Representatives of AvtoVAZ recently stated that the company has no plans to revive the Zhiguli. However, now its development has stalled a bit: it needs to significantly expand its model range, if only in order to load the capacity of three car plants at once – in Togliatti, Izhevsk and the Leningrad Region (former Nissan enterprise). And this must be done as soon as possible. All three companies are currently making significant losses.
AvtoVAZ by June should start production of the new X-cross 5 crossover, which is a complete copy of the Chinese FAW Bestune T77. But this model is not able to at least bring the car plant near St. Petersburg to zero. The latter is supported at least by the fact that the Chinese prototype has never been in high demand either at home or in Russia. And it is unlikely that the new X-cross 5 will be more popular than its prototype. In this regard, AvtoVAZ really needs to expand its lineup. Moreover, perhaps the Russian company will really decide on the revival of the cars that it produced in the distant past. This will help to quickly attract the attention of a wide audience to the new products being developed.
Therefore, the new VAZ-2109 2023-2024 may soon enter the Russian market. True, as the domestic designer showed in his renderings, this model will in no way resemble a Soviet car. First of all, the new VAZ-2109 will receive a completely different body. As conceived by the author of the renderings, the future car will be presented in the form of a crossover with an elongated and coupe-shaped body. A similar format was previously introduced by Citroen on the new C5 X, which has become one of the main discoveries of the European market in 2022.
VAZ-2109, like the French model, combines the advantages of three types of cars at once. The presented novelty will offer the dynamics characteristic of sedans. At the same time, it has a high ground clearance and landing, which is typical of crossovers. And the elongated body increases the space not only in the cabin, but also in the trunk. This, in turn, is typical for station wagons. As a result, the VAZ-2109 will turn out to be a fairly passable, roomy, dynamic and comfortable car. In fact, the presented model is one of the most versatile machines that can enter the Russian market.
At the same time, the new VAZ-2109 2023-2024 will be offered at a relatively low price. Recently, Russian experts suggested that AvtoVAZ will attract technologies and designs from its Chinese partner FAW to develop its model range. This solution will help in a relatively short time to process the entire range of products and at relatively low cost. However, the change of platform will lead to the fact that AvtoVAZ will abandon the current corporate design. That is, the VAZ-2109 crossover, presented on published renders, may well enter the Russian market in this form.
But the transition to the Chinese platform should not lead to a significant increase in the cost of cars. This directly comes from the statements of AvtoVAZ representatives. They promised that the company would continue to work on increasing the localization of car production. At least the assembly of power plants and transmissions will definitely be adjusted at the Togliatti Automobile Plant. This confirms the assumption made above: the VAZ-2109 crossover will be a relatively affordable car. Probably, its price will not exceed 2.5 million rubles, which is not much for such a car in the current conditions. So, the more compact Lada X-cross 5 is now estimated at 1.9-2.2 million rubles.
Most likely, the new VAZ-2109 2023-2024, at least for the first time, will be produced with VAZ engines. Given that the car is large in size, a 1.8-liter “atmospheric” engine will be placed under its hood. Moreover, before the launch of the production of the presented model, this unit can be upgraded. They started talking about it in 2022. Then there was information that AvtoVAZ was going to increase the output of the 1.8-liter engine to 130 hp. and more. The design of this motor allows you to increase power. Until recently, AvtoVAZ produced sports Vesta, which was equipped with a 145-horsepower modification of a 1.8-liter engine.
As a gearbox with this unit, most likely, only a Chinese variator will be offered. Although it is possible that over time, a 7-speed “robot” with dual clutch will be adapted for this motor. The appearance of a VAZ-2109 with a manual transmission is unlikely. AvtoVAZ a few years ago (before the crisis) announced that Russian motorists began to buy Lada cars with automatics more often. Most likely, the main audience of future owners of the VAZ-2109 will be just drivers who prefer cars with automatic transmission.
But the list of options for the presented novelty will definitely be borrowed from FAW. By the time the production of this crossover is launched, AvtoVAZ will probably not be able to find suppliers of all the necessary equipment among domestic companies. This means that, depending on the version, the new VAZ-2109 2023-2024 will be equipped with rear or all-round cameras, multimedia with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, climate, virtual instrument panel, lane control assistant, cruise (the adaptive crossover will not receive ), electronic parking brake and other options.
The timing of the debut of the presented model is still unknown. In the event that cooperation between AvtoVAZ and FAW develops rapidly, the VAZ-2109 will debut no earlier than 2025. Such a long wait is largely due to the fact that the car will be built on the basis of a new platform, under which it is necessary to adapt production facilities in Togliatti or Izhevsk.
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