- Design
- Salon
- Safety
- Engine
- Reliability
- Options
Until recently, car enthusiasts wondered whether it was better to choose a VAZ 2114 or a Lada Granta, because their price was approximately the same. At the same time, the 14th model has been tested by time and has established itself as a fairly reliable car, and the Lada Granta is a new car from AvtoVAZ with still unknown sores and shortcomings. In addition, you could go in and buy a VAZ 2114 at any car dealership, and you would have to wait a decent amount of time for the grant to become available.
Now this is more a question of the secondary market, since the VAZ 2114 was discontinued and only unsold copies remained. In this article we will analyze the pros and cons of both cars and forever close the question of which is better than the VAZ 2114 or the Grant.
What do you need to know if you want to buy a Lada Granta or VAZ-2114 on the secondary market?
Buying a used car on the secondary market is akin to completing a quest, playing hide and seek, or, as they say, going through thick and thin. We have already told you what needs to be done so that our purchase on the used car market does not become a disappointment for us. Now we want to draw attention to used cars that are popular on the Russian market: Lada Granta and VAZ-2114. We have collected important information about these cars so that you can highlight their pros and cons for yourself.
Before we begin our review of used cars that are in demand on the secondary market, please note that all information has been collected for informational purposes and is not a guide to action, and we are not trying to persuade you to purchase a particular car presented in the review. The choice, of course, is yours to make.
See also: Car killers: 10 car problems that are not worth fixing
We also wanted to note that all the data is based on reviews of car owners who publish private reviews on various forums and Internet sites about the experience of owning a car, and reviews of servicemen (including those who work in official dealer service stations). We also took into account the opinion of garage auto repairmen, whose experience and knowledge are sometimes even higher than those who work in well-known large auto repair centers.
In addition, you should know that the used car market in Russia is rapidly changing along with the new car market. Thus, market leaders have changed over the course of several years. Gradually, domestic automobile brands occupy leading positions in the Russian market, despite the people's love for foreign cars. But the reality is that people are forced to switch to domestic cars due to the fact that they simply cannot afford many foreign cars. Moreover, this happens both in the new and secondary car markets. Therefore, we decided to start with a review of domestic cars, and then continue with foreign cars.
What to look for when buying a used Lada Granta
It is clear that if you are going to buy this used Russian car, then most likely your budget leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, despite the fact that this is a good car for the money, in most cases this model is not purchased for a good life.
Naturally, when money is limited, then buying a Lada Granta on the secondary market is akin to walking through a minefield. After all, in the event of an unsuccessful purchase, it will be doubly offensive to spend money and receive a problematic car that requires large investments. How can this be avoided? What should you pay attention to?
Firstly, let us remind you that the Lada Granta recently underwent a restyling (update), receiving a fresher appearance. This, naturally, led to the fact that pre-restyling models became slightly cheaper on the secondary market and will become even cheaper as restyled models hit the secondary market.
We advise you to look for a car with a liftback body, since this way there is less risk of running into a taxi car with low mileage. This Granta body is rarely used in taxi fleets.
Safety
Safety has become practically the main task of the automotive industry in Russia relatively recently, needless to say that the VAZ 2114 was designed in the USSR, where such a car as the Oka was produced, that is, they practically did not think about safety, read as at all.
These are not only airbags and good seat belts, the very molding of the body of the Lada Granta is designed to contain an impact, watch the crash tests of both cars and see for yourself. Good rear-view mirrors, ABS and acceptable front light - this is again about the grant.
Body
The biggest headache for any Lada Granta owner is, of course, body corrosion, which does not spare any car. Unfortunately, no matter how hard AvtoVAZ tried, they could not overcome the rapid rusting of cars. For example, samples of cars from 2014-2015, judging by reviews on the Internet, showed signs of rust already in the first year of owning a new car.
Design
The external design of the VAZ 2114 is infinitely outdated; angular body shapes have not been used in the foreign automotive industry since the 90s, although this greatly reduces the cost of production. Against its background, the Lada Granta looks like a much more recent, modern car, although the design itself does not shine with originality and beauty, it will definitely not be looked back at, which can sometimes be a huge plus.
But let’s not forget about repairs; body repairs on a VAZ 2114 will cost much less due to the simplicity of the shapes and lines; craftsmen will not have to create the complex rounded shapes inherent in modern cars and the Lada Granta, in particular.
Motor
According to service technicians, when purchasing, you should pay attention to the complex 16-valve engine, which, although improved compared to the old indestructible 8-valve engines, still has a number of problems due to the complexity of the design.
See also: Top 7 problems of the restyled Lada Granta
First, be sure to measure compression during inspection. In no case should it be less than 11 bar. Ideally it should be 12 bar. The difference between the cylinders should not be more than 0.5-0.6 bar.
Transmission
Also, when inspecting, pay attention to the transmission, which during a test drive should operate without any extraneous sounds or grinding noises. Place special emphasis on reverse gear, which should engage without a crash.
Check whether the clutch pedal is fully depressed. Be sure to pay attention to the operation of the gearbox synchronizers when moving forward, especially in 2nd gear, which most often wears out on these cars (second gear synchronizer).
Lada Granta equipped with different gearboxes
Manual transmission is gradually becoming a thing of the past, which is why even Lada cars have long had new gearboxes. Specifically, the Lada Granta Restyle for 2021 is equipped with three types of transmissions - mechanical, automatic and robotic. The boxes are not bad and have few flaws. If owners complain about something, the problem is promptly corrected.
Mechanics
The plant did not reinvent the wheel and decided to follow the old tradition - to modernize the old transmission, which first appeared on the VAZ-2109.
Checkpoint "Lada Granta"
First, the modernized box received the index 2180 and was a modified version with rods from the “nine”. After this, the manufacturer decided to keep up with the times and make a cable box, which received the index 2181. The box turned out to be good, despite the unsuccessful start. All shortcomings of this version of the transmission were promptly corrected. Some argue that the new gearbox on the Grant is an old one, given over to be torn to pieces by Renault, but this is far from the case.
It’s clear that when the cable gearbox came out, the price of the car went up a little. However, AvtoVAZ claims that this type of transmission is the future.
They're right, but the new box had flaws. The first revision turned out to be extremely unsuccessful, and the owners bombarded the company with negative reviews - they noted increased noise levels and lower reliability. All problems were promptly eliminated, but many people were left with an unpleasant aftertaste.
Pros:
- transition to cables;
- reduction of vibrations of the gearshift knob and extraneous sounds;
- good clarity of gear shifting;
- reducing the volume of oil poured.
The box has acquired a certain reliability due to the cables.
The downside is that the manufacturer tries to save on everything. Therefore, the metal of the gears does not differ in quality, and they lick off. There is a risk of failure of the cable drive, but it is small. Despite the absence of vibrations in the handle, the Grant's gearbox began to howl. The howling occurs precisely because of the low precision of gear processing and there is no way to constructively eliminate the defect. The plant equipment does not allow processing with the required accuracy.
Machine
A Jatco four-speed automatic transmission is offered as an automatic transmission on the Granta sedan and liftback. This transmission model, unlike the manual transmission and the “robot”, is unremarkable. The same transmission model is supplied to the Datsun foreign car.
Automatic transmission "Lada Granta"
One of the advantages is that it is an automatic on a Lada. Good acceleration dynamics, confident shifting, durability, simplicity of design. Oil can be poured and is inexpensive.
Of the minuses - 4 gears are clearly not enough, increased fuel consumption. In Drive mode, there are increased vibrations at idle.
Robot
As in the case of mechanics, the robotic gearbox on the Grant was modernized, the new version is called AMT-2.0. The owners speak very warmly about this type of transmission and the 5 AMT gearbox on the Grant is the best.
Among its advantages are its price, fast and predictable shifts, the presence of engine braking, fuel economy, and crawling mode.
The creeping mode saves a lot of energy in a traffic jam. When the brake is released, the car moves smoothly at a speed of 5-10 km/h, allowing you to operate only with this pedal. It is definitely worth the overpayment of 25 thousand rubles.
Of the minuses, it is worth noting the resource, like most cheap robots. Subjectively, some people do not like the basic mode of the robot - they have to constantly drive in “sport” mode. Also, when starting up a hill in reverse, the car will roll forward a little. The speed sensor shows slightly low values.
Suspension
The suspension of the Lada Granta is quite reliable and durable (what else is needed on Russian roads?). Nevertheless, you shouldn’t expect any outstanding mileage from it, like, for example, on Toyota cars. Also keep in mind that the suspension of the Lada Granta is quite stiff and noisy.
There are also complaints about the front struts, which become noisy even with low mileage.
Electrics
The owners of this car are very fond of “tuning” the car by installing amplifiers, amplifiers, LED bulbs, alarms, etc. Unfortunately, very often they do all this on their own. Sometimes it’s wrong, damaging the car’s single electrical circuit, which already tends to fail.
So it would be a good idea to check the car’s electrical system before purchasing.
Minuses
With frequent active driving, the gears “die” and the gearshift lever simply stops locking in the selected position. There is also a defect in the gearbox gears, which fall apart.
Gearbox howl, which AvtoVAZ engineers could not eliminate
Poor directional stability (the car starts to roll along the road at speed)
Body corrosion
See also: Five answers to questions about the new 2021 Lada Granta
Bottom line. As we have already said, when choosing a used Lada Granta, pay attention to all the important components of the car. It is advisable that the mileage of the car does not exceed 85 thousand km (honest). Also check the car in the taxi database. And, of course, before giving the buyer money, do a comprehensive diagnostic of the car. Never buy a car based on its appearance unless you want to buy a pig in a poke.
What to look for when buying a used VAZ-2114 Lada Samara
At the end of 2013, a historical event took place in Russia - the last VAZ-2114 (Lada Samara-2) rolled off the AvtoVAZ assembly line. It was replaced by the modern Lada Granta. In general, the family of all-wheel drive cars of the Lada Samara series has been produced on the domestic market for more than 30 years.
See also: Lada has crossed the 1 million ruble mark in the “basic” configuration
Let us recall that the Lada Samara-2 VAZ-2114 replaced the VAZ-2109, which was produced since 1987. VAZ-2114 debuted on the market in 1998.
It is worth noting that with the change of generations, a technical revolution did not occur. In principle, purely technically, the VAZ-2114 is the same VAZ-2109, with the exception of a new steering rack and front brakes, which the 14th received from the VAZ-2110. The car also received a 1.5-liter engine with distributed fuel injection and an upgraded manual transmission. Everything else is the usual external and internal restyling.
Engines and transmissions
If the body of the Lada 2114 was practically not modernized throughout the entire period of production of the car, then the line of engines evolved quite intensively. At first, a 77-horsepower injection engine from a VAZ 2111 with a volume of 1.55 liters was installed on the hatchback, which had good efficiency, but was rather weak. Strictly speaking, it was a copy of a VAZ carburetor engine equipped with an injection system. Soon it was replaced with a more powerful 1.6-liter analogue, developing 5 more “horses”. Its main feature was compliance with Euro 3 standards (due to the presence of a catalytic converter).
A year later, this engine also became history, and it was replaced by an 89-horsepower sixteen-valve engine. The latest modification of the “four” was equipped with a Priora 98-horsepower engine, so powerful that they began to install it on classics.
Of course, the gearbox was only mechanical - no robots, much less automatic machines, were dreamed of on such cars - this was the prerogative of much higher-class cars.
But then Granta came and the situation changed. Here we can already talk about a full line of engines.
The base engine is a 1.6-liter 87-horsepower eight-valve engine, which is mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
It is complemented by a sixteen-valve analogue, developing 98 horsepower, which is paired with a four-speed Japanese Jatco automatic transmission.
The top-of-the-range Granta power unit is considered to be a 106-speed 1.6-liter engine, which is installed in cars with a manual or robotic gearbox. The latter, by the way, performed very well, which was facilitated by a change in the gear ratio of the main gearbox to 3.9:1 - acceleration to hundreds became a little faster, and gear shifts became clearer. AMT now has a “creeping” mode, which comes in very handy when driving in city traffic jams. A “Start” button has appeared, allowing you to switch much faster.
In general, a comparison of the engines of the VAZ 2114 and Grant allows us to determine a clear winner - the Lada Granta is ahead by a large margin.
Motor
Initially, the VAZ-2114 received a 1.5-liter 8-valve engine. In 2007, it was replaced by a 1.6-liter eight-valve engine with a similar design. The advantage of these engines is that if for some reason the timing belt breaks, the engine valves do not meet the pistons. And this is important, since timing belt breakage on this model is not uncommon. Moreover, even with a short mileage after replacing the belt.
The engines are quite reliable and can run up to 350-400 thousand km without problems. By the way, do not be alarmed by the knocking of valves when the engine is running. This sound exists even with absolutely serviceable engines. The culprit is the valve tappets, which sit too high in their seats. Damn, design feature. By the way, this engine requires scheduled valve adjustment every 45 thousand km. However, in practice, most car owners do not do this. Unfortunately, despite the reliability of the motor, due to the nature of the cooling system, engines are prone to overheating.
What to choose: VAZ 2114 or Grant
In fact, the question only depends on your budget: if you have enough money to purchase a Granta in a minimal configuration, the choice is clear. And the point is not only that in almost all indicators Grant is ahead, and significantly so - in any case, you are buying a new car. This means that in the coming years you won’t have to think about where to get money for unscheduled repairs.
In the case of a used Lada Samara, this option is most likely. But if the main thing for you is that the car just drives, then the VAZ 2114 will be a good alternative to its competitor - in terms of efficiency it is quite a bit inferior, and in terms of maintainability it is a cut above, and the cost of spare parts is about two or three times lower.
Box
The weakest link of the manual transmission is the domestic clutch kit. Therefore, if you don’t want headaches, buy foreign analogues.
Don't be alarmed by the loud noise of the 5-speed manual transmission. Unfortunately, the manufacturing quality of the gears and synchronizers of the VAZ-2114 gearbox was not very good; they howled even on new cars. As on the Lada Grant, wear of the second gear (synchronizers) occurs most quickly in the gearbox.
See also: What you need to keep an eye on in your car to avoid major breakdowns in the future
Service technicians advise regularly monitoring the oil level in the gearbox and, if there is a shortage of oil, adding even more than the nominal value.
Options
Lada Granta has such modern, pleasant options as:
- Air conditioner.
- Daylight.
- Spacious trunk.
- Electric power steering.
- Anti-lock braking system with emergency brake assist.
- Automatic transmission.
- Immobilizer.
- Electronic brake force distribution system.
- Height-adjustable steering column.
- Cabin air filter.
- Light window tinting.
The options of the VAZ 2114 pale in comparison and do not seem like something useful, because what difference does it make - what is the temperature if there is a stove and air conditioning.
Of course, everyone chooses their own, Lada Granta or VAZ 2114, but in all respects the Granta is a much more correct choice these days.
Suspension
The suspension of the VAZ-2114 is the same chassis that you will find in the VAZ-2109. So the more modern VAZ-2114 has a certain reliability of the “nine” suspension. But, unfortunately, at the same time, the 14th model also adopted all the childhood sores of the chassis due to design features.
For example, in the VAZ-2114, as in the VAZ-2109, it is still not uncommon for rubber to peel off from the upper shock absorber mounts. Also, do not expect reliability from the aluminum brace brackets, which will burst very quickly from impacts. Fortunately, the supports are usually replaced with imported analogues, which, fortunately, are abundant on the market. Also, instead of aluminum brackets, you can install steel ones. In principle, these are all common problems with the VAZ-2114 chassis. There are no complaints about the ball ones. They travel 80-100 thousand km without any problems. Yes, of course, the original shock absorbers on a VAZ-2114 can leak quite quickly. But they can be replaced with imported analogues, and you will forget about this problem.
The steering rack usually runs 60 thousand km without any problems. Then the knocking starts. But this is usually solved by tightening the steering rack adjusting nut, and you will forget about the steering until 100 thousand km, where you will have to change the steering rods.
Salon
What a car looks like from the outside does not always bother the average car user; comfort inside is much more important. Here, too, the Lada Granta is clearly ahead. Modern materials, non-creaky plastic, comfortable seats - all this is about the grant. The interior design of the VAZ 2114 itself is as angular as the outer part of the car, huge buttons and circular stove control levers look very depressing and poor these days.
Although the Samara also has some advantages in terms of functionality, for example, it has engine and outside air temperature sensors on the instrument panel, the grant decided to save money on this. The low seating position of the seat itself in the 14 may also appeal to many people.
Electrics
Here, too, the VAZ-2114 took away all the sores from the VAZ-2109. Also, the condition of the car’s electrical system determines how the owner treated the car. If he got into the electrics, connecting various electrical equipment, doing everything unprofessionally, then by buying such a car, you risk getting a whole bunch of electrical problems, headaches and dooming yourself to huge expenses. So when inspecting the car, be sure to diagnose all electrical equipment. And don’t mess with a car that has undergone electrical tuning.
