Industry
14:00, 17.07.2018 8
The plant abandoned the model due to falling customer demand
Photo: wikipedia.org / Sah68
The Lada Priora, produced since 2007, leaves the assembly line of the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. Having replaced the legendary “ten”, the car leaves without leaving “descendants”. AvtoVAZ believes that the car is outdated and does not fit into the brand’s current product line. It is not yet clear whether a model will appear to replace the Priora, but it is known that in 2022 a car on a new platform will enter the market, which auto component suppliers are now setting up to work with.
History of the creation of Lada Priora
Lada Priora is an updated version of the popular model of the VAZ 2110 family, discontinued in 2007. Due to the fact that about a thousand changes were made to the design of the “ten” to transform it into the Lada Priora, the VAZ-2170, 2171, 2172 and other modifications can be considered a new family. The Priora family includes three models: VAZ-2170 - sedan, produced since March 2007; VAZ-2172 - hatchback, since February 2008; VAZ-2171 is a station wagon, produced since May 2009.
As a result of a significant modernization of the 2110 family, AvtoVAZ received a new, comfortable car that meets the basic standards of the modern market. Even in the basic configuration, the car has a significant set of options: an airbag, electric front door windows, electric power steering, central locking with remote control, height-adjustable seat belt mounts and steering column, electronic clock, athermal glass.
Since Priora is officially considered a restyling product, you can see a “ten” in the middle part of the body, but the bow and stern have nothing in common with similar parts of the previous model.
The exterior was entirely designed by Volzhsky designers from the Italian studio Carcerano. Thanks to their help, the front panel can no longer be classified as “Russian”, since it rather resembles the average dashboard of a foreign-made car. The panel is trimmed with soft plastic, the visor above the instrument cluster has a curved shape that goes well with the oval-shaped clock built into the silver trim at the top of the console.
In addition to the Italians, specialists from Italy, Germany, France, Japan and Korea took part in the creation of the machine.
In March 2007, the first small batch of Priora sedans was released. A month later, in April 2007, cars began to arrive in showrooms. In 2010, a small restyling was carried out.
In 2022, according to the press service of the Volzhsky Automobile Plant, it is planned to release a new generation Priora, on the new Lada B platform. AvtoVAZ previously announced that the 2017 Priora will outwardly resemble the Lada Xray concept car, the author of which was Steve Mattin, the new chief designer of the plant.
People's love and popularity
Production of Lada Priora cars began in 2007, the model became a replacement for the “ten” - VAZ-2110, and turned out to be just as loved by the people as its predecessor. Numerous tuning companies offered countless modifications, turning the modest Priora into something like a racing car with gullwing doors. In recent years, car versions with pneumatic elements in the suspension have become popular, allowing the car body to be lowered onto the asphalt while parked.
In recent years, the plant itself has tried in every possible way to maintain interest in the model, releasing new configurations and adding new options. Some of the latest modifications are versions in white and black colors, which featured 15-inch wheels, two-tone seat upholstery, glossy interior inserts and other options.
Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing of AvtoVAZ PJSC Jan Ptacek believes that the model no longer fits into the company’s current line of cars and creates an incorrect perception of the brand among buyers. And if previously such a car could be found in Lada showrooms, now buyers expect to see something different.
“For its time, the Lada Priora was a very good car that helped AvtoVAZ survive 10 years ago. Due to dramatic changes in the Lada brand over the past three years and the launch of a new generation of cars in 2015-2018. our consumers are changing their perception of the brand. And this, in turn, leads to a decrease in demand for Lada Priora. Thus, we made a logical decision to complete production of this model and concentrate on completely updating the LADA model range in the coming years,” said Ptacek.
That car did not gain much fame, even though it was piloted by the famous British racer, world touring stage winner James Thompson. Photo Morio / wikipedia.org
In total, more than 850 thousand cars have been produced since 2007. The most successful year was 2011, when 138 thousand cars were sold. For some time, the model was produced in the Chechen Republic at the Chechenavto enterprise.
The car also made its mark on the world racing scene. In 2009, the Lada Priora WTCC car debuted on the tracks of the World Touring Championship. However, that car did not gain much fame, even though it was piloted by the famous British racer, world touring stage winner James Thompson. Success for the AvtoVAZ racing team came later with Granta and especially with Vesta. Nevertheless, Priora laid the foundation and rightfully took its place in world racing history. By the way, you can see the racing modification of the car in the park complex of the history of technology named after. Sakharov in Tolyatti.
Technical features of Lada Priora
Power unit: VAZ-21116 engine with a power of 90 hp. With. (8 valves) or VAZ-21126 with a capacity of 98 hp. With. (16 valves). The engine uses foreign-made parts. In particular, a significantly lightweight SPG of foreign production from Federal Mogul, a timing belt and a tension roller from Gates, with a declared resource of 200 thousand kilometers, were used. Installation of a 21128 gasoline engine with a working volume of 1.8 liters and a power of 120 hp. With. produced as a tuning of Togliatti. Other improvements include: a stronger clutch, a larger-diameter vacuum brake booster, and a gearbox drive mechanism with sealed bearings.
