More and more Ukrainians are switching their budget (and not very budgetary too!) Cars to liquefied gas, wishing to save more personal funds. From time to time, factory versions of bi-fuel cars appear. Today's novelty is doubly interesting - this car is domestic!

It is always interesting and pleasant to try out a new Ukrainian product (even if this time we have only a new modification of a well-known car). After all, patriotism and the desire to support the domestic producer in this case are supported by a very democratic price.

Good friend

Well known to Ukrainian buyers, because it has been produced for more than three years. Our cherry gasified "Vida" outwardly hardly differs from their gasoline counterparts. Only an attentive eye can notice the filler neck in the lower right edge of the rear bumper, but the big yellow triangular sticker on the rear window gives the secret of our car one hundred percent.

Modesty adorns

The interior of the car is also no different from the petrol version. The same high seating position, the same chairs with a short cushion, the same high-quality assembled panels and the same not the softest plastic for them ...

The bi-fuel "Vida" exists only in the middle Comfort configuration, which includes a driver's airbag, fastenings for Isofix child seats, air conditioning, steering wheel height adjustment, power accessories, heated rear window and side mirrors and so on. Note that on a long journey, the passengers of the test car were very lacking in music, although for the real newly-made owners you can rather be happy.

Although the Comfort package does not provide for a radio tape recorder, it includes an audio preparation, which consists of four installed speakers and an antenna with appropriate wiring. Obviously, given the wide range of potential buyers of our brand, the manufacturer left everyone here freedom of choice: someone will buy a simple media receiver “for a USB flash drive”, and someone is ready to fork out for a 2-DIN media center with a color display, navigator, Bluetooth, etc. ...

You can distinguish the gas version of the "Views" from the passenger compartment only by the round "tablet" of the LPG control panel, which, by the way, is not located in the most convenient place - to the left of the steering column, and to see it you must either turn the steering wheel to the side or bend over to the left of the steering wheel. However, moving this remote control to another place most likely will not be difficult, the main thing is to coordinate this moment with the dealership to maintain the factory warranty for the car and LPG in particular.

Gas control is intuitive for those who have ever driven a car with LPG. If a green diode is on from above, then we are driving on gas, and when it flashes, the car temporarily uses gasoline as fuel and will soon switch to gas (after the engine warms up to a temperature of about 60 degrees). When constantly driving on gasoline, when this fuel is deliberately selected by the driver (for example, if the gas cylinder is empty), this indicator lights up permanently. Indicators in the lower hemisphere indicate the amount of propane-butane mixture in the tank.

It is gratifying that your humble servant, with a height of 183 cm, easily fit into the driver's seat, while he also had enough space in the gallery. The backrests of the second row can be folded in a 60/40 ratio only from the passenger compartment. A large and roomy trunk (400 liters in the stowed position) has a regular, almost rectangular shape, which allows you to conveniently place not only relatively shapeless bags, but also quite bulky boxes. Since a toroidal gas cylinder was hidden under the floor, the spare tire was replaced with an ultra-small "dock".

She, by the way, found a good place - on the left side of the luggage compartment. But the place for the filling valve of the gas cylinder was not chosen so well - it quickly gets dirty due to its location near the road and the rear wheel, which throws water and mud onto the neck. But to place the valve under the gas tank flap, as is done on Lanos or Logan, Vida did not succeed in view of the unsuitable material of the platform that surrounds the gasoline neck.

Moving on, paying less

We sit down behind the wheel of a sedan more comfortably, because we have a long way to go - the final destination is Lutsk (locals claim that Lubart's castle is especially beautiful in the color of apricots and cherries), and we go to the gas station. Doubting crew members suggested, in addition to a full tank of gas (from empty to cutoff, 36 liters turned out, about 15% of the cylinder volume was left undirected for the gaseous propane-butane fraction) to refuel with gasoline (after all, more than 400 km in one direction).

Of course, we refueled with gasoline, but not for insurance, but so that the engine could use it for a short time every time the engine was started. Departure from the metropolis fell on Friday "liberation of Kiev", so in front of the free and flat Lviv highway had to twitch a couple of tens of kilometers through traffic jams. Despite the mechanical transmission "Vidy", the well-balanced engine and gearbox allowed to switch infrequently in tamper, and the air conditioner saved from the abnormal April heat.

On the track, the car behaves well, does not scour the road, even in the presence of waves does not try to leave the course. Although the power tests "Kinds" show some difference in "horses" on gas and gasoline, it is not noticeable on the go. Ahead of trucks and buses, often you don't even have to shift to lower gears - the power reserve is enough to quickly accelerate from 100 to 120 km / h. Engine power reserve (84 hp on gasoline)more than enough to drive along one of the best Ukrainian highways: no matter how hard we tried to adhere to the 110 km / h mark permissible by the road traffic rules, the arrow crawled inexorably up.

Now about the most interesting thing - about fuel consumption. Taking into account driving through traffic jams, transit wandering along Exactly and high-speed throw on the highway (rarely dropping below 110 km / h), the calculator showed us a consumption of 9 liters per “hundred”. A striking and quite worthy example of the combined cycle consumption for a 1.5-liter engine, not burdened with supernovae and super-complex systems. On the way back, these indicators became even more pleasant - 8.9 liters per 100 kilometers.

It should be noted that our car has not yet been run-in, and when driving on regional roads at a lower speed, fuel efficiency will be even more interesting. Driving on gasoline will save you from 0.8 to 1 liter per “hundred”, depending on the mode (highway / city), but the price of fuel differs by more than 60%!

As for the cost of the car, our "Vida" will cost the buyer UAH 281,750. The same equipment, but exclusively on gasoline, costs UAH 279,300. This difference of 2000 hryvnia will pay off in just a month and a half.

We must take!

According to the editorial board, with such a price and fuel efficiency, the bi-fuel ZAZ Vida will soon become a real killer of a purely gasoline modification. Judge for yourself: the cost of fuel is less, when both tanks are filled, the mileage is almost doubled - some advantages!

The technical side of the issue

ZAZ has installed fourth-generation gas equipment of the Italian brand BRC. It is interesting that the engine control unit, produced and developed in Ukraine, is common for both gasoline and gas - on other cars, these are usually two separate devices. The heart of the LPG is the gas reducer - also from the BRC company, the gas injectors are installed by the pan¬jet, and the 43-liter toroidal cylinder is from Certools.

When a seasoned motorist hears this name - ZAZ Vida - a certain dissonance and work of thought is always reflected on his face: he seems to hear something "Zaporozhye-like", but he sees a second-generation Chevrolet Aveo (the one with the internal factory index T250). That's right, production of this global model started in Zaporozhye in 2012, immediately after the third generation Aveo entered the market.

In Russia, the car was shown at MIAS-2012, but as expected, it “did not go” due to the abundance of more attractive competitors in the segment, and after the aggravation of relations between the countries, it completely disappeared from sale. But the site has always remained outside geopolitics and never limited themselves to cars officially presented on the Russian market, so they gladly agreed to the offer to test Vida.

Moreover, there is an informational occasion: at the beginning of 2016, ZAZ Vida with factory gas equipment appeared in the price list of Ukrainian dealers. Let's check how much more budgetary the novelty will be and who will fit the "right" (and not handicraft) B-class sedan with gas ...

Just a sedan

The appearance of the sedan is conducive to complacency: straight lines of the body, smooth lines of optics, door handles for a natural grip in traditional places, a straight trunk lid. Thanks to its versatile shapes, the car is popular with buyers of various categories: practical residents of the province, novice drivers, young girls, taxi drivers and couriers. But the main advantages of "Vida" in the eyes of the aforementioned public are its proven reputation and democratic price.

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Externally, a car from Zaporozhye can be distinguished from the Chevrolet Aveo itself only by the emblems on the radiator grille and the trunk lid, by the nameplate and branded caps with stylized "dominoes" of the DniproGES. Our gas-cylinder modification is additionally “designated” by the filling valve located on the right “corner” of the rear bumper and by an informative (or rather advertising) yellow triangle on the rear window with the inscription “Gas”.

Everything is in place

Open the central lock with the good old key (it also fits the ignition lock), we get into the salon. The driver's door swings wide open, and, in fact, no one has complained about the convenience of getting into the Aveo and Vida over the years of their production - no matter how large the driver is.

It was also not difficult to adjust the chair for yourself, despite the absence of electric drives. Visibility by today's standards is decent, although due to the rather high stern in the salon mirror, less reflection is reflected than we would like. Fortunately, the side mirrors make up for all the "undetected".

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As shown by a long journey of several hundred kilometers, due to the short cushion of the front seats, the driver and passenger began to feel numb already halfway through the journey. We solved the problem by gymnastics and drinking tea at gas stations - despite the fact that then at the gas station we "refueled" only ourselves, the car easily had a gas cylinder for the whole journey one way.

The back seat easily accommodated three passengers of average height, they could experience discomfort only in the knee area, provided that a tall person sat in front.

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The luggage compartment is roomy enough, in the stowed position its volume is 400 liters. You can increase this value by folding the backs of the second row. An important point that their enemies usually reproach "gas" cars: the "spare" place under the boot floor is really occupied by a toroidal LPG cylinder. But the car from the factory is equipped with a compact "dock", which the manufacturer has cleverly attached so that it does not make an eyesore: vertically in the left wing, like in classic "Zhiguli". Thus, losses for usable volume are minimal.

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The equipment of the tested car is not entirely unambiguous. In the only complete set for a bi-fuel car, there is a driver's airbag, and electric adjustment and heating of mirrors, and air conditioning, and front power windows, but even a simple head unit for the audio system was not installed. Although the audio preparation is present - four speakers and a standard antenna are already in place and are just waiting for the owner to install the radio (you can install both a budget radio and a "head" with a large 2 DIN display in a niche - there is enough space).

Ergonomics issues are worked out well, only the gas control unit, located on the left, behind the wheel, is knocked out of the general well-being. To see the amount of remaining propane on it, you need to either tilt your head, distracting from the road, or slightly turn the steering wheel. And there are no questions about managing the system, everything is automated as much as possible. The electronics itself turns on the supply of gasoline at each start (this is necessary for the "prevention" of gasoline injectors) and itself switches the power to gas as the engine warms up (or a few seconds after the start, if it is already hot). The driver only has to select the type of fuel by pressing a button, and the system remembers his choice and does not need to inform about it every time the engine is started.

Is there a difference?

Our test subject took place in a large metropolis and on a long journey along a flat multi-lane highway. Having filled the bottle with propane-butane “under the neck” (36 liters of gas entered the 43-liter torus before the pistol was fired) and a little gasoline, we set off. The 1.5-liter petrol "eight-valve" with its 84 hp, which has already proven itself on Lanos \\ Chance. from. does not show any outrageous dynamic and economic results, but it works quietly and calmly.

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I must say that the difference in power on the move is almost invisible. By the way, the results of measurements carried out on a dynamometer stand by Ukrainian colleagues confirm my subjective feelings - on gas the car loses no more than five "horses", while retaining the ability to pull from low revs. On gas, ZAZ seemed to me a little more elastic, but on gasoline - sharper. At a cruising speed of 110-120 km / h, the cabin is quiet (the absence of "music" in the test car made it possible to perfectly listen to all aerodynamic sounds). But in rainy weather and when driving on a dirt road, the sound insulation of the wheel arches is insufficient, as for me.

Power steering can be described as mediocre informative, at high speed I would like a more accurate steering. The suspension of the Ukrainian sedan is traditional for its class, independent at the front with MacPherson struts, and at the rear - a semi-independent beam with a torsion effect. It is gratifying that on not always smooth roads the suspension has shown itself to be knocked down, elastic and, to a certain extent, comfortable. Speed \u200b\u200bbumps, medium-sized bumps are overcome with little noise, but the impacts before the breakdown respond in the cabin quite loudly, although almost no concussions are transmitted to the body.

The tested car is equipped with gas equipment from the Italian manufacturer BRC, this is the so-called fourth generation of LPG - with electronically controlled gas injection through special nozzles into the intake manifold. It is unusual that the electronic control unit was produced and developed in Ukraine, besides, it is common for gasoline and gas - on other cars, these are usually two separate devices.

Economic justification

The most interesting thing is fuel consumption and economic feasibility of using LPG on this car. Actually, there is no doubt about it - at least in the homeland of this car.

So, at Kiev prices, a liter of "95" gasoline costs 21 hryvnia (about 55 rubles), and a liter of liquefied gas - only 7.7 hryvnia (about 20 rubles). The difference is almost threefold!

Of course, in mixed mode, the gas consumption is about a liter higher (7.9 liters of gas versus 6.8 liters of gasoline per 100 km), but the difference in the cost of the two types of fuel covers this "overspending". The surcharge for LPG for a sedan in the Comfort configuration at today's price situation will pay off in a few months.

Those who have previously operated a car with "gas" will appreciate the fact that LPG is installed on this Vida from the factory. This means that the factory warranty applies to the gas equipment and that you will not need to travel to a specialized service station to service it.

Anti-crisis option

If a factory modification of the ZAZ Vida with LPG appeared a few years earlier, when the purchasing power of the population was higher and the popularity of propane-butane in the local market was already at a high level, such a sedan would have expected an impressive success. Today, when buyers count every penny, Ukrainians more often buy used cars and equip them with LPG on their own. Will the "gasified" Vida be able to compete with them? We will see you soon!

Our company carries out the selection and installation of gas equipment for all types of both domestic and foreign cars. In principle, everything is limited only by the design features of a particular model, however, our masters do everything competently and accurately. The emphasis is on safety, which is why we use only certified and tested equipment.

Tell me, if I want to install a gas system on a car in your organization, do I need to buy the necessary equipment myself?

At AvtoGaz, all work is carried out on a turnkey basis, and therefore the customer does not need to buy anything - all equipment is purchased by our specialists centrally, from trusted suppliers. Moreover, we not only install the equipment, but also carry out its customization, so the car owner receives a completely finished and complete car. We also give a long-term quality guarantee for all work performed, and therefore there is no doubt about the safety and durability of the equipment.

I have a small car, I want to switch to gas, but there is very little space in the trunk. If I install HBO, then nothing will fit in my car. Is there a way to solve this problem?

We have come across such situations more than once and can assure that we will definitely find a way out. Here we are mainly talking about the location of the balloon, which is quite voluminous. However, for such cases, we offer a special toroidal tank that can be installed in the spare wheel well. There are absolutely no difficulties here, since such a cylinder does not use the space of the cabin and trunk. It is completely invisible to the eyes, so feel free to come to us, and we will install the LPG system accurately and quickly.

How much does the design of the car change when installing LPG? Is there any damage to the engine?

Starting with the 2nd generation LPG, the structural changes that are made to the car are minimal, while the safety of the car remains very high. Here, an electromagnetic valve is installed in the rupture of the fuel line, which turns off the gasoline supply. All equipment that we install is optional, so at any time it can be removed and reinstalled on another car. As for the effect on the internal combustion engine, nothing bad is observed here, since modern LPG systems have a sparing effect on the engine.

Why should I put gas on?

Reduced fuel costs

Primarily to reduce fuel costs. With the available price per liter of gasoline (30 rubles-35 rubles), gas equipment pays off in the shortest possible time. The more "voracious" the car, the higher the payback rate. The calculation of the LPG payback specifically for your car can be found in the table below or calculated on our calculator.

Reliability on the road

The gas system is a back-up fuel system, which makes the vehicle more reliable. If one of the fuel systems fails, you can always use the working one and get to the place of repair. It is also useful that on two tanks the range is increased without refueling.

Sustainability

Save nature. Gas fuel is much more environmentally friendly than gasoline. The exhaust gas toxicity is reduced in the following order:

• carbon monoxide (CO) - 2-3 times;
• nitric oxide - 1.2 times;
• hydrocarbon (CH) - 1.3-1.9 times.

After installing LPG, can I switch and go on gasoline?

Yes, we are installing a special device that allows us to shut off the gas supply at any time and, if necessary, switch to work from gasoline. Thus, the customer receives unique advantages, which lie in the possibility of using both petrol and gas.

I heard that after installing LPG on some cars valves can burn out? Is it true or not?

If the gas-air mixture continues to burn at the moment of opening the exhaust-type valves, then the valve very often overheats, which leads to its premature wear. To prevent this from happening, it is important to timely adjust the valves and correctly regulate the gas supply (system setting). Gas as fuel has nothing to do with this process, since the valves burn out even if the car is running on gasoline.

The difference between the two gases should be noted right away: methane is natural gas, which is compressed in a car to a level of 200-220 atmospheres, and propane is a liquefied gas that is transported under a pressure of 10-15 atmospheres. Due to such a strong difference in pressure, different cylinders are required here, however, for safety, it is best to install LPG with propane operation. Such cylinders have a smaller wall thickness, and therefore are lighter in weight. It should also be noted that methane is measured in cubic meters and propane is measured in liters.

And f

The men who gathered in Izhevsk also received many affectionate nicknames. On this assembly site, commercial versions of "Muscovites" were made, which funny motorists nicknamed "Heel" (for its characteristic shape) and "Pie" (for the delivered goods). In fact, they had much more nicknames, just not all of them stuck. Among them - "Cheburashka", "Margarine".

Z AZ

The widest flight of imagination began when it came to Zaporozhets. Even the name of the car alludes to the abbreviation "Constipation". He was also "Zyuzik", "Zhuzhik", "Bubble", "Zayzer" and "Ground beetle". In addition to general diminutive versions of the brand name, people's love touched specific models of the Zaporozhye Automobile Plant.

Z AZ-965, in addition to the "Tin Can" mentioned in the first part of the article, was known as "Humpbacked" - for its characteristic profile. That name was glued to the car. The next car with the index 966 had protruding air intakes on the rear fenders, for which it was dubbed "Eared" and "Cheburashka". The next model 968 also inherited the nickname, although after the last update (index 968M) its silhouette did not fit it in any way. She was called "Thirty" or "Forty" depending on the engine of what power was installed on the car.

K reative seethed with renewed vigor after the release of the front-wheel-drive hatchback ZAZ-1102 "Tavriya", with the light hand of folk dreamers became "Stavrida" and "Ford Tavrius". But its five-door version "Dana", due to the small circulation, was bypassed by folklore.

G AZ

GAZ cars are often called "Deer". Initially, of course, because of the trademark logo of the brand, but in the modern version it more often than we would like it to coincide with the driving style of the Volga and Gazelle drivers.

And the first of the gas models was the GAZ-AA truck. Its carrying capacity was one and a half tons, so they nicknamed it unpretentiously - "Lorry". The GAZ-66 all-terrain vehicle received the nickname "Shishiga", consonant with its index. This word itself has a synonym from the world of evil spirits - "Kikimora", so sometimes the truck was also called that. Not otherwise, for the phenomenal cross-country ability and the ability to climb into completely remote places.

If, in the case of heavy cars, nicknames were given on the case, then cars became the objects of a more developed flight of fantasy. So, GAZ-20 "Pobeda" was called "Turtle" for its body shape, and the first "Volga" GAZ-21 someone dubbed "Tank in a tailcoat". Well, the legendary Volga GAZ-24, the dream of all Soviet motorists, for its impressive size and smoothness in combination with strong rolls in corners received the nicknames "Shalanda" and "Barge". The later version of the 3110 went down in history under the much less amiable name "Push-Pull". So she was called for the similar design of the front and rear parts of the body.

It is curious that the Gazans accepted the rules of the game, and the new generation of the medium-duty truck began to officially bear the name, which for many years was the nickname of its predecessors - “Lawn”.

Z IL

And the plant was meaningfully named after Joseph Stalin - ZIS. And the first to receive its own nickname was the cargo ZIS-5. The most famous were the respectful "Zakhar Ivanych", formed from the first letters of the name, as well as "Three-ton", since the car could carry up to three tons of cargo.

The ZIS-8 bus gained worldwide fame and love after the release of the film "The meeting place cannot be changed." True, if in the picture he was called the proud name "Ferdinand", then in real life he received the name "Sharapovka".

In general, the cars of this brand were lucky with nicknames from our fellow citizens, sharp-tongued, in almost the same way as AvtoVAZ products. Almost every model has been honored with its own name.

The IS-151 was nicknamed "Iron" because it often got stuck and had to be pushed. ZIL-157 was compared to a large ax and was named "Cleaver", for its characteristic color and silhouette - "Crocodile". They were also called ZIL-164 and ZIL-166 for their extended hood and low body. Later, when more modern trucks began to displace them from the roads, the nickname "Dinosaur" appeared. The three-axle ZIL-133 on the KAMAZ chassis, which was also known as the Pike, was also called "Crocodile".

Not without folk creativity and in relation to the government limousines ZIL. Their sharp-tongued citizens called them “Chlenovozi”. The name is so well entrenched that now almost every car is called so, the owner of which drives with a personal chauffeur, but more often the epithet is used in the address of official cars.