Before buying a car, it’s not easy, you need to “try it on” for yourself. The crash test shows the weak points of the Lada Priora, which are then modernized. A test drive of the Lada Priora will make you understand how dynamic, passable, and easy to use the car is. You shouldn’t always rely only on your feelings - they can be clouded by emotions or stereotypes. An assessment by a person you trust is quite enough to make the final decision: whether the car is suitable for you or not. Hatchback, station wagon and sedan behave differently on the road, so you need to try the car on yourself.
Equally important: that in the event of a collision, the people inside will not be harmed, or how they will be harmed. The driver takes care not only of himself, but also of the passengers. To do this, factory samples of Lada Priora undergo crash tests, making them clearly visible what is happening inside the cabin, what injuries threaten the driver and passengers in a frontal collision. Crash test results for all cars depend on the build quality, so in any negative experiments it is the manufacturer that is always criticized.
Impressions from the Lada Priora test drive
The Priora is often found on city streets, which means it is not in vain that drivers choose it. Unlike other models of the Lada family, Priora is a city car in which you can go to the countryside. And the car body is selected based on the driver’s preferences. The Lada Priora station wagon is suitable for a family man, and the hatchback and sedan are suitable for a young driver.
A test drive of a Lada Priora station wagon with experience in using the car by domestic car enthusiasts gave feedback that the car is roomy and strong. The Priora sedan (as well as the hatchback) showed the same thing, except for one thing - they do not have such a reinforced suspension as the station wagon, and the rear part does not weigh as much, the driving impression changes.
Control and comfort
Lada Priora, after restyling, was presented to the car enthusiast with his favorite “mechanics” and with a robotic automatic transmission. If everything is clear with the mechanics (except that in the restyled version the gear ratios of the second and third gears were slightly changed), then many encountered a robotic gearbox for the first time.
The robot itself decides when to change gears and gives commands to the transmission to change gears. The driver can only keep an eye on the road while enjoying driving. However, this innovation was not created in order to be distracted by a smartphone. Having become a breakthrough in the work of the Volga car, it came in handy in a city traffic jam - while everyone is frantically switching between “neutral” and first gear, Prior owners with AMT are free to free themselves from this annoying activity.
A test drive of a Lada Priora hatchback, sedan with the new AMT saw a positive response, among journalists - it would seem that the plant has not received such enthusiastic reviews about things “incompatible” with the Priora for a long time. It is fair to note that after a couple of thousand kilometers, problems arose with the robotic gearbox, but they were corrected without recalling batches - in fact, “on the spot”, in service centers.
These mistakes can be forgiven for AvtoVAZ, at least because they presented their entire automatic transmission development for the first time, and also because they again equipped the car with the best additions. In the “top” configuration, the car will have air conditioning, heated seats, and also very comfortable front seats, made in the style of sports, so that when entering a turn, the side bars of the seat back hold the driver and passenger.
Prices and options in 2021
In 2021, the car is offered in five trim levels: Standard, Norma, Norma Climate, Norma White Edition, Norma Black Edition.
- Standart - basic equipment, including airbags for the driver, ABS, electric power steering and 13-inch steel wheels (price - from 399 thousand rubles);
- Norma - a number of useful additions are added to cars of this configuration: an immobilizer, a security alarm, power steering, central locking with remote control, electric drive and heated exterior mirrors, 14″ steel wheels (price - from 448 thousand rubles);
- Norma Climate - the car is equipped with heated front seats and a climate system (price - from 488 thousand rubles);
- Norma White Edition and Black Edition - higher quality seat upholstery is used, and 15″ inch wheels are installed in the body color (price - from 499 thousand rubles).
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As you can see, prices for various configurations of the Lada Priora differ by about 100 thousand rubles.
The price of a Lada Priora sold in maintained condition will be significantly lower due to high competition in the secondary market.
As for colors, Priora colors can be as follows:
- red;
- bright blue;
- dark grey;
- light silver;
- golden brown;
- White and black.
The choice of versions of the Lada Priora is very wide, so you can easily find a suitable option for yourself. If you choose a used car, then you will also easily find a car that suits you, since the choice of used Prior is not small at all.
Off-road test: cross-country ability
An important detail: know about the vehicle’s cross-country ability. For example, the famous Zhiguli cars are used in rural areas because they last forever, can help in the household - they are good off-road.
Few people have conducted a test drive off-road, however, the “outside viewer” has something to judge by. The car with a ground clearance of 165 mm has a good suspension, and due to its relatively low weight (curb weight is 1088 kg), it seems to “fly over” holes, bumps, and potholes. Of course, this is not a Lada 2121 (Niva), and it is front-wheel drive, but the Priora can also take its owner to the river.
The car was designed as a city car, but it is not intended for constant driving in rural areas. By the way, when developing the Lada Priora station wagon, they provided for the possibility of fully loading the trunk, strengthened the suspension - the car will definitely not “sit down”, and the exhaust system will not be damaged.
Test results: sedan, hatchback, station wagon
The Lada Priora test for “durability” in daily trips on urban off-road shows excellent results - cars 5-8 years old are still alive, ready to continue working for the benefit of their owners.
The Prior tests/reviews carried out immediately after the presentation of the restyling are not particularly different for the hatchback and sedan; these are actually two slightly different bodies that were endowed with the same “filling”. Modified engine with a power of 106 hp. Owners of restyled Priors liked it because it gave the car fast acceleration and increased the maximum speed. The station wagon immediately proved itself as a family car, capable of withstanding almost any load in the trunk.
Priora crash test: dummies buckled up
The Priora crash test was carried out according to Euro CEP standards. At the stand, where the Priora was presented with elements of the maximum configuration (that is, not only the driver, but also the passenger had an airbag), the car was accelerated to a speed of 54 km/h, then a frontal collision was simulated.
The result showed that the driver’s knees, shins, and head were highly susceptible to damage: the pillow did not fix the dummy’s head so strongly; it “dangled” in the air for several moments. The passenger was luckier; the mannequin's head was slightly injured. The front pillar on the driver's side went a couple of centimeters into the cabin, the dashboard and steering column “broke”, flying in large fragments directly at the driver.
Compared to the previous test, Priora still achieved better results, and all due to the changed power structure of the body. The only big negative is that the passenger airbag is not available in all trim levels.
Strengthening Priora: what influenced the improvement in test results?
The latest Priora crash test video allows you to see how much stronger the car body has become and how the skidding of the vehicle has decreased. The positive change was influenced by the special body structure, reinforced with metal inserts.
The model was supplemented with 36 parts, which improved the safety indicator. This has become a guarantee of minimal damage received by the driver and passenger in a collision.
Elements with a box-like structure were installed on the motor shield. This update allows you to notice the Lada Priora crash test video, in which the collision is filmed from above. Minimal compression and impact braking are more precise. And the car engine itself receives reliable protection from severe damage.
An important addition was the installation of the amplifier and bracket for the A-pillar. The elements ensure the safety of the fastenings, thereby preventing damage to the structure of the car. Provides good protection for both front and side impacts. When carrying out the latter, a score of 9.1 points was established, which indicates that the body’s side protection is still insufficient.
A special beam in the door, as well as high-quality brackets for securing it, will prevent the door from coming out of the opening. Because for the Lada Priora the crash test video shows a slight deviation from the norm.
Previously, it was noticed that a gap formed between the door and the body after an impact. A special roof reinforcement has also been added, which resists impacts and keeps the windshield intact.
The bottom was reinforced both from the sides and in the center. Ten new elements were added to the side members and cross members, some were located in the sills. And under the driver’s feet a special double sheet was installed, which is much superior to its stamped counterpart. The result of the work was a reduced displacement of the car after an impact and minimization of damage to the driver and passengers.
Lux Priora: crash test, are there any differences
Lux Priora is someone's dream. And not only because multimedia and additions are installed inside it, raising the car to a new level, but also because the reinforced body and two airbags clearly speak in favor of preserving the lives of those who drive the car. However, everything inside is almost standard: the steering column breaks, the pedals fly off. But the chance of survival clearly increases.
The choice of Lada Priora as a workhorse, first, or family car is justified: the car is unpretentious in repair and maintenance, “with character,” “alive” in driving, and is ready for bad weather and harsh road surfaces in Russian cities.
Lada Priora crash test video
A crash test is not the most pleasant sight in the world, because a new car turns into a pile of junk before your eyes - and all this for the sake of safety. In 2007, the domestic Lada Priora in the luxury configuration was sentenced to similar tests. This version has a reinforced body structure, namely a modified front guard. Also worth noting are two airbags, seat belt pretensioners and ABS traction control. The most equipped cars were supplied as early as January 2008, when a hatchback with the VAZ-2172 index appeared.
The crash test in question is not the first test of the Priora. It is important to note that in 2007, about twenty modifications of the “2170” were destroyed. They were subjected to frontal and side impacts, as well as rollovers. And now the time has come for the most important moment, carried out according to the methodology of EuroNCAP - the leading European organization working on automobile safety issues. The experiment is a frontal collision with a deformable obstacle with 40% overlap at a speed of 64 km/h. The interior of the car was equipped with a whole family of mannequins: two adults in front, and two children of different ages in special seats in the back. Seat belts are naturally fastened.
So, the designers from the laboratory say goodbye briefly to the prototype and its “crew,” and then a warning signal is heard. The car, painted in metallic silver, accelerates and receives a terrible impact on an obstacle, after which it immediately bounces off the cube - it also took a lot of hits. Liquids are pouring out from under the flattened hood. From this moment on, the life of the test specimen ended and it was time to assess the level of damage.
According to Sergei Prokhorov, deputy director of engineering and head of the Lada-Priora project, the test produced the results that AVTOVAZ representatives were counting on. The airbags deployed in time, and the mannequins’ legs were not pinched with iron. Injury criteria did not approach the “dead zone” in any of the indicators. This is due in no small part to the reinforced body structure, which made it possible to reduce the destruction of the driver's cell and the displacement of the pedals with the steering column.
Before this “event,” a series of side crash tests were carried out, which gave the car 13 points according to the EuroNCAP method. According to the first ratings, Priora received 10.5 points, and after rounding up, the official result reached 24 points, which gives us a rating of 4 stars. None of the domestic copies had such a relatively high rating.
Despite the calculations, the domestic model looked simply terrible after testing, although this did not affect the “health” of the dummies. From the point of view of real people, they escaped with only minor injuries and fear. The driver's head was injured when it hit almost the center of the airbag with a small offset from it. Elements of the front panel slightly affected the chests of the driver and front passenger, which can also be said about the legs. And yet, belts with pretensioners and an airbag saved the lives of the “volunteers.”
The front part of the car was crushed almost to the windshield, and the cast disk of the left front wheel succumbed to deformation. Due to folds formed on the roof, the driver's door jammed. They managed to open it with a crowbar, but not on the first try.
The “Lux” package, as expected, turned out to be much more reliable in terms of safety than the regular “Norma”. According to the EuroNCAP methodology, the latter earned only 6.3 points. There is nothing surprising here, because the basic equipment of the car excludes additional safety elements. As a result, it turns out that neck protection is acceptable, which cannot be said about the head. This concerns critical consequences for the front passenger's feet. The plant management was concerned about the condition of the standard model and soon equipped it with a modernized shield and belts, but this did not add any significant benefit. In any case, the cheapest Priora is many times safer than the ancient Ten, which received only 2 points in 2005 using a similar method.
The competitors of the domestic car are quite well-known, but have been produced for a relatively long time. This applies to the previous generation Chevrolet Aveo, produced under the name ZAZ-Vida. In 2006, “Korean roots” earned only three stars or 17 points according to EuroNCAP. The safer Renault Logan car also received three stars in 2005, but two points more. The next opponent, ZAZ-Chance, acquired 17 points and two stars. The closest competitor in price and the safest in this case is KIA Rio, which earned 4 stars and the vaunted 29 points.