Why do the owners of the Lada Priora reproach it for its operation?
The car turned out to be too “wooden,” as many buyers put it in their comments and reviews. A rigid suspension does not require constant maintenance, but does not offer comfort either. The packages for affordable prices included a steering wheel, pedals and wheels; the manufacturer did not implement anything else remarkable in the car. Also in extended reviews and among the opinions of experts, the following important disadvantages of the car can be identified:
- the robotic gearbox, which debuted in 2015, turned out to be not very reliable, and its repair costs owners incredible amounts of money, so this is a clear drawback;
- the interior is made of the simplest plastic, which constantly creaks and emits a not very pleasant smell, the fabric on the seats wears out quickly, you need to buy some kind of covers, the markings on the buttons are erased;
- the quality of the engines is difficult to dispute, but the reliability of the engines was in question; some owners of 16-valve units were faced with the need for major overhauls very early;
- the car is generally not suitable for long trips; on such trips you need to come up with some improvements for the seats, otherwise the back of the driver and passengers will simply fall apart;
- the car had to be seriously modified, installing different optics, some interior parts, improving sound insulation, and also performing a good anti-corrosion treatment every 3-4 years.
But even despite such shortcomings, we are ready to forgive the Priora a lot, since the car has become popular over the years of production and was liked by many Russian families. For some, this was the only opportunity to buy a more or less decent new car. Someone simply supported the domestic manufacturer and was satisfied with the purchase. It will not be possible to find any striking disadvantages in the design of the car, since this very design is extremely simple.
Advantages and disadvantages of Lada Priora
Among the advantages are a largely updated appearance, bright modern headlights, a functional dashboard, high-quality finishes, and more reliable engines. Sound and noise insulation has been significantly improved.
The developers paid special attention to the security system. The results of the tests confirm that the work done was not in vain. All models are equipped with driver airbags, and the body is designed to meet modern passive safety requirements.
There are also some disadvantages. First of all, unstable engine operation, loss of power. Sometimes the engine does not start. The causes of such failures may be problems with the level of fuel pressure, malfunction of the timing belt, faulty sensors, or air leaks through the hoses. As with previous models, the components supplied to the assembly line are not always of high quality.
You can also note the possibility of failure of the electric amplifier, most often this happened in cars of the first series. This is due to imperfect design. The malfunction is corrected under warranty service
Is it worth selling a used Priora after production has ceased?
It is not easy to answer this question, since it is a very individual factor. In one case, you should think about selling if you want to buy a new car. But you shouldn’t expect the price of the car to drop after AvtoVAZ’s announcement to stop production. This likely won't impact sales on the secondary market. But if you want to buy a new Priora, now is the time to take care of such a purchase.
Regarding the secondary market, we can only give a few tips:
- you should not rush to conclusions, since AvtoVAZ continues to produce spare parts, you will continue to be able to service the car using original components without difficulties;
- domestic transport has a good service life, especially with manual transmissions and younger types of engines, a car can travel up to 300-350 thousand km without major breakdowns;
- modifications with a robot can be prepared for sale at 100,000 km, since the forced repair of the manual transmission will be a serious blow to the budget of the Russian family, and this is not good news;
- The car should also be sold if serious damage to the body is noticed; repairing and welding the body in almost all cases is not economically profitable for the owner;
- Don’t rush to discount the price of your car, because buyers can pay good money for a Priora in good condition; you just need to wait for the buyer who likes your car.
Will there be a new model instead of the Priora - what are AvtoVAZ’s plans?
Most likely, the company is preparing space for new models, removing outdated and not so logical cars from production. But these are unlikely to be replacements for Priora and Kalina. The problem is that B-class sedans have oversaturated the company’s model range; other segments are needed that AvtoVAZ could cover with its products. For now, specific plans exist only on paper, and they can change a lot. Nevertheless, we can safely declare the following options for the concern’s actions:
- the discontinuation of cars that have begun to lose their liquidity in the new car market; over time, this will happen even to Grant, which was recently updated and released a facelift;
- proposal of a completely different concept for the development of Lada, as a joint venture with Renault-Nissan, selection of technologies that could be introduced for Russian production;
- the creation of 5-6 new models that will not replace the old ones, but will create a completely new image of the manufacturer and make it more profitable in the eyes of customers, will help raise the company’s image;
- constant updating of the offered assortment in order to prevent models from becoming obsolete, that is, working on the principle of modern European concerns in their profitable niches;
- Gradual addition of the model range and the withdrawal of those models that do not meet sales expectations will help the company remain profitable and interesting for investors.
Such development will ensure not only the growth of AvtoVAZ as a concern, but also the constant emergence of new domestic vehicles. Of course, the key to success in such a model will be the quality of production. Russians are ready to buy a car that may not have the best appearance, but one that is comfortable, durable and of high quality. So far, the budget segment does not offer many such options, and on this wave Lada can become a favorite national manufacturer.
We suggest you look at the last review of Lada Priora:
