Sino-Russian cooperation
Now that Renault has pulled its hands off Lada, the Russian car brand has to get its new models from somewhere else. Lada looks to Russia and puts its own badges on a Chinese crossover. This is Lada X-Cross 5. We were able to show it to you before, but it is now experiencing its official digital debut.
Lada has a history full of models that are not actually Lada at all. Just think of the 1200/1300 series (VAZ-2101) based on the Fiat 124, which resulted in the Riva family (2104, 2105, 2107 etc.) built on the same basis. Even today there are various models of Lada that the brand has not developed entirely itself. We mention the X-Ray and Largus, models that are on the platform of the first generation Dacia Sandero. Although Lada also supplies self-developed cars (Niva Legend, Niva Travel and Granta), it prefers to look to a partner for the development of new cars. That used to be Renault Group, but it can no longer rely on that large pillar. So what does Lada do? Exactly: it looks at China.
Lada X Cross 5
Lada has now released the first official plates of the X-Cross 5, a car that is just as little Lada as the Lada Largus, which is after all nothing more than a Dacia Logan MCV that Lada has put its own badges on. Lada follows almost exactly the same path for the X-Cross 5, although it does not pull a Logan MCV from the Renault/Dacia warehouse, but a Bestune T77 (photos 7 to 10) from the shelves of the Chinese FAW. Both the interior and exterior have remained unchanged down to almost the smallest detail.
The original: the Bestune T77.
For Lada, taking over the Bestune T77 is a special step. Not only is it the first time that it has added a basically Chinese model to its model range, but the X-Cross 5 has instantly become the most modern Lada ever. It has things like a digital set of instruments, a large display in the center console and can even park itself independently. A digital assistant you can talk to? From the party. Yes, in a Lada. Just like the original, the Lada X-Cross 5 is 4.53 meters long, making the model comparable in format to, say, a Kia Sportage or Nissan Qashqai. Under the hood is a 1.5 four-cylinder turbo engine with just under 160 hp, which is connected to a seven-speed automatic transmission. An active lane assist, adaptive high beam, a panoramic roof and various other passive and active driver assistance systems are all present.
What else is in the bubbling Lada barrel? Including new C and even D segmenters, it turns out. Lada says it intends to start production of “up to 10,000 cars from the C and D segment annually” in 2024 and speaks, among other things, about the arrival of a large sedan. It is also striking that Lada will assemble this X-Cross 5 itself in Lada’s factory in St. Petersburg, which was taken over from Nissan, before cars such as the Qashqai and X-Trail were produced until recently.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl