to the Grant, 7.5 liters on the highway and in city mode an average of 10 liters.
The suspension of this car is a bit harsh, knocking is noticeable, and punctures are heard in the body. Poor quality glass, breaks easily.
The gearbox breaks down in second gear. There is no full auto box.
Auto repair
After 2000 kilometers, the stabilizers of the struts often begin to knock, replace the oxygen sensor, lambda. 10 thousand - 15 thousand kilometers the stabilizer bushings creak.
Here, depending on your luck, it depends on the components, depending on what they installed at the factory; until 2016, they installed better quality gearboxes.
Credit Carthage
Yuri, Saransk . I always read reviews about this car with interest, since I’ve been driving an SV Cross for a year in the “Carthage” color of the “Lux-Multimedia” package. The car is successful, striking in appearance, comfortable and equipped. There is enough space, and in terms of equipment it is better than the Rio X Line, which has a small trunk. On the road it behaves similarly to the Rio. The suspension is stiff, but it costs less! It is wrong to speak badly of Vesta by comparing it with expensive prestigious brands. The car may not be perfect, but it’s definitely a test car!