If you live in the U.S., then you probably don’t know what the heck Lada is. Well, Lada is a famous Russian car brand that made its way all over Europe in the old communist days. Now, Lada is evolving and will probably kick some Japanese, European and Chinese behind, as they’re upgrading their Kalina model to become electric – and not just any electric car, but a cheap one.
The prototype of Lada EL can be seen at the Moscow International Motor Show 2012, which opened its gates on August 27 and will last until… tomorrow.
In place of the original gas-powered engine, Lada put an electric motor capable of producing 82 horsepower and provided the car with a 13 kWh battery pack that can be recharged from zero to full in 8 hours in a regular 220 V European socket.
Now, the Russians brag their car will have an autonomy of 150 kilometers (~94 miles) and will accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 13 seconds, which I find reasonable. Although it may not be as high, the autonomy of the Lada EL could well surpass Nissan Leaf’s, which starts at over $27,000 in the U.S..
For a start, the Lada EL will be made in a limited edition and will run on the streets of Stavropol as taxis.
Now, the most interesting part of it: the Lada EL will only cost about 15,000 euros ($18,000) , just as much as a regular gas car. Now isn’t that too nice to be true? It remains to be seen if the Lada guys will find the limited production cars’ test drive will yield positive results.
The Lada can be cheaper because that is a very small battery for a four door car. The Mitsubishi has 16 kWh the Think, which we have and is only a two seater, has 22 kWh and the Leaf has 26 kWh. That range is certainly suspect.